ANIMAL SCIENCE ACADEMIC QUADRATHLON

Summary

The University of Georgia was responsible for hosting the 2009 Regional Animal Science Academic Quadrathlon in conjunction with the Southern Section meetings of the American Society of Animal Science. UGA hosted teams from states across the southern region in January, 2009 at the Athens ADS facility. A team fielded by the ADS department at UGA came in first after two days of competition and has therefore qualified for a national quiz bowl competition next February in Texas as part of the National Cattleman's Association.

Situation

The Academic Quadrathlon (AQ) is a competition in which students form teams of four and compete in a two day event with four sections (a practicum, a written exam, a quiz bowl, and oral presentations). This is an excellent way to expose students to all aspects of Animal Science in a cooperative team effort that is also competitive. Winning teams typically travel to a regional competition where they compete against students from other universities. Prior to 2007, the Animal and Dairy Science department at the University of Georgia had not held a departmental AQ for over five years. However, UGA was responsible for hosting the 2009 Regional Animal Science Academic Quadrathlon for the ASAS Southern Section Meetings (January 31, 2009).

Response

In the fall of 2007, a departmental AQ was held to field a team for the 2008 Southern Section Meetings in Dallas/College Station, TX. This involved researching official rules and regulations, promoting the event to students, writing and editing hundreds of questions for quiz bowl rounds and the written exam, and writing current topics for the oral presentations. A team was selected and competed in the 2008 Regional AQ in Texas. Besides being an educational opportunity for the students, this also allowed UGA to interact with the Regional AQ committee for the American Society of Animal Science and observe and take notes on our responsibilities for hosting the 2009 Regional AQ. In the fall of 2008, a departmental committee was organized to orchestrate the annual departmental AQ and provide guidance for hosting the 2009 Regional AQ. The ADS AQ committee has also collaborated with the Poultry Science department to incorporate a poultry section into all areas of the AQ. In January of 2009, the ADS department at UGA served as the host school for the Regional AQ held in conjunction with the Southern Section ASAS meetings in Atlanta, Georgia. In this role, the ADS department was asked to host both the practicum and written exam portions in Athens, as well as provide breakfast and lunch for representative teams across the southern United States.

Impact

Five undergraduate teams participated in the departmental AQ in 2007. Thirteen faculty and staff members and seven graduate students volunteered in official capacities to make the event possible. All teams competed in all four sections and a winning team was announced. The runner-up team traveled to Dallas, TX in February, 2008 to compete in the ASAS Southern Section Meetings (the winning team was unable to attend). The UGA departmental team finished strong. Out of 11 teams, the UGA team finished 3rd in practicum, 4th in quiz bowl, and 7th overall. On October 13 and 14, 2008, six teams participated in the UGA ADS departmental AQ. Eleven faculty members and numerous graduate students helped to coordinate the events, particularly the practicum which is the main responsibility of the hosting school at the Regional AQ. A new station (poultry) was added to the practicum at the departmental AQ thanks to the help and cooperation of Brian Fairchild (Poultry Science Department). In January, 2009 the UGA ADS department successfully hosted both the practicum and written exam portions of the 2009 Regional AQ, as well as had a member serve on the regional committee. In addition to hosting the Regional AQ on January 31, 2009, the UGA ADS department also fielded a team to compete. This team was extremely successful and finished first in the practicum section, first in the quiz bowl, and first overall. By finishing first overall, UGA has qualified to send a team to a national quiz bowl competition held in conjunction with the National Cattleman's Foundation meetings in February of 2010.

Details

• Year: 2009
• Geographic Scope: National
• County: Clarke
• Program Areas:
  • Agriculture & Natural Resources