Morrisville State College hosts statewide automotive skills competition May 14

The best and brightest eleventh- and twelfth-grade student automotive technicians from across the state will race against the clock to correctly identify and fix vehicles that have been “bugged” on purpose.



When it is all said and done, one team will drive away the winner of the FORD/AAA Student Auto Skills Competition being held at Morrisville State College on May 14.



The 10 competing teams, from schools across New York State, will face off in the parking lot of the Automotive Technology Building from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Teams earned a spot in the competition by scoring highest on a qualifying exam.



In the hands-on competition, students in teams of two will be diagnosing and repairing identical new Ford Motor Company vehicles which have been uniformly “bugged” so that each team has identical malfunctions to diagnose and repair. The competition requires repairs to be made with the highest quality workmanship in the shortest total time.



After properly diagnosing and repairing the vehicle, teammates must drive across the finish line where their accuracy and workmanship will be judged by Morrisville State College automotive faculty and staff.



The winning two-person team and their instructor will advance to the national finals in June 2013 for the chance to compete for additional scholarship dollars and the opportunity to kick-start their automotive careers. At the national competition, each member of the 50 state teams will take a written exam. Errors on the written exams are converted into time demerits that are added to the team's time for the “hands-on” mechanical competition in both the state and national competitions.



The names of each contestant are submitted to AAA affiliated service facilities, Ford Motor Company dealers, and many other sponsoring organizations that have a need for automotive technicians and other service specialists.



The competition is cosponsored by AAA and Ford Motor Company.



Morrisville State College offers two bachelor degrees, a bachelor of technology degree in automotive technology management and a bachelor of business administration degree in automotive technology, as well as two associate degrees, one in automotive technology and the other in auto body technology.



The college's Automotive Technology Building, set up like a dealership, includes a technologically sophisticated environment with nine state-of-the-art laboratories including chassis, electrical, emissions, engines, Ford ASSET (Automotive Student Service Educational Training), fuel diagnostic, R & R (remove and replace) and transmissions.



There is also a showroom, three classrooms and a chassis dynamometer room where horsepower, torque, emissions, and engine serial data measurements can be taken from a vehicle and transmitted electronically into a classroom. The bays in each laboratory are hard-wired into the college's computer network, and a computerized manual system gives students quick access to automotive-related questions.



The Auto body Technology Building contains the most sophisticated equipment in the auto body industry, capable of tackling something as simple as a door ding to the most advanced repairs.



The Ford ASSET program, sponsored by Ford Motor Company, allows students to earn an associate degree while being involved in a cooperative education experience with a participating Ford, Lincoln or Mercury dealership.



Competition Schedule May 14

8 a.m. – Breakfast, Seneca Dining Hall

8:45 a.m. – Welcome and contest briefing, automotive building showroom

9:15 a.m. – Group photographs

9:30 a.m. – Tool inspection and layout

10 a.m. – Start of contest

11:30 a.m. – End of contest

Noon – Lunch, automotive showroom

1p.m. – Trophy presentations, automotive showroom



2013 Contest Finalists

Belmont Career & Technical Center, Belmont, NY

Austin Bernard, Gage Watkins

William Sortore, instructor



Charles G. May Career & Technical Center, Mount Morris, NY

Dillon J Gay, James C Jason

Michael Johnson, instructor



OCM BOCES Henry Campus, Syracuse, NY

Joshua R Hildreth, Tyler J Shepard

Erick Dodge, instructor



Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES, New Hartford, NY

Stephen Lichtenberger, Corey Novak

John Stratton, instructor



Ulster Career & Technology Center, Port Ewen, NY

Casey J Dabroski, Ryan R Lamark

Kevin Roebke, instructor



Wayne Technical & Career Center, Williamson, NY

Kaleb C Reed, Brad R Van Opdurp

Chet Kuhn, instructor



WEMOCO Career & Technology, Spencerport, NY

Brian Hallett, Chris Palmeri

David Shalke, instructor



WEMOCO Career & Technology, Spencerport, NY

Oleg V. Dyachuk, Nathan L Munnings

Brian Walczak, instructor



Wilson Technological Center Dix Hills, Dix Hills, NY

Joe Dia, Tim Randazzo

Brian Harrison, instructor



Wilson Tech Northport, Northport, NY

John A Disalvo, Alexander Kuzdro

Ralph Savarese, instructor