So You Want to Get Started in 4-H Horse Bowl

Transcription

1 So You Want to Get Started in 4-H Horse Bowl Lessa Massman, Karen L. Waite Revised January 2001

2 Introduction to Horse Bowl The Michigan 4-H Horse Bowl program began in It has continued to gain popularity ever since. It provides an excellent opportunity for 4-H members to learn more about horses in a fun and exciting way. Horse Bowl is patterned after the popular College Quiz Bowl. Except that all questions pertain to the subject of horses. A Horse Bowl team consists of six members, two being alternates. Two teams compete at a time. Each member is provided with a button connected to an electronic buzzer system; a question is read; when a member of either team thinks they know the answer, they signal by pressing their button; a correct answer receives points; an incorrect answer causes points to be deducted. At the end of the round, usually consisting of twenty to fifty questions, the team with the highest score is declared the winner. I. Objectives of 4-H Horse Bowl The objectives of the 4-H Horse bowl are to encourage young people to: 1) Obtain a more complete knowledge of horses and related subjects 2) To provide an educational horse program for all young people interested in horses, including those who do not own a horse 3) To help young people develop alertness and selfconfidence; and to demonstrate their knowledge of the horse and equine related subjects in a competitive setting where attitudes of friendliness and fairness prevail 4) To provide an educational experience for both participants and spectators alike II. Getting a Program Started in Your County First you will need someone to serve as a coach. Ideally, a local veterinarian, horse show judge or science teacher will volunteer. Unfortunately, this is seldom the case. The coach often turns out to be one of the member s parents, usually one without an extensive horse background. If the coach s knowledge is less than adequate to answer questions asked by members, an occasional visit by a knowledgeable horse person or veterinarian can be very helpful. The coach should have all the qualities of a good 4-H leader. He/she should always encourage all of the members including the slower ones. They should never ridicule or embarrass the members for a wrong

3 answer or for asking a silly question. After all, Horse Bowl is designed to be a constructive learning process. Each person interested in becoming a Horse Bowl contestant should be provided with the proper reference material as described in the current years Michigan 4-H Horse Jamboree Guidelines, available from your County Extension Office. Announcements through the county 4-H horse council (board or committee) should be made that a Horse Bowl program is being started. If your county has a 4-H newsletter, it is helpful to place an announcement there, too. Doing some of the activities listed under Local Competitions (Section VI) may help spark some interest among members. III. Buzzer Systems Buzzer systems range from as elaborate as those used at the official state competitions to as simple as a bell or push button flashlight. For most counties getting started, a simple system will have to do. Basically, anything that can signal which person knows the answer first will be sufficient. Counties can start by having members raise their hand when they know the correct answer to a question. This will be adequate for only the first few meetings, after that, a more accurate system will be needed. Any of the following ideas may work in your county: ß Provide each member with a push button flashlight. They will push the on button when they know the correct answer. ß Provide each member with a bell or noisemaker of a different tone. Member will signal when they know the correct answer. ß A simple system with buttons and lights can be made for fewer than thirty dollars. Relays (which lock out all but the first person to push their button) can be added to homemade systems for an additional amount. ß Systems may also be purchased, but can be expensive. IV. Study Ideas Newcomers to Horse Bowl often have difficulty in knowing how to get started. The glossaries, located in several of the reference books, are an excellent place to get started. After these terms have been mastered, key words and concepts located with in the text can provide a good source of questions. Because of the vast amount of reference material, many members feel it is an impossible task to learn all that is required. They may become disillusioned before they even start. Assigning specific subject areas before each workout will help alleviate this problem. Be sure to change the subject area studied each time, as each member will find certain areas difficult, boring or easy for them personally. Writing questions and testing them on one another will also help members develop communication skills as they learn what constitutes a good (or bad) horse bowl question. Writing questions can be extremely

