Academic Quadrathlon

What is Academic Quadrathlon? The Academic Quadrathlon is a competition held at the local, regional, and national levels. Teams of four are made up of university undergraduate students. Winning teams move up to the next level of competition which will be a combined Southern/Western section meeting in Arlington Texas April 5-8^th, 2025. The national winning team is determined at the American Society of Animal Science national meeting in Hollywood Florida July 6-10.

How does it work? Teams participate in four events: Laboratory Practicum, Written Exam, Oral Presentation, and Quiz Bowl.
In the Laboratory Practicum, the team demonstrates its ability to perform physical skills. Work at each station lasts 15 minutes and involves the entire team. The work at each station usually involves a species such as beef or swine or a disciplinary area such as nutrition or meats. We will be travelling to the animal units on plantation road for hands-on experiences. The Written Exam will a 30-minute time limit. The questions may involve any area related to animal production and products. Each team works on one exam, dividing the questions as they wish. In the Oral Presentation, the students may choose from a list of topics related to animal agriculture. They have a set amount of time to prepare the presentation. This is an exercise in cooperative problem solving. In the Quiz Bowl, questions may be on any topic that relates to animal agriculture and that are answerable in a short period of time. Each round is made up of "toss up" questions. After a series of "toss up" questions, teams can earn the chance to get extra points on a "bonus" question. Toss up questions must be answered individually. For bonus question, individuals may confer with their team. Quiz games will be organized as double elimination tournament. New this year, we’ll host the championship round of quiz bowl on a separate evening (with popcorn and snacks for our invited audience!).

Who can be on a team? Any current undergraduates (including those that graduate in December) from ANY major! Diversify your team with a wide range of animal species experience.

Want to learn more? Natalie Slone will host an informational session at 5pm on Thursday October 17^th for those who may have questions & to allow those interested in participating to mingle with others and form their teams! We additionally have a zoom option using zoom ID 5402314366. This will be a SHORT meeting because it’s before a home football game (GO HOKIES!) but will allow for Q&A and networking to build teams.

How to enter: Get your team together, or part of your team, or sign up as an individual to be assigned to fill in holes on teams, using this Google form by 5pm Thursday October 31^st. https://forms.gle/7u6Vjy1Qbtep5mNR7

Contact the VT Academic Quadrathlon Coordinator - Natalie Slone at nbduncan@vt.edu - with any questions.