Yukon students show their stuff at skills competition

There was an unusual din in the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse on Thursdaycreated by an orchestra of circular saws, small engines, hairdryers and sizzling stir-frys.

It was music to the ears of Megan Freese, executive director of Skills Canada Yukon.

"This is kind of our big showcase event," Freese said. "Participants get to come show their stuff in front of the general public and compete against their fellow tradespeople."

The territorial skills competition is an annual event. Students vie for a chance to compete at the national skills competition, later this year. They spent much of the last year preparing for this event, Freese says.

Carpentry students from Yukon College were busy building doghouses. Each student was given an identical set of plansto work from. When they finished, judges came around with tape measures to inspect the results. Millimetres could separate the winner from the runners-up.

Steven Richards won the competition, meaning he'll be going to national meet for the third year in a row.

"Everyone's tape [measure]'s a little bit different, I guess," Richards said. "You just got to get it together with the right measurements and it's got to look good and be practical."

There were 59 students competing in several trades, including hairdressing and electrical work.

Hundreds of high school students also strolled through the arena, checking out the various trades. They could try their hand at frying some veggies, using a computer animation program, or styling a mannequin's hair.

Brienne Leschertwas there to talk about and demonstrate her trade esthetics. She says lots of students were coming by for hand massages.

"It's a cool trade to make people feel good about themselves," Leschert said. "I get to hold somebody's hand for 45 minutes and just listen to them and chat."

The Skills Canada national competition takes place May 27 to 30, in Saskatoon.