- Author: Lorin Hofmann-Lurz
Thanks to the guidance and support of committed adult 4-H volunteers, the California 4-H teams have placed first in the National Avian Bowl 19 times, and second 7 times since 1989. See the full list of results.
This year, besides California, there were 12 other state teams vying for the title of National Avian Bowl Champions. Other states that were represented were Alaska, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, New York, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Illinois.
2017 National Avian Bowl Champions
Our 4-H Avian Bowl team took first place in the National Avian Bowl competition, held November 15-16, 2017 at the 2017 National 4-H Egg and Poultry Conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
About our team
What's unique about our Avian Bowl team is that they have to coordinate with each other remotely, since they are from different clubs and counties. Congratulations to Abby Milanesa of Buena Vista 4-H club, Kayla Hurt from Paso Robles and Siana Barrett from Dos Palos for their great accomplishment!
What was it like to compete?
”The Avian Bowl was three hours of extreme stress” said Abby. “We competed head to head against the Georgia, Minnesota, New York and Ohio teams. We lost to Ohio, but beat New York so then we faced Ohio again and then we had to beat them twice in a row for the win,” the 15 year old continued, “There were approximately 150 people watching the contest in a room. I studied the guide a lot and practiced in person and via Skype with my teammates for nearly a year. Our coach was my dad (Dan Milanesa) and he designed the custom shirts that we wore. They have the words California Avian Bowl and a quail embroidered on them.”
Big thank you to Dr. Francine Bradley
About the Avian Bowl
An Avian Bowl is a double-elimination knowledge bowl based on poultry-related subject matter. 4-H members from any state who want to compete must use the Clemson University study guide to prepare and have at least 2 team members. This year's topics included embryology, biosecurity, understanding food poisoners and several other avian subjects. Each state hosts a qualifier event in which senior teams (14-18 year olds) compete against each other. Questions vary and team contestants must use a buzzer to answer the questions to earn points.
More than a competition
In addition to competing in a national competition, the participants also have the opportunity to meet people from many other parts of the country, hear from experts in the poultry industry, and tour many well-known sites such as Churchill Downs and the Louisville Slugger factory. These activities are sponsored by the poultry and egg industry as part of the conference.
The conference also features Poultry Judging contests, an Egg Preparation contest and Chicken and Turkey BBQ contests for hundreds of qualified teenagers from across the United States.
For more information
See our past blog post, "California 4-H team goes to Nationals" to read more about competing at the National Avian Bowl.
If you would like more information about 4-H avian projects, please contact DeAnn Tenhunfeld at dtenhunfeld@ucanr.edu.
- Author: Tara Schnetz
When you hear the term “Avian Bowl,” it may conjure up images of rolling a frozen chicken or turkey down a lane to knock down pins. If you are a 4-H member you probably know what Avian Bowl really means, and it is an admirable and challenging event!
The California team was composed of four teens from El Dorado County, members of the Dusty Dividers 4-H club. The four-person team was made up by Zachary and Kyle Schnetz from Georgetown and Hannah and Jesiah Neff of Greenwood. Months of hard practice and study paid off as they competed in the national event at University of Kentucky on November 17th. What is significant is that the California team came in second in the nationals. In the final championship round, California lost to Wisconsin.
What is Avian Bowl?
Avian Bowl is a 4-H quiz game to encourage youth to expand their knowledge of avian facts. The competitors study from a large manual, often creating sample questions and conducting practice rounds. They learn about ratites, embryology, poultry and egg markets, the commercial poultry industry, breeds, and more. Competitors buzz in and answer questions, thus they either receive or lose points depending on their answers. The team with the highest points is the winner. The teams can range from 2-4 members. The current team members have been competing in Avian Bowl for around three years, with their older siblings previously attending the national competition.
Getting to the National Competition
The process of getting to the nationals is quite daunting as well. After winning the State title in the qualifying competition in Fresno, they advanced to the national competition held at the National Poultry and Egg Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. California seeded second in the written test. In the first round where they participated, California played New York with a win of 35 to 5. They moved on to play Kentucky winning 10 to 0. In the third round they played Wisconsin, the team that had seeded first. They lost 10 to 45. They tied (making everyone nervous) but Wisconsin broke ahead and won the tiebreaker round and championship. This put the California team in second to the very competitive and deserving champions.
Congratulations Avian Bowl Team!
Note: The State 4-H office was able to help with funding the team to attend the national competition because of the generosity of donors to the California 4-H Foundation. Thank you for your support!
