Due to the ongoing uncertainty around the COVID-19 pandemic across the United States, the SkillsUSA organization has canceled all in-person events, including the Additive Manufacturing Competition sponsored by SME and Stratasys, at its 2020 National Leadership and Skills Conference in Louisville, KY. The pandemic caused several state associations to cancel their 2020 conferences, which dramatically impacts the level of participation at the annual national event.

We are committed to stimulating student knowledge of additive manufacturing and 3D printing techniques by allowing them to explore and apply these technologies through our contest. While we anticipated hosting another challenging competition this year, we fully understand and support SkillsUSA’s decision to cancel the national 2020 conference both in light of the limited number of state conferences and to protect the health and wellbeing of all participants.

Our next SkillsUSA Additive Manufacturing Competition promises to be as inspiring as in years past, and we look forward to reconvening with the students, advisors, and event attendees in 2021. In the meantime, SME will continue to explore opportunities to engage and challenge the next generation of manufacturing innovators.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and stay skilled.

For more details, you can read the official statement from SkillsUSA.