2026 Nebraska SkillsUSA State
Leadership and Skills Championships
April 9-11, 2026 - Grand Island, NE - Heartland Events Center & Fonner Park
Leadership and Skills Championships
Tentative Schedule Subject to Change. Will Transition to Sched App ASAP.
Membership Deadline is February 15th – SLSC Registration Deadline is February 22nd.
Register through the National Site.
2026 SLSC Zoom Q&A Sessions – TBD
**Important Advisor Resources MUST be read prior to registering your students**
- SLSC Advisor Preparation Checklist
- Contest List NE SLSC 2026 **MUST READ BEFORE REGISTERING**
- SLSC Competitions according to Career Alignment (Use tabs at bottom to navigate)
- Dress Requirements – Official Dress Examples
- Hotel Recommendations
- How to apply for National Membership. NEW! Quick Start Guide
- How to register for State
- State Competition Substitution Form
- SkillsUSA Nebraska Competition Theme
- Personal Liability, Code of Conduct, Photography/Sound Release (Required)*
*Note: This is the same release that you attest to when registering online. Advisors should have copies of each student’s release form and a photocopy of their insurance card at all conferences. Copies are to remain with the advisor for use in case of an emergency. - Responsibility Release & Chapter Permission Form (Required) *Note: This form must be submitted through jotform to the State Office by April 3rd.
Competitions to take place April 9 – 11, 2026
Tentative Gantt Schedule Subject to Change. Will Transition to Sched App ASAP.
Future Dates at Heartland Events Center & Fonner Park • Grand Island
2027 | April 8-10 2028 | April 6-8 2029 | April 5-7 2030 | April 4-6
Registration:
- You must be a SkillsUSA paid national member
- $80 per contestant (middle school, high school, and college/postsecondary).
- $50 per advisor
- Conference online registration is open soon and closes on February 22, 2026
- Registration payment is due by March 20, 2026. Late fees will apply after this date. Payment will not be accepted at the conference.
- Championship viewing is free and open to the public
- Please view the Important Advisor Resources above and the Additional SLSC Resources below
- Register through the National Site.
Contest Eligibility:
Students may compete in ONLY one contest from Category 1 and one contest from Category 2! See the Contest List NE SLSC 20256 for a breakdown. Students can compete in as many Category 3 contests as they desire because they do not conflict with other contests. Many of the Category 3 contests will take place at the same time and Mousetrap Vehicles will require the student member to operate it during the competition. Students may not compete in Mousetrap Vehicle and TTPS as those happen at the same time Friday evening. Some Friday competitions will have orientation meetings on Thursday evening.
New Contest for 2025: Employment Application Process (Register IEP Students Only), Esthetics, Introduction to Welding
(State Only 9th – 11th grade), Introduction to Woodworking (State Only 9th – 11th grade), Skilled & Technical Science/CTE Teaching (State Only), Commercial Roofing (Special Permission Only). See Contest List NE SLSC 2026
SO – means it is a “State Only” contest. Pay attention to SO contests that specify they are open only to 9th and 10th graders.
Technical Standards:
Advisors and Students who are registered SkillsUSA members will gain online access to the national technical standards through the Pathful website. The 2024-2026 SkillsUSA Championships Technical Standards are the official competition guides for the SkillsUSA Championships and are revised biannually. They contain rules for all national events, including an overview, lists of technical skills and knowledge required, clothing requirements, eligibility, and equipment lists. They also list the embedded academic skills in math, English, and science. Rules for state and local events may vary from the national guidelines, but most competitive events are modeled after the national technical standards. See the State-only Technical Standards for Nebraska only contests.
Contest Updates:
Additional information from our State Contest Coordinators will be listed on our Contest Updates page. We will continually update contest information on the Updates page. This is the main way of communicating the tools/equipment lists and what advisors and students should know before the conference. All competitors must create a one-page resume to submit online unless otherwise specified in their competition’s technical standards. Middle school competitors are exempt from the resume requirement.
State Officer Candidate Information – Applications Due March 7
State Officer Requirements
- Attendance of 75% or better at local chapter meetings and activities (every year)
- A vote is taken and recorded in minutes of the candidate’s local chapter to support the student in their application for state office.
- GPA of 2.5 or better on a 4.0 scale while a SkillsUSA member.
- Must have competed in a Leadership or Profession Skills competition at the high school state level prior or earned the Statesman Award at the Mid-America Conference to be eligible to run for State Officer Team.
- Fill out the online application. – Notecatcher for SkillsUSA application-2026
- Fill out the State Officer Candidate Leadership Questionnaire.
High School State Officer Application 2026 is open and closes on March 7th.
- Watch “The Golden Circle: Why Does Apple Command Loyalty” by Simon Sinek prior to filling out the application.
- State Officer Acknowledgment of Commitment.
- State Officer Agreement and Code of Conduct
- State Officer Dress Code and Personal Grooming
- Local Advisor Letter of Recommendation must be uploaded to the online application.
- Parts of the application that need signatures should do one of the following:
- Use digital signatures
- Download, sign, and upload to a computer.
- All signature forms need to be uploaded to the online application.
- If a student cannot submit an online application, the local advisor should contact Aaron Jones.
- Important Information for Officer Candidates:
- An interview may occur between March 7th and April 10th. Be sure to click the link on the application submit confirmation page to sign up for your Interview. Interview Process Description.
- State Officer Candidates Coaching Sessions.
- State Officer Candidate Coaching Session Sign-up
- If you are interested in becoming a state officer, there will be three optional Zoom Sessions to help you prepare to run for a State Officer position.
- Sessions will be on Monday nights from 7 p.m. – 8 p.m.
- Session One (Jan. 26): SkillsUSA Your Why, Officer Duties, and Officer Application.
- Session Two (Feb. 9): The Program of Work & Required Dates, Qualities of an Officer, and Life of an Officer.
- Session Three (Feb. 16): Framework, Running a Successful Campaign, Your Elevator Speech.
- All sessions will be recorded. Advisors and any members interested in serving as a state officer may attend.
The College/Postsecondary State Officer Application 2026 is coming soon and closes on March 7th.
- College/Postsecondary State Officer Candidate Application coming soon. If interested in applying, check here often or contact Aaron: [email protected])
Voting Delegates:
| Number of Members in Local Chapter | Number of Voting Delegates |
| 1-10 members | 2 voting delegates |
| 11-25 members | 3 voting delegates |
| 26-40 members | 4 voting delegates |
| 41-55 members | 5 voting delegates |
| 56-70 members | 6 voting delegates |
| 71-85 members | 7 voting delegates |
| 86-100 members | 8 voting delegates |
| 100+ members | Increase by 1 vote for every 15 members over 100 |
SkillsUSA 2024 State Leadership and Skills Championships
The philosophy of the Championships is to reward students for excellence to involve industry in directly evaluating student performance and to keep training relevant to employers’ needs. The state championships showcase the best career and technical students in Nebraska. First-place winners compete in the SkillsUSA national championships in June. More than 1500 people including students, teachers, and business partners are expected to participate in the event. Students work against the clock and each other, proving their expertise in over 100 contests in areas of:
Architecture & Construction, Arts, Audio/Video Technology, Business Management & Administration, Education, Health Science, Public Safety, Hospitality & Tourism, Leadership, Manufacturing, Science, Technology, Engineering & Math, Information Technology, Transportation & more!