Michigan 4-H dairy quiz bowl team places fifth at national contest
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EmailA composite team of Michigan 4-H youth placed fifth overall in the National 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl Contest held during the North American International Livestock Exposition.
Each November, the North American International Livestock Exposition (NAILE) marks the final national educational contest of the 4-H dairy program year. The North American Invitational 4-H Dairy Quiz Bowl, hosted by the Department of Animal and Food Sciences at the University of Kentucky, brings together 4-H members and coaches from across the U.S. to demonstrate their vast dairy knowledge in a fast-paced, double elimination contest.
The event starts on a Friday night with a written quiz, which determines how the teams will be seeded in the brackets for the next morning. Following the written exam, there is a pizza party for teams to meet and mingle with each other. Often youth and coaches are familiar with peers from other academic contests, such as dairy judging or dairy management.
The teams have an early night, so they are ready for a battle of the buzzers the next morning. Based on the brackets, teams face off in a series of questions where they must buzz in to provide an answer. If correct, points are awarded; if incorrect, the opposing team has a chance to answer. After five team questions and 20 toss-up questions, points are totaled and the teams move on to the winners’ or losers’ bracket. After two losses, the team is eliminated from the contest and is free to watch other rounds to see which state comes out victorious.
This year, four youth from various counties represented Michigan 4-H at the national contest. All four of these youth placed in the top 10 as individuals at the Michigan 4-H state contest in June. Team members were Viktor Robertson-Wicks, Harper-Jane Adkins, Raelyn Bristle and Abigail Lehman. They were coached by Michigan State University Extension 4-H volunteers Katelyn Packard and Valisa Bristle. The team placed fifth overall in the national contest and had a great learning experience. Congratulations, team!
