The Ideal National Championships, which annually pits top electricians from across the United States against each other in skill competitions, was canceled this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. IBEW members still have a chance to cheer on their brothers and sisters, however.
In place of the normal competition, event organizers staged an invitational championship that included some of the top competitors from past years. It will air Dec. 20 at 4 p.m. EST on ESPN2.
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Greg Anliker from Elgin, Ill., Local 117 competes with Local 6’s Noreen Buckley at the invitational. Anliker won the individual pro title in three of the last four years at the Ideal National Championships. Photo provided by Ideal.
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Elgin, Ill., Local 117 member Greg Anliker, who won his third individual pro title in four years at last year’s Ideal championships, is one of four IBEW members taking part. The others are Noreen Buckley and Kristen Clayton from San Francisco Local 6 and Alex Cook from Aurora, Ill., Local 461. The event was taped earlier this year in Chicago and the winners receive an automatic bid to the 2021 Ideal National Championship finals.
This year was scheduled to be the fifth edition of the championships, which are open to both union and nonunion electricians, and IBEW members have dominated the first four. Last year, IBEW members won the individual pro, apprentice, contractors and student divisions, with members sweeping the top three spots of the apprentice competition.
The 2021 championships are scheduled to be held next December in Nashville, Tenn., but members wanting to participate should register early and plan for regional competitions that serve as qualifiers for the nationals. Click here for more information or go to idealnationals.com.
Founded in 1916, Ideal has been a leading maker of electrician tools and supplies for more than a century. The company is now based in Sycamore, Ill., about 55 miles west of Chicago.