NLSC ATLANTA FAQ

The 2026 National Leadership & Skills Conference in Atlanta will now be held from June 1-5, 2026. This is a change from the original June 22-26 dates.

On Feb. 4, 2024, the city of Atlanta announced they’d been selected as a FIFA World Cup host city for eight matches, including one semifinal match. The dates of those matches conflict with our previous 2026 NLSC dates. Because of the size and scope of the FIFA event, the huge influx of spectators anticipated and the associated demands on the city’s resources and infrastructure, SkillsUSA decided that holding our NLSC alongside the FIFA event was not a feasible option.

With any event SkillsUSA holds, the safety of our members is always our primary focus, and we are deeply appreciative of the efforts Atlanta has made to ensure that safety since becoming our NLSC host city in 2022. However, the unique and unparalleled size of the FIFA World Cup of soccer — the world’s largest sporting event — would strain any city’s resources and infrastructure.

The 2026 World Cup will be spread across 16 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, with an expected 5.5 million fans attending in person. Hundreds of thousands of those fans will be in Atlanta during matches held from June 15-July 15, each match comparable in size and scope to an NFL Super Bowl. The security and logistical challenges of holding our NLSC alongside this event are tremendous, including limitations to essential services, accommodation, transportation and more. Moving forward with our original dates would raise safety, security and logistical concerns for our students to what we consider unacceptable levels.

With the SkillsUSA Championships infrastructure firmly in place in Atlanta and the millions of dollars in equipment we warehouse there, it is not economically feasible to move our conference to a different city (and then move everything back) for just one year. The costs of such a move would be extremely detrimental to the financial health of the organization.

Moving the dates into July would result in the organization effectively hosting two NLSCs in the same academic fiscal year (which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30). This would not be financially feasible for our schools or the organization.

SkillsUSA will be working very closely with all affected stakeholders — beginning with our state association directors — to address all concerns, including potential conflicts with state conferences and graduation dates. We’d also like to stress that Atlanta continues to be a strong and valued partner, and they will be supporting us through every aspect of this change. Look for more specific information coming in the days ahead.

For additional questions, please reach out to our SkillsUSA Customer Care Team at customercare@skillsusa.org or 844-875-4557.

Yes, the 2027 dates will return to the normal NLSC date structure.