Junior Sheep & Wool Skillathon

Each year, the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival hosts a Junior Sheep & Wool Skillathon. The Festival is always held the first full weekend in May at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland. The skillathon is held on Sunday of the Festival. Registration starts at 8 a.m. The contest starts at 9 a.m. Results are announced at approximately 2 p.m.

Matt Kerner examines the
fleece of a Blueface Leicester ewe.

A skillathon provides youth with the opportunity to blend knowledge and skills acquired in livestock judging, demonstrations, and care and exhibition of animals into a single activity. It consists of a series of stations where youth are tested on their knowledge and abilities related to livestock.

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Skillathon is open to any youth between the ages of 8 and 18. Individuals and teams (of 3 or 4) from any county, state, or province may compete. Youth ages 8 to 10 compete as juniors; youth ages 11 to 13 compete as intermediates; and youth 14 to 18 compete as seniors. Youth compete according to their age as of January 1st of the current year.

The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival provides ribbons and premiums to the top ten individuals in each age division and Festival t-shirts to the members of the top three teams in each age division. The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is a committee of the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association.

For more information or to register, contact Susan Schoenian at (301) 432-2767 x343 or sschoen@umd.edu. Registrations are requested by April 25. Teams must be pre-registered.

The 2011 skillathon will include the following stations:

Equipment ID
Forage and Feed ID
Breed ID
Meat ID
Fleece judging
Sheep judging (breed TBA)
Hay evaluation
Potluck ("anything goes")
Written tests (10 Qs for juniors, 15 Qs for intermediates, and 20 Qs for seniors).
Senior team problem (TBA)

2010 Sheep & Wool Skillathon

Seventy-nine youth competed in the 2010 Sheep & Wool Skillathon: 16 junior, 27 intermediate, and 36 senior. It was the 5th annual skillathon. The competition attracted youth from four states and nine Maryland counties.

The first place junior (age 8-10) was Frank Burner from Berkeley County, West Virgina. Cameron Lefevre, also from Berkeley County, placed second. Brietta Latham from Frederick County was third. The first place junior team was the Howard County team composed of Nicole King, Rebecca Herriotts, Lindsay Williams, and Mark Chaney.

The first place intermediate (age 11-13) was Aislinn Latham from Frederick County. Ryan Hevner from Carroll County placed second. Sarah McGee from Cecil County was third. The first place intermediate team was the St. Mary's/Calvert County team composed of Charlie Sasscer, Will Jones, Jesiah Manning, and Becky Jones.

The Howard County team placed second. Team members included Rachel King, Matthew Chaney, and Dean and Audrey Bennett. The third place intermediate team was the St. Mary's County team composed of Jason and John Fore and Travis and Mary Trossbach.


1st place senior team from Queen Anne's County (L-R): Matt Kerner, Susan Schoenian (organizer), David King, and Julia King.

The first place senior (age 14-18) was Matt Kerner from Queen Anne's County. David King, also from Queen Anne's County, was second. Brett Bucci from Charles County placed third. The senior team competition was won by Queen Anne's County. Their team included Matt Kerner and David and Julia King.

Charles County had the second place senior team. Their team included James Hancock, Brett and Michael Bucci, and Tyler Thorne. The Conodoguinet County team from Pennsylvania placed third. Team members included Benjamin and Hannah Jackson, Benjamin Shughart, and Chris Toevs.

Sponsors of the 2010 skillathon sponsored included George G. Ruppersberger & Sons, Inc., Greene's Lamb, and the Frederick County Sheep Breeders Association (sheep judging). Special thanks to City Grafx for donating the table numbers.