Small Ruminant
News Release2008 Sheep & Wool Skillathon
A Sheep & Wool Skillathon will be held on Sunday, May 4, 2008, 8 a.m. to 12 noon, at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. The Festival is always held the first full weekend in May at the Howard County Fairgrounds in West Friendship, Maryland. It is sponsored by the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association.
The 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 compete according to their actual (not 4-H) age. Youth ages 8 to 11 compete as juniors; youth ages 12 to 13 compete as intermediates; and youth 14 to 18 compete as seniors.
The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival awards 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.
A Skillathon provides youth with the opportunity to blend knowledge and skills acquired in livestock judging, demonstrations, and care and exhibition of livestock into a single activity. It consists of a series of stations where youth are tested on their knowledge and abilities related to livestock. All of the stations in the Sheep & Wool Skillathon will obviously relate to sheep and wool.Last year’s Sheep & Wool Skillathon consisted of the following stations: equipment ID, disease ID, forage and feed ID, breed ID, meat ID, fleece (wool) judging (Rambouillet fleeces), sheep judging (Romney yearling ewes), hay judging (grass hay), a written test (10 Qs for juniors, 15 Qs for intermediates, and 20 Qs for seniors), and a senior team problem (calculating average daily gain, feed efficiency, cost of gain, and profitability of feeding lambs).
Study resources for Skillathon teams can be found at the Skillathon’s web page at www.sheepandgoat.com/programs/skillathon/skillathon.html.
Sponsors are currently being sought for each of the skillathon stations. Sponsors (individuals, organizations, or businesses) will receive recognition via signage and press. So far, the following companies and organizations have agreed to sponsor stations ($50): Premier Sheep Supplies, Ltd., equipment ID; Sheep! Magazine, breed ID; Frederick County Sheep Breeders Association, sheep judging; and The Delmarva Farmer, undecided.In 2007, the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival hosted the 2nd annual Sheep & Wool Skillathon. Ninety-five (95) youth from six states and nine Maryland counties competed for prizes. The first place junior team was from St. Mary's/Calvert County (MD). Team members included Charlie Sasser, Jason Fore, and Gabrielle Corey. Charlie Sasser was the first place junior individual. Dean Bennett from Carroll County was the second place junior.
The winning intermediate team was the Carroll County (MD) team composed of Brianne and Ryan Hevner and Lukas Zeigler. Patrick Ransom from Frederick County was the first place intermediate individual. Doug McGee from Cecil County was the second place intermediate.
The first place senior team was the Carroll county team composed of Claire Bennett, Troy Bennett, Drew Cashman, and Ashley Hevner. Claire was the first place senior individual for the second year in a row. Rachel Manning was the second place senior and her St. Mary's/Calvert team placed second.For more information, to register individuals or teams for the 2008 contest, or to sponsor one of the Skillathon stations, please contact me at (301) 432-2767 x343 or sschoen@umd.edu. The entry deadline is April 20.
The Sheep & Wool Skillathon is sponsored by University of Maryland Cooperative Extension whose programs are open to all citizens without regard to sex, age, race, color, national origin, religion, or handicap.