Ideal National Championship – Where Electricians Become Legend

Nov 17, 2019

The 2019 Ideal National Championship was a highly charged, no-holds barred competition to determine the best electrician in North America, including teams from China, Australia and Mexico. Over 55,000 electrical contractors and electricians competed worldwide in 5 countries, and the cream of the crop competed at the 2019 Ideal National Championship in Orlando.

From November 7 to 9, 162 professionals and apprentices from the US and Canada were in Orlando to compete. They were joined by one professional and one student/apprentice each from Australia and China, who competed against the best US and Canada have to offer at the inaugural International Championship, which took place at the end of the three-day event. While travel, lodging and meals were all provided by Ideal Electrical, competitors had to bring their own “A” game to get through four rounds of competition. The weekend was fun. The competition was fierce. The tasks were tough.

Patrick Deschamps of manufacturer’s agent Contact Delage attended the event for the first time, and his enthusiasm was boundless. “This event imposes respect for the profession of electrician. We were able to see electricians and apprentice electricians compete to win a variety of prizes — money, Ideal dollars and a fully equipped Dodge Ram pickup. Some came from as far as Australia and China. Despite all these great prizes, the real value of this contest was the pride of these professionals who were competing in front of their families and friends. The stakes were high, they were classified as the best electrician or apprentice electrician in their region or the whole world. The spark in their eyes and their excitement was indescribable. The atmosphere was electrifying. There was a well-known presenter who described everything and was captured by professional teams for broadcast on ESPN on December 15. This experience will remain etched forever in their memory and they will be back.”

In the coming weeks we will present portraits of Canadian participants at this event.