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INUVIK - This March, Inuvik will play host to the first-ever regional competition by Skills Canada NWT.

For the last 10 years, Yellowknife has hosted the annual territorial competition in categories like small engine repair, culinary arts and web design.

Last year, Samuel Hearne principal Roman Mahnic made a request to Skills Canada NWT for a regional competition for the Beaufort Delta, to be hosted in Inuvik.

"We knew we would need a regional competition somewhere," said Skills Canada NWT executive director Jan Fullerton.

Each year, the competition in Yellowknife accepts only as many competitors that can be accommodated in each category.

"For example, we only have a select number of welding cabinets, so we can only have that many people competing at once," she said.

"We haven't always been able to send every student that wants to compete. With a regional meet, we can send the best to the territorial level."

Fullerton said she came to Inuvik for a week in December to talk with teachers and staff about what categories would be held during the regional meet.

"We talked to potential sponsors and I looked at the facilities here, to see what we could offer," said Fullerton.

Mahnic said there is a list of categories being passed back and forth, with the goal of choosing a list for the regional event this March.

Video editing, welding, robotics and small engine repair are a few of the categories being considered.

Mahnic said the school has started a few clubs to get the students properly trained and give them some time to work on their skills before the March event.

Fullerton said she hopes to enlist mostly local judges, but that will soon be determined.

She hopes that with the regional meet preparing the competitors, it will mean a bigger yield of medals for the Beaufort Delta in the territorial meet later this year.

The regional competition will be held March 7.