4 time consuming. Assigning each member to write a few questions each time will prevent the responsibility from being pushed on to one person, as well as aid in the leaning process. When team members live a distance from each other, setting up frequent workouts can become a problem. Taping questions on cassettes and mailing them out to the members once a week will help. To add some variety to the workouts, ask a speaker such as a judge, veterinarian or horse trainer to come and give a short lecture. It will be even more beneficial if members have been preparing a list of questions they would like answered prior to the speaker s visit. V. Divisions Junior Horse Bowl Contestants; contestants must be at least 9 years of age on December 31 of the current year and not more than 14 years of age on December 31 of the current contest year. Junior Novice Horse Bowl Contestants; those who have never competed in a Regional or State Horse Bowl, Novice teams are ineligible for the State Finals at the State 4-H Horse Jamboree. Participants can compete as a novice for a maximum of 2 calendar years. Senior Horse Bowl Contestants; Contestants must be at least 15 years of age on December 31 of the current contest year and not be more than 19 years of age on December 31 of the current contest year. Senior contestants may not have participated in official post secondary university, college or technical school competitive events of a similar nature in the equine subject matter area. Senior Novice Horse Bowl Contestants; those who have never competed in a State or Regional Horse Bowl Contest, they must be at least 15 years of age but not over 19 during the current calendar year. Novice teams are ineligible for the State Finals at the State 4-H Horse Jamboree. Participants can compete as a novice for a maximum of 2 calendar years. VI. Types of Competitions Local: Although most of the material presented in this booklet is based on regional or state competitions, contests held at the local level may prove to be the most rewarding of all.

5 Rules for local competitions may be set up at the discretion of the committee in charge. Rules should be kept clear and simple. It is usually helpful to follow the general 4-H Horse Bowl format. Various types of competitions may be held at the county or even at the club level. Many 4-H horse clubs have found that Horse Bowl is a fun and exciting way to learn the variety of material presented to them. Members generally find it a welcome change from the usual lecture format. In some counties, each club has a team. During the winter, about once a month, a friendly competition is held between the various clubs. Leaders find the knowledge their members have gained through this type of program to be absolutely amazing. Several county fairs also include some sort of horse knowledge contest as an event. It usually draws a large number of entries. Holding a contest between the 4-H members and their leaders can be an exceptional crowd pleaser. Beginning a horse bowl program at the local level can be a valuable teaching tool for all members as well as sparking interest in organizing a team to compete at the regional or state level. Regional: There are four Regional competitions held annually in Michigan. Counties are allowed to enter the contest that is designated for their particular county. Regional competitions are held within the region itself. The regions are divided as follows: Southeast Region: Eligible counties; Huron, Tuscola, Sanilac, Saginaw, Genesee, Shiawassee, Lapeer, St. Clair, Ingham, Livingston, Oakland, Macomb, Jackson, Wayne, Washtenaw, Hillsdale, Lenawee, Monroe Southwest Region: Eligible counties; Muskegon, Kent, Montcalm, Gratiot, Ottawa, Ionia, Clinton, Allegan, Barry, Eaton, Van Buren, Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Berrien, Cass, St. Joseph, Branch, Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta, Northern Region: Eligible counties; All the remaining counties in northern lower Michigan, north of Oceana, Newaygo, Mecosta Gratiot and Saginaw counties and also U.P. counties of Chippewa and Mackinac Upper Peninsula Region: Eligible counties; all of the counties in the Upper Peninsula, except Chippewa and Mackinac.

6 State: The State Horse Bowl competition is held annually in conjunction with the State 4-H Horse Jamboree, held at Michigan State University. The Jamboree is held on a Saturday. Only the 1 st and 2 nd and 3 rd place teams from each of the four Regional Competitions are eligible to compete. For those counties who did not have enough members for a complete team, an individual competition is held during Jamboree. National: The National 4-H Horse Bowl contests are held annually at The Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup, Louisville, Kentucky and American Quarter Horse Congress, Columbus, Ohio. The 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd place teams, from Jamboree, are chosen to represent Michigan at these contests. VII. Rules Rules are updated and changed annually. A current set of rules should be obtained through your county 4-H agent or through the State Extension Horse Specialist if your county plans on attending Regional competitions. VIII. Scoring Scoring is done according to the following chart. Additional information on scoring is also included in the State 4-H Horse Jamboree Handbook. Point Value Chart (Team and Individual Competitions) Correct Answers: 1) Individual/One-to-One Questions- Correct Answer 2pts 2) Regular Open Question- Correct Answer 1pt 3) Team Toss-Up Question- Correct Answer 1pt 4) Senior Team Bonus- 100% Correct 3pts 5) Junior Team Bonus- 100% Correct 2pts 6) Junior Team Bonus- 50% Correct 1pt 7) Team Participation Bonus- Full Team Participation 2pts 8) Won Game Bonus 2pts Incorrect Answers: 1) Any Type of Question (except bonus) - incorrect answer -1pt 2) Any Type of Question- light on, no response/answer -2pts 3) Any Type of Question- light on, answered out of turn -2pts 4) Acknowledgement Penalty- not acknowledged -1 pt

