As an ironworker apprentice, Bryan Belcher helped build the Griffon roller coaster at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, hang steel in Scope 's domed ceiling in Norfolk, and construct Virginia Beach's Renaissance Academy.

He showed off the skills he used on Saturday during the Mid-Atlantic 2009 Ironworker Apprentice Competition. The daylong contest drew 12 apprentices from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region who competed in eight events.

"It's just a lot of fun," said Belcher, a 26-year-old from Virginia Beach. "I like everything about it. I like the heights, the thrill, all of it."

After a day of welding, knot-tying, torch-cutting, column-climbing and other tests, second-year apprentice Andrew Byerly came out on top.

The 20-year-old from Annapolis, Md., won a handful of prizes and the chance to represent the region in the international competition in Seattle next year.

"It feels good," Byerly said. "I knew I did my best in my events."

He said he'll be training hard over the next year for the international competition. This was his first time competing.

"It's for our job, you know, so I definitely want to be good at it," Byerly said. "And this is a good way to do that."

A union apprentice from the Mid-Atlantic region has won the past two international competitions, in 2006 and 2008, said Thomas Bell, the local union's business manager. This is the first year that Norfolk has hosted the regional contest.

The day started at 7 a.m. with a written test, followed by hands-on events.

Just before 2 p.m., Byerly hunched over a welding torch burning with a bright blue flame that topped 4,000 degrees. With orange sparks flying, he painstakingly cut shapes from a slab of steel before polishing it with a steel brush.

"It's hard," he said 43 minutes later. "You've got to have the proper angle on the torch, you've got to have the right speed... and you've definitely got to have steady hands."

A little while later, Mikhail An, a 24-year-old from Ellicott City, Md., stood poised with a pair of pliers before a grid of metal bars.

"Three, two, one, go!" the judge yelled.

An pulled a length of metal from a ream around his belt, cut a short length, wrapped it around one of the grid's bars and pulled it into a tight knot. A minute later, he'd completed 10 ties, which are used to reinforce concrete slabs.

He said it was his best event.

A trio of judges scored the competitors based on time and accuracy, Kuhlman said.

The day concluded with the column climb, during which each apprentice scaled a 35-foot steel column, a skill used to move between floors when constructing a building's steel framework.

Halfway through, it was James Moore's turn.

The 31-year-old from Alexandria clenched onto the steel column, stretched his legs, then launched up the side, clinging on with his feet and hands.

He reached the top 8.25 seconds later, Saturday's record.

"That was slow," he said afterward.

Throughout the event, family, friends and ironworkers cheered on the competitors.

Todd Allen, a 28-year-old from Baltimore, was surrounded by family. His wife donned a "Proud Wife of an Ironworker" T-shirt.

About three years ago, Allen left his job at UPS and joined the four-year apprentice program because he wanted to earn a better living for his family, he said. He fell in love with the work.

"I wouldn't want to do anything else," he said. "Not very many people would do what we do, and I just love it."

Source: Kathy Adams, Virginian-Pilot Online