Two Morinville Community High School carpenters won gold this month at a provincial Skills tournament, and one of them is now in the running for a national title.

MCHS Grade 12 students Kirsten Whitfield and Evan Charrois took first place in the Cabinet Making and Joinery events, respectively, at the 2022 Provincial Skills Canada Alberta competition.

Held April 11 to May 5, the contest saw some 700 secondary and 140 post-secondary students compete in a variety of trades-related contests for medals, scholarships, and a spot at the national Skills Canada competition, said Skills Canada Alberta spokesperson Victoria Anderson. High-school students competed virtually, while post-secondary students competed at the Edmonton Expo Centre. Winners were announced online on May 6.

MCHS construction teacher Kyle Coxen said Whitfield and Charrois are highly motivated and skilled carpenters who put in many hours of their own time to train for provincials. They were the first provincial skills champions to ever come out of the school’s construction program.

“I’m extremely proud of what these students have accomplished,” he said.

Charrois said he was in disbelief when the announcer said he had won first place — he knew he hadn’t placed third or second, and didn’t think he would place first.

“It was a mixture of excitement and confusion,” he said.

“I almost had to question if I was reading [the name on screen] right because it didn’t feel correct.”

Whitfield said she is very happy with the results of her second time at provincials and is excited to compete at nationals.

Anke Jacobs of Paul Kane, Gracie Cook of Sturgeon Composite, and Cierra Palma of MCHS also won bronze medals at provincials in Baking, Hairstyling–Senior, and IT Office Software Applications–Level 1, respectively.

Whitfield said her event saw her build a box with a sliding tray in six hours. She finished half an hour early and had plenty of time to sand her box to perfection.

“I’ve been practicing my dovetail [joints] a lot,” she said. She made about six practice boxes prior to the event.

Whitfield is now training for nationals, where she will have to build a toolbox with a drawer in 12 hours as part of an online competition.

Charrois said his event saw him make a Japanese sawhorse (a stand you put a plank or log upon before cutting) without the use of glue, nails, or power tools — the project had to hold together entirely through the friction in its joints.

“I was not allowed to use anything, basically, that was made in the last hundred years,” he said, which meant he was down to handsaws, chisels, and planes.

"After the six or seven hours I had [to work], my arms were sore.”

Charrois said he has had a long-time interest in construction, as his grandfather built many of the homes in his hometown of Legal and his father built a working airplane from a kit.

“For the last four years on my birthday, I haven’t gotten anything but power tools, chisels, and levels,” Charrois said, which he has used to build a gazebo, duck house, and other structures.

This was Charrois's first time at provincials and his first year doing joinery (which does not have a national competition, as Alberta is one of the few provinces which holds joinery contests). He described joinery as a test of precision, where you can have failed joints and lost points if you’re off by even a millimetre. It’s a niche skill, but one that’s highly respected among carpenters, and one that has captured his passion.

“It makes you feel like you’re a sculptor back in ancient Greece,” he said.

While Charrois said he plans to take engineering after high school (with carpentry as a hobby), Whitfield said she hopes to become a full-time cabinet maker once she graduates.

Coxen said he hopes Whitfield's and Charrois’s wins will encourage more students to take construction class and compete in Skills at MCHS.

The 2022 Skills Canada National Competition runs May 25 to 28 online, with post-secondary participants competing in person at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Visit www.skillscompetencescanada.com for details.

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