2009 Sheep & Wool Skillathon

The 2009 Sheep & Wool Skillathon will be held Sunday, May 3rd at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. The Festival is held at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland. The skillathon will be held in the old rabbit building, near the entrance to the Festival grounds. Registration starts at 8 a.m. The skillathon will start at 9 a.m. Preliminary results will be announced at approximately 2 p.m.

Fleece inspection
Kaitlyn Fuss examines a sheep
during the 2007 skillathon

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 the 4-H age (age as of January 1 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.

The 2008 skillathon included the following stations:

2008 skillathon stations were sponsored by The Delmarva Farmer (Fleece judging) ; Sheep! Magazine (breed ID); Premier Sheep Supplies Ltd. (equipment ID); Shepherd Magazine (written test); Sheepman Supply Company (Animal Health), Kate's Koop: Farm Fresh Eggs (Feed and Forage ID), Talking Hooves Educated Hoof Care (hay judging); George G. Ruppersberger & Sons, Inc. (meat ID), and the Frederick County Sheep Breeders Association (sheep judging). City Grafx donated table numbers.


Study Resources for Skillathons

Lamb Quiz Bowl Study Guide
Livestock E-Quiz
Oklahoma State University Sheep Breeds
Sheep Breeds A-Z
Equipment ID
Purdue Forage Identification Pages
Evaluating hay quality
Calculating Adjusted Weaning Weights
Sheep Evaluation, Selection and Judging learning module
Scorecard for wool judging
A Glossary of Wool Terms
Grades and Lengths of Grease Wool
Wool Grading
Wool Judging for Beginners
An introduction to wool judging [PPT]
Judging wool and mohair
Sheep Diseases A-Z
Lamb cutting diagram
Lamb cuts and what to do with them
Lamb cuts and how to cook them [PDF]
Lamb Cuts [PDF]

Sheep Learning Laboratory Kit [Purchase]
Sheep Resource Handbook [Purchase]

2006 Junior written test
2006 Senior written test
2007 Senior written test
2008 Test

2008 Test Bank [online quiz] | Word file

2006 Senior team problem
2008 Senior team problem


Created or last updated by Susan Schoenian on 23-Dec-2009 .