The Fourth Professional Welders Competition took place during  FABTECH 2011 at McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois.

This year's winners are:

Give It a Try
For a $15 entry fee, you could win the grand prize at the Professional Welders Competition, sponsored by the American Welding Society. In addition to the $2,500 grand prize, a $1,000 second prize and $500 third prize will be awarded. The top 12 competitors will win an AWS duffel bag. Each participant will receive an AWS T-shirt with logo.

Who Should Compete?
You should compete if you're proficient in using SMAW on steel. Welders in the construction, pipeline and manufacturing industries and practitioners of skilled trades in the construction or heavy-equipment industries – union and non-union alike – are welcome.

The Welding Procedure
Contestants will receive the pre-tacked joint and booth designation. The time clock will begin. Electrodes are already on each table, as well as the chipping hammer and brush. Upon final completion, including cleaning of specimen, the contestant will alert the booth attendant so the judge can stop the clock. If contestant uses all of the time allotted, the machine will automatically turn off at five minutes. The contestant must then step out of the booth.

Judging
A team of AWS Certified Welding Inspectors will judge the competition, using criteria for size and appearance of the fillet weld as stated in AWS D1.1/D1.1M:2008, Structural Welding Code—Steel. The judges will, through visual inspection, narrow down the top 12  test plates, and using laser profiling inspection equipment, the finalists will be ranked.

To Enter the Competition
You may register for the competition at the Professional Welders Competition booth on the show floor, Monday though Wednesday during show floor hours.

Competition Piece
Competitors will have five minutes to complete the 1/4 inch fillet weld using 1/8 inch E7018 electrode on low carbon steel. The drawings for this year's competition will not be released prior to the competition.

Competition hours will be as follows
• Monday, November 14 -  9:30AM - 4:30PM
• Tuesday, November 15 -  9:30AM - 4:30PM
• Wednesday, November 16 -  9:30AM - 4:30PM
• Thursday, November 17 -  11:00AM (Awards)

To compete, you must
• Be at least 19 years of age
• Sign a form stating you are a professional welder
• Pay a $15 entry fee per entry

Download the 2011 Professional Welders Competition mini poster.

Last year's competition and prize winner