Florida State Fair Champion of Champions Program

By the time students throughout the state of Florida head off to school, 4-H and FFA students have already had a full morning of caring for their special animal projects. As the primary care givers, students take on the responsibility of feeding, walking and otherwise raising the animals to their full potential. These dedicated young individuals are part of a special program known as the Champion of Champions.
Years ago, the Florida State Fair in conjunction with the University of Florida developed the Champion of Champions program. This program allows for students to participate in a four year rotation in which they learn information related directly to their animal project. Over this four year rotation period students learn about nutrition and reproduction for their animals, how to correctly market the animal as well as useful skills, such as knot tying. Materials for these educational courses are provided to each student by the Florida State Fair. The educational component which is a large part, prepares the students each year to participate as a youth exhibitor in the livestock portion of the Florida State Fair. Participation in this particular program has increased by more than 85 % since its inception, and shows no signs of slowing down.
It is amazing to see a young individual take on a complex project of raising an animal rather than sitting in front of a video game. It takes great determination and dedication to grow these animals to their max potential and to also take on the educational components involved. One youth exhibitor stated, “It is a tremendous learning experience for me. I thought all I had to do was lead an animal around a show ring. I soon found out there was much more to this project”.
The premise of the Champion program is for the youth exhibitors to earn points which are converted to money and Achievement Premiums after the Fair. The youth exhibitors may do this by participating in various educational activities throughout the fair. This is their opportunity to show off the hard work and time they have put into their animals. All activities were designed to give the youth exhibitors a better understanding of their project. Each year there are about nine activities in which they can participate. These activities range from attending educational seminars, creating an educational poster, showmanship competition and the popular Skilathon. In the Skilathon, the youth exhibitors take a timed test covering the knowledge they have learned from the provided Skilathon manual.
Champion of Champions offers a special opportunity for the youth who are mentally or academically challenged by eliminating the time limit on certain activities, as well as providing a mentor to assist. This allows these youths to compete with their friends and still have a chance to win.
At the end, the points are totaled within each species and the top four seniors with the highest number of points are announced as the Champion Youth. They are awarded savings bonds ranging from $1,000.00 for highest point individual to $250.00 for 4th place individual. The Intermediate and Junior high point individuals are also announced and awarded $100.00 savings bonds. At this point the competition the top four senior winners in each of the eight species continue on to the final Champion of Champions competition which is held on the last day of the Fair in the Special Events center. This round robin competition requires these winners to display their skills and knowledge in all eight species of livestock production.
During Champion of Champions awards banquet where exhibitors, sponsors, parents, 4 – H Leaders, FFA Teachers, committee members, and staff join to recognize the winners. At the conclusion of the awards presentations, the top 6 winners of the round robin competition are recognized with trophies and savings bonds as follows: 1st place Champion of Champions - $3,000.00, 2nd place - $2,500.00, 3rd place - $2,000.00, 4th place - $1,500.00, 5th place - $1,000.00, 6th place - $500.00.
At the 2010 Florida State Fair Youth Exhibitors earned more than $150,000.00 in Achievement Premiums and Savings Bonds, in addition to the animal premiums of over $167,000.00.
The Champion of Champions program trains today’s youth to become our agricultural leaders of tomorrow. This program takes a lot of work and support from a large number of people. University staffs, sponsors, parents, volunteers and the dedicated board members of the Florida State Fair Authority, all support the program.
The 2011 Florida State Fair dates are February 10th through 21st. The Florida State Fair – “The Best Time of the Year” – is organized by the Florida State Fair Authority under the leadership of Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
For further information on the Champion of Champions program, please contact Vina Jean Banks, Director of Agribusiness, 813-627- 4338 or VinaJean.Banks@freshfromflorida.com.