(Video 1:09) Two automotive tech students from St. Brother Andre Catholic High School in Markham, Ont., prevailed over 17 other Toronto-area high school teams to win a high-octane skills competition at the Canadian International AutoShow.
Christopher Giuga and David Vecchiarelli performed a number of timed technical tasks and worked on a new Volkswagen Tiguan that had been rigged with a no-start condition by automotive instructors from Centennial College. It’s the second consecutive year that a team from the Markham, Ont. school won the trophy.
By finishing first, the pair will be representing Canada at the National Automotive Technology Competition in New York City in April. In addition to the all-expenses-paid trip, Giuga and Vecchiarelli received tools and equipment from sponsors.
Scarborough’s Woburn Collegiate finished second, thanks to the efforts of students William Chee and Rishivaran Raveendran, while Kjanseh Mohan and Thanuraj Pathmanathan from Jean Vanier Catholic Secondary School earned third place. The automotive labs at all three schools will receive a donated vehicle from General Motors Canada for training purposes.
Teacher Franco Ferrari of Woburn Collegiate earned the Gerd Reisenecker Memorial Teacher of the Year Award, named for the former Centennial College professor and TADA member. The Toronto college operates Canada’s largest transportation technology training centre.
This is the 19th year Centennial College and the Trillium Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) have been running the competition at Toronto’s auto show. The secondary school students, all of whom are studying automotive service technology, will be vying for big prizes including tools, textbooks and General Motors vehicles for their school workshops. The top-ranked team will represent TADA at the National Automotive Technology Competition in New York City.
The two-member student teams had 120 minutes to diagnose and repair new Volkswagen Tiguans rigged with identical operating problems by Centennial College’s automotive tech instructors.
The teams also shifted between five workstations to test their analytical skills in electrical, steering, suspension and brakes, engine measurement and mechanical, and in a new challenge this year, competitors will be tested on a highly realistic engine simulator provided by Electude.
The Toronto Automotive Technology Competition enjoys outstanding support from the industry. Sponsors include: TADA, the Canadian International AutoShow, Volkswagen Canada and Toronto-area VW dealers, General Motors Canada, Snap-On Tools, Consulab, Canadian Tire, Prona Tools, Electude-Argo, Nelson Education, Pearson Education, TecMate and Centennial College.
For more, visit www.centennialcollege.ca.
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