The fourth season of Cabling Icon has officially kicked off, and organizers once again will provide cash prizes to three entrants in the contest to find the top low-voltage cabling installer. Concert Technologies, which created and produces Cabling Icon, has reduced the number of rounds in the contest to two, and has changed the format of the first-round entrance process.
As in previous years, the Cabling Icon will have the opportunity to attend the BICSI Winter Conference and compete in the association’s Cabling Skills Challenge if the Icon is a BICSI-certified Installer or Technician. If the Icon does not hold either of those credentials, he or she will receive a scholarship to attend a BICSI ICT Cabling Installation Program course.
“Think you’ve got what it takes?” Concert asks? “Submit your contest entry form with a paragraph telling us about the past, present and future of your career. The judges will choose the top six to move on to the final round.” Entry forms are available at cablingicon.com and the entry deadline is December 5. The six finalists will be announced December 10.
“Cabling Icon is not only about being the best of the best, but also about your career aspirations and the industry as a whole,” Cabling Icon says. “Since this contest is about the big picture, we want to know where you’ve been, what you’re doing, and where you plan on going.” The six contestants who best express those sentiments will move on to the second, and final, round.
Those finalists will compete in a UTP Termination Speed Trial, which the contestants will record and submit by December 17. The Season 4 Cabling Icon will be announced December 30.
Cabling Icon explains that finalists “will submit a video, 2 minutes maximum length, of them terminating a 4-pair UTP cable into a jack and connecting block. Round 2 videos must be one continuous shot, showing you terminating the cable into a jack and connecting block in 2 minutes or less. If the task is not completed within the 2 minutes, contestants may still submit the first 2 minutes of you’re the video.”
All components must be Category 5e or better, and contestants are allowed to use any type of jack/block connection—66, 110, Krone, BIX—for terminating cable. Cabling Icon also requires contestants to follow standard termination procedures of no more than half-inch untwist for cable pairs at termination points, and minimal jacket removal.
You can visit the Cabling Icon website here, go directly to the Season 4 entry form here, and watch a demonstration of the UTP Termination Speed Trial here.
