Find Your Car Mechanic of Tomorrow as Automotive Students Vie
for Ford/AAA State Championship on Friday, May 5
--Automobile Club of Southern California:
WHAT: Racing against the clock and each other at Irwindale Speedway,
10 teams of the Southland's top high school auto technology
students will repair disabled Ford cars during the 2006
Ford/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition state finals.
The competition requires repairs to be made with the highest
quality work in the lowest total time. The winning pair from
the Southern California or the Northern California contest
held concurrently in Danville, Calif., will represent the
state at the national finals on June 25 in Dearborn, Mich.
WHY: Trained automotive technicians are among the most sought-after
and highly paid professionals in today's job market, but many
high schools are scaling back or eliminating their automotive
programs due to lack of funding and/or trained teachers. The
annual demand for qualified auto technicians exceeds the
supply by about 32,000 and the auto repair industry is
predicted to increase in size. This skills competition has
been in place since 1949 as part of an effort to attract and
train more young people for automotive professions.
WHEN: 10 a.m. Friday, May 5. Awards presentation will follow at 1
p.m.
WHERE: Irwindale Speedway, 13300 E. Live Oak Ave. Public Relations:
626-358-1100.
WHO: Twenty of the Southland's top high school automotive
technicians (two students per team) representing the
following:
School City
Agoura Agoura Hills
Arroyo Grande Arroyo Grande
Bishop Union Bishop
Morro Bay Morro Bay
Ramona (2 Teams) Ramona
San Clemente San Clemente
San Luis Obispo High School San Luis Obispo
Sultana Hesperia
Ventura Ventura