7 IX. Questions Questions should test member s general understanding of the material. Questions should serve as a learning aid. Questions commonly consist of definitions, important concepts and relevant details. Those questions consisting of unimportant minute detail are of little value in the learning process. X. Types of Questions Used at Competitions Individual Question: A question that may be answered by on specific individual. The first eight questions will be for each individual seated. The moderator will identify the chair designated to answer each question. Each question has a plus two-point value. One to One Questions: A question that is designated to a specific chair on each team (Question #9 is designated to the #1 chairs of each team.) These two chairs are then only ones allowed to answer the question. The question has a plus two-point value. Open Question: A regular question that is open to all contestants seated, usually requiring one answer. Occasionally, two or three simple answers are needed. All required answers must be correct. These questions have a plus one-point value. Toss up Question: A question that has a bonus question attached. They often have two of more required answers. All answers must be correct to receive credit. Half points will not be awarded when only 50% of the multiple answers of the toss-up are correct. If the toss-up is answered incorrectly, the next regular question(s) become a toss-up until one is answered correctly. The missed bonus is then attached to the correctly answered toss-up. A toss-up has a plus one-point value. Bonus Questions: A question requiring multiple answers or a more difficult explanation. This is a free question given to the team that has correctly answered the toss-up to which it was attached. Only the required number of answers will be accepted. If there are 5 required answers, only the first 5 will be accepted. They will be used exclusively in the open question part of all games. Bonus points count toward the team s score alone (never the individual s score). Tie Breaker Question: Sets of five regular questions designated to break team or individual ties.

8 XI. Horse Bowl Staff Extra Questions: Questions used by the judges as replacement questions for question that was misread or for any other reason determined by the judges. A sample set of questions and filing key is included in the appendix. Referee: This qualified person will be the game official and act as referee in the interpretation of the game rules pertaining to game procedure, challenges etc. In the event a ruling is needed on a problem or dispute not covered in the current rules- the referee will preside as chairman of a committee made of the Horse Bowl Staff (judges, scorekeepers, moderator, acknowledger, timer) and any other event staff member that they feel necessary to help solve the problem. Judges: There will be three (3) judges seated on the panel. It is suggested that the judge s panel include a Veterinarian, a qualified horse show judge, an Extension Horse Specialist, 4-H Youth agent, Program Assistant or any knowledgeable horse person. Their responsibilities will be to determine whether or not the answers given are technically correct according to the way the question is written, or if the answer is not the expected answer, whether or not the answer given can be accepted or not. Acknowledger/Timer: This person s responsibility is to acknowledge the contestant once their light comes on. In the event that a contestant answers without being acknowledged, it will be the duty of the acknowledger to determine if the contestant had been acknowledged and whether or not a 1(one) point penalty is warranted. Some controls do not require an acknowledger. Scorekeepers: It will be the responsibility of the scorekeepers to tabulate the score of each team, and each individual contestant in the competition. Five scorekeepers will be needed-two keeping score on blackboards, two Official scorekeepers keeping a written score and one scorekeeper to tabulate the team and individual scores into the records. Moderator: The responsibility of the moderator will be to read the questions. Some knowledge of horse terminology may be helpful. This person also needs to be a good clear reader who can follow the rules as set forth in the Game Rules. Control Operator and Timer: The responsibilities of the control operator and timer will be to operate controls and be responsible for

9 all time elements involved in the rules of the game. Some controls have timing equipment built into the system and the control operator also becomes the timer. If electrical timing is not included with the controls, a timer will be needed to operate a separate set of timers or stop watches. Holding Room Supervisors: Four supervisors will be needed. One junior and one senior supervisor will stay in the holding room or rooms during the first round of questions. Their responsibilities will be to 1) Supervise the teams who have not played 2) To not let members or coaches leave room during a round (emergencies excepted). 3) To account for all members on teams who have not played in a round 4) To not allow parents, friends or other people to enter the room during the round. The other two supervisors (1 junior and 1 senior) will accompany the first four teams to their game rooms. They will stay with the teams until question #22 is read. They will then leave the game room and return to the holding room to get the next four teams. Once a round is completed the supervisors may trade places, so that the two supervisors do not have to stay in the holding room all day. By trading off, they will each have an opportunity to see some of the games. Holding rooms will need to be far enough away from the game rooms so that questions will not be heard in the holding rooms. XII. Additional Information If you have any questions or need additional information you may contact your county 4-H Extension Agent or Karen Waite, Equine Extension Youth Specialist, Department of Animal Science, 1287 Anthony Hall, East Lansing, Michigan, , or (517) , or at kwaite@msu.edu