This TeamUSA slection Competition for SkillsUSA, was held at Alabama Robotics Technology Park in Huntsville Alabama.

Each year, students from local high school and post-secondary welding programs compete in SkillsUSA competitions. A series of local, district, and state-wide contests decide which two students will represent their state at the national level. Each participating state sends its high school and post-secondary champion to the national SkillsUSA Championships held in Louisville each June.

Every two years, the American Welding Society invites the top 48 welding competitors from the National SkillsUSA Championships (24 from each year) to compete in the four-stage Team USA Welder Selection: the Invitational Pre-Trials, Invitational Weld Trials, Finalist Tune-up, and The Final Weld Off. This competition decides which welder will represent the United States at the WorldSkills Competition being held in Abu Dhabi, October 14-19, 2017.

Competitors receive contest drawings and a set of welding procedure specifications. All drawings, welding symbols, and welding terms conform to the latest edition of the American Welding Society standards. Through a series of stations, contestants are tested on various aspects of welding: measuring weld replicas, using weld measuring gauges; laying out a plate and using oxy-acetylene equipment to cut several holes that are checked for accuracy and quality; Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW) on steel making welds in various positions using short circuiting transfers; Flux Cored Arc Welding (FCAW) using a shielding gas, making welds in various positions and, using a combination machine capable of providing the correct welding current for shielded metal arc (SMAW) and gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW). Competitors complete the steel project and weld an aluminum project in various positions using a variety of filler metals.

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