(by Don Meador, Allen County Schools, November 21, 2019)
Allen County-Scottsville High School Future
Farmers of America (FFA) welders Waymon Dye, Logan Hinton, Austin Mungle, and
Austin Minix are the 2019 FFA Region Welding Champions. The foursome scored a
combined 181 points to place first by 16 points in the regional competition---a
competition that featured 12 south-central Kentucky welding teams.
Capturing a regional title in welding is not
an easy task.
“We had to do two vertical ups and a flat
weld,” noted highest scoring individual welder Austin Mungle. “We had to do a
lot of practicing to figure out how to keep the weld looking good.”
FFA chapter advisor Brandon Weaver notes
judging is based on a wide range of criteria.
“They are scored on arc length, safety, and
how the weld looks,” Weaver explained. “They also had to do a flat bead, a
vertical butt, and a vertical up fillet weld which is not the easier thing to
do when you are doing a vertical weld.”
Hinton explained that the foursome prepared
for the competition in recent weeks.
“We have practiced quite a bit,” Hinton
said. “You practice and then you go and try your best.”
Weaver added that the students have been welding for several weeks as part of their agriculture construction class which meets each morning.
“We have been welding since the first of
November,” Weaver noted. “We have been doing butt welds, lap wells, T-welds,
and vertical ups-and-down to get them prepared for the competition. Once they
got to the actual contest, you just go weld and hope that you have the welder
set right and hope for the best.”
The students were asked to perform their
weld in front of the judges in a short period of time, a fact that will affect
the quality of the weld.
“Welders get four pieces of metal and four
rods,” Weaver added. “You get 15 minutes from the time you enter the booth
until you are done. You don’t have long so it’s a race against the clock.”
The regional championship earns the welders
the opportunity to compete at the 2020 Kentucky State Fair in August.
“You can’t compete in welding at the state
fair unless you win the region,” Weaver explained. “So, we are looking at
competing against 12 other schools. If you win that you are state champion. We
will start practicing some but next July we’ll start coming in and they will
run some beads and do some practice stuff. I will also give them some scenarios
on what they might have to do.”
Weaver points out that the regional first
place is the first championship in the past 12 years and comes after three
runner-up finishes since his arrival in 2008.