Every year, the best and the brightest from colleges all across America come prepared to do battle against each other to see who reigns supreme.
Is it March Madness? The BCS Championship?
How about the STMA Student Collegiate Challenge.
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It may lack the high-profile national identity and broadcast television coverage of those other collegiate events (and probably provides considerably less water cooler talk), but within the world of irrigation and turf management, it is rapidly growing in stature.
The ultimate competitive prize for collegiate students gearing up for future careers in sports field management, the Student Collegiate Challenge was first held in 2005 and has already established itself as the top honor for undergraduates in this field of endeavor.
This past January, the third annual Student Collegiate Challenge took place during the 18th Annual Sports Turf Managers Association Conference and Exhibition at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. Two separate levels of competition were held, with champions crowned at both the four-year and two-year college levels.
Hunter Commits as Event’s Only Sponsor
The Student Collegiate Challenge is presented in partnership between the Foundation for Safer Athletic Field Environments (SAFE) and Hunter Industries. SAFE was established by the Sports Turf Managers Association to support sports field specific research, educational programs, and environmental concerns to promote user safety.
Hunter is the Student Collegiate Challenge’s sole corporate sponsor. It’s an event that the company chose to affiliate with because of Hunter’s longstanding commitment to forging an alliance between industry and academia.
“Hunter is deeply committed to the future of the irrigation industry,” said Lynda Wightman, Hunter Industries National Specification Manager and a longtime member of the STMA. “Our company takes every opportunity to work in tandem with institutions of higher learning to help develop and nurture the skills of those who will be a part of the next generation of professionals in the industry. The Student Collegiate Challenge is an ideal way to do that.”
Number of Competitors Continues to Grow
A total of 91 students comprising 26 teams for various colleges and universities participated in a written exam on athletic turf and sports field management topics. Among the categories upon which teams were tested included the identification of various plants, insects, diseases and weeds, as well as a written case study and, of course, irrigation.
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In the inaugural year of the event, only 15 teams were entered. With the expanding number of competing schools, 2007 was the first year that separate champions were crowned in both two- and four-year college divisions.
The two winning teams each received a $4,000 grant to fund a practical learning lab at their campus from SAFE.
The 2007 four-year program champion was the University of Tennessee. Team members Lucas Freshour, Will Jellicorse, Tyler Mittlesteadt, and Stuart Morris excelled in the matching, multiple choice, and identification sections of the test, helping edge out second place Iowa State and third place Penn State.
In the two-year program, Mt. San Antonio College of Walnut, California (Julio Carbajal, Mike Reed, Ed Schmactenberger, David Wolfsbauer) took top honors. Second place went to Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College of Tifton, Georgia.
The Student Collegiate Challenge is always held in conjunction with the STMA’s annual conference. Previous competitions were held in Orlando (2006) and Phoenix (2005). The fourth annual Student Collegiate Challenge will be held January 16-20, 2008 at the Civic Plaza Convention Center in Phoenix.
For more information on the Student Collegiate Challenge, visit the STMA Web site at www.sportsturfmanager.org.
For more information on Hunter Industries, contact a local authorized Hunter distributor or visit Hunter on the internet at www.HunterIndustries.com.