The TCAT Welding Rodeo, in its fourth year, took place on October 16 -17 at the Blount County Pellissippi State Community College campus. High school and college students throughout east Tennessee gather once a year at the Pellissippi campus to showcase their skills and compete for awards. Four students from Karns High School participated in the Rodeo. Alexander Rowe, Morgan Cowan, Dominic Overcash, and Charles Jeffers are students in the Welding 2 classes at Byington. For Rowe and Cowan, the Rodeo wasn’t new, but Overchash and Jeffers competed for the first time. Cowan placed first in her class (TIG welding) while Rowe placed second in his class (MIG welding). Rowe shared his opinion on the rodeo after the competition.
“We come down here [to Byington]. We weld everyday, and it’s nice to go head to head against other students to see, you know, who’s better and have a little bit of friendly competition instead of just having the same repetitive stuff every day,” Rowe said, “It gives you something to kinda prepare for and look forward to.”
Students at the Rodeo began by meeting with TCAT representatives and judges to go over safety guidelines and a schedule for the day. Students welded in two separate time groups. The first group began welding at 9:00a.m. and the second group began welding at 10:20a.m. Welders had an hour and fifteen minutes to complete their welds. They were not required to use the entire time slot, but they could not exceed the time given.
Awards began at 1:45 p.m. and a total of 12 awards were given to the top three students in each group. A large raffle also took place after awards, containing different gloves, shirts, other equipment, and TCAT merchandise. Chris Walker, general superintendent at Cherokee Millwright and past judge at the Rodeo shared advice for welders.
“Don’t hate your job. If you don’t wake up every morning excited about what you’re gonna do that day, don’t do it,” Chris Walker said, “Be sure [that] whatever you do, you’re passionate about and that you enjoy doing it. … The most important thing to do is to love what you do for a living.”
Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT), previously known as Tennessee Technology Centers, was founded in the 1960s. The first location was founded in Shelbyville, Tennessee in 1964. Only 41 students were enrolled and there were only six programs (Air Conditioning/Refrigeration, Auto Mechanics, Drafting, Industrial Electricity, Machine Shop, and Welding). TCAT now has 24 main campuses with more than 70 programs across the state. As of 2022, TCAT Knoxville has an 87% completion rate and an 84% placement rate for their Welding course.
Karns High School began offering dual enrollment classes in the early 2000s. In 2015, TCAT expanded through the Reconnect Grant program, allowing dual enrollment classes to expand as well. Dual enrollment courses, such as welding, allow students to gain credit for both their high school diploma while also receiving hours towards their program’s certification or diploma.
The TCAT Welding Rodeo, although not the first welding competition, was founded in 2022. The goal of the competition was, and still is, to bring together the east Tennessee community, encourage students in the field of trades (specifically welding), and to provide an opportunity for students to be excited about their work and accomplishments. Students are judged by TCAT instructors and representatives from welding companies around east Tennessee. TCAT instructors judge the welds of all high school students while community representatives judge college students and high school students. Students execute different welding processes and are scored based on their performance in their group. Groups are determined by age group (college or high school), and type of welds (TIG, MIG, Stick, and Cutting). Ron Garbison, Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) at Cherokee Millwright and judge of the 2025 Rodeo shared his thoughts on the harder parts of judging competitions like the rodeo.
“A lot of good welds. I saw a lot of good welds. It’s kinda tough when you’re placing one through three and it’s very close and there’s quite a few people that could have been in one of those spots,” Garbison said.
The future is bright for many welders, and this competition helps represent that and the encouragement that students gain from this experience. Garbison gives a piece of advice about the future for welders.
“Keep at it. The only way you can get better at welding is to weld. Take advice from people who are trying to help you. Honestly, you just have to keep welding.” Garbison said.
