4-H State Contests
State Contests, held yearly on Utah State University’s campus, is a collection of youth in grades 9 – 12 whose talents have earned them the privilege of competing against each other for the title of being a state champion, often leading them to national competitions.
State Contests offers most topics available in county 4-H clubs and gives youth a reason to excel in the skills 4-H has taught them. Competing on the state level usually means that the youth has already won competitions on the county level. Contests range from Fashion Revue, Shooting Sports, Livestock Competitions, and Technology-related fields such as GPS and Video Production.
State Contests is not just a friendly competition, but also a very social atmosphere. On the last evening of State Contests there is a dance that is followed by a late night party for everyone to relax, and get to know each other after all the competitions!
To register for a State Contest: Proceed to the bottom of the page for registration documents and other important information concerning this event.
Click on the links below each contest description to access forms, guidelines, and rules for the contest.
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4-H Public Speaking – Contestants give a 6-8 minute original speech specifically related to their 4-H experience.
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Congress Interviews – Participants prepare their 4-H Portfolio and submit it to the State 4-H Office by June 1st. The portfolios are then judged and the top individuals will be invited for an interview at State 4-H Contests.
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Consumer Decision Making – Contestants judge four classes of consumer products and participate in one Group Think Activity. During both, they will be making consumer purchasing decisions by deciding which item in each class is best for the given situation.
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Consumer & Family Sciences / Healthy Lifestyles Demo – Give a demonstration or illustrated talk dealing with some phase of home economics, family & consumer sciences, or healthy lifestyles. Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes.
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Dairy Foods Preparation – Prepare a dish in which one or more dairy products is the main ingredient. Present a 15 minute demonstration on the nutritional value, cooking principles, proper storage, along with the preparation of the dish.
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Egg Preparation – Each contestant demonstrates the preparation of a favorite egg dish and presents a finished product. Present a twelve minute demonstration that includes: nutritional information of egg products and the recipe and preparation steps.
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Entrepreneurship – Contestants present a business plan including: the purpose, target market, name, and what finances would be expected to begin the venture.
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Ethnic Foods – Prepare an ethnic dish representing a culture. Present a 15 minute demonstration on the dish and the culture represented along with the preparation of the dish.
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Fashion Consumer Strategies – Select and model an outfit for a set of judges, sharing decisions made in the selection of the outfit. They also demonstrate decision making skills in selecting the most suitable of three outfits. |
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Fashion Revue – Contestants are judged on clothing construction, modeling, fit, confidence, poise, and how well they respond in an interview during the modeling portion. |
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GPS Contest – Individuals participate in four GPS activities: Area Calculation and Mapping, Waypoint Marking and Navigation, Distance Calculation, and knowledge-based interviews.
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Hippology – Contestants will participate in four different phases: examination, station, judging, and team problems.
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Horse Bowl – Participants work as a team to answer various horse science oriented questions.
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Horse Demonstrations – Demonstrations or skills or methods learned in any area in the 4-H Horse Project. Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes in length.
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Horse Judging – Participants evaluate horses. Individual scores will be added to comprise a team score.
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Horse Public Speaking – Participants prepare a 7 - 10 minute, original talk on any appropriate topic related to the horse industry.
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Impromptu Public Speaking – Contestants will give a 3 – 5 minute speech on a randomly selected topic.
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Life Skills Bowl – Participants work as a team to answer various questions from all sections of family consumer sciences: foods & nutrition, clothing & textiles, financial management, consumer decision making, and child care. Study Guide
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Livestock Bowl – Participants work as a team to answer various livestock oriented questions.
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Livestock Judging – Participants evaluate livestock: beef (market and breeding), sheep and swine. Individual scores will be added to comprise a team score.
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Meal Preparation – An individual or team of two prepare and serve a meal for four guests and a judge within a 3-hour time limit. |
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Other Demonstrations – Demonstration dealing with some phase of 4-H, such as personal development, food & nutrition, community development, plant & animals, or self determined projects. Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes.
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Promote 4-H – Contestants identify a non-4-H audience and demonstrate a promotional method, which communicates the ideas or ideals of the 4-H program.
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Quilting Demo – Contestants will construct a quilt and demonstrate a skill or method used in the construction of the quilt. Contestants will be judged on quilt construction and the demonstration. |
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Quick Meal – An individual or team of two prepare and serve a healthy, complete meal in 45 minutes with an additional 15 minutes for clean up. |
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Robotics – A team consisting of 2 people test their robot programming skills by designing and programming Lego Mindstorm Robotics Kits to complete different challenges. Click here to view the gameboard.
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Shooting Sports – Each participant may compete in three shooting activities, an outdoor skills test, and complete a written test. The three shooting activities include: archery, rifle, and shotgun.
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Talent – Participants in the State 4-H Talent Show performance in the categories of dance, piano, variety, vocal, and instrumental. Each performance should not exceed 5 minutes.
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Video Production – Contestants develop a music video using their choice of music and video production techniques including, but not limited to, video footage, still photography, computer animations, or a combination of techniques.
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WHEP- Teams complete to determine which wildelife management proacticies they would use in certain environments, identify wildlife species, and write a wildlife management plan. (Click here to view the Invite Letter). |
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World of Work – Contestants submit a résumé and job application and then interview with human resource professionals. |
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State Contests Registration |
Questions? Contact the Utah State 4-H Office at (888) 4H-YOUTH, or by e-mail.
