www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I August 2025 5
Associations
The six contestants receiving their awards:( l-r) Donovan Angel, Trevor van Eden, Cayla Willers, Robert Fox, Tebello Thebehae, Gabankitse Malebaco and Irvin van der Poll.
the importance of perseverance. " You can ' t afford to fail because of nerves," he shared, highlighting the mental fortitude required. He lauded the competition as a " really good challenge " and extended his respect to all participants, acknowledging the intensity felt by everyone.
Van der Poll is committed to a career in air conditioning and refrigeration, seeing his victory as a significant achievement to add to his resume. While he doesn ' t have immediate plans for the prize money, the experience itself was profoundly valuable.
VOICES FROM THE COMPETITION FLOOR: LEARNING UNDER PRESSURE The competition drew a diverse group of participants, each with a unique journey into HVAC & R and varied levels of experience.
From electrical to refrigeration: Van Eden from Raetec in Paarl, who initially entered the air conditioning industry after finding a pamphlet in high school, expressed his deep interest in the field. He had previously excelled in provincial and national electrical skills competitions, even winning twice provincially. Despite finding the FRIGAIR competition " high above my head " given his less than six months of experience, he learned the crucial lesson: " come more prepared than you actually think you need to be ". He admitted to underestimating the preparation required but found the learning experience invaluable, confirming his desire to pursue an electrical career with newfound knowledge of refrigeration.
Embracing challenges as a learning curve: Willers, an apprentice from ACRA and who came second, initially considered welding before finding air conditioning. Drawn by the flexible individual courses offered, she discovered a passion for industrial machines and ammonia systems due to their ozone-friendly nature. She described the competition as " very, very intense ", especially with the added pressure of being continuously watched and even filmed. She acknowledged it was " a bit above my skills level at this moment " but viewed it as a vital " learning curve and experience ". Despite the physical demands of hand tooling, she was proud of her precise pipe bending and straight cuts, overcoming challenges as a female in a male-dominated trade.
Unexpected exposure and inspiration: Malebaco, an electrical student from a Bloemfontein TVET college with a newly started artisan academy, found herself in the competition almost by chance. Her college sought exposure to refrigeration, a field they don ' t yet specialise in. Despite being at a " big disadvantage " for this reason, Malebaco felt " privileged " to be chosen from 300 students. She was " amazed " by the scale of the refrigeration industry, stating, " I didn ' t know refrigeration was that big " and felt inspired to learn more. He particularly appreciated the judges ' fairness, who adapted the tests to consider diverse strengths.
Veteran insights and continuous learning: Donovan Angel, a seasoned HVAC technician with 20 years of experience, represented OTTC as a contestant. Having trained extensively in ammonia and refrigeration and even lectured, he participated
The competition was as stressful for the judges as the contestants.
www. refrigerationandaircon. co. za RACA Journal I August 2025 5