Howard County 4-H Competes in Outdoor Skills Challenge

On Monday, June 10, members of the Howard County 4-H competed in the Arkansas 4-H Outdoor Skills Challenge. This event gives 4-Hers a chance to showcase some of their outdoor skills and was held at the Arkansas 4-H Center in Ferndale. This year at the Outdoor Skills Challenge, Howard County brought one senior team which consisted of Christian Trombley and Cheyanne Marshall. The three junior teams were Brayden Worthen and Guy Kroll, Asher Howard and Rhett Young, and Warren Jones and Hank Bell. These youth represented Howard County very well. The junior teams competed in Atlatl throwing, canoeing, fire building, and knot-tying. The seniors competed in these events plus axe throwing.

An atlatl is a tool used to throw a spear or dart at a greater velocity than what most people can do by hand. These 4-Hers were judged on the distance that their dart traveled. The course was 50 yards long. If the dart went past 50 yards, no points were awarded. Warren Jones and Hank Bell won the junior division in atlatl and Guy Cooper Kroll and Brayden Worthen placed second. Canoeing was after atlatl in the rotation. For this competition, the team had to pull their canoe in the water, turn around and paddle towards some buoys, make a figure 8 around them, and paddle back. This was a timed competition. the time started when the front of the boat got in the water and the time stopped when the back of the boat came out of the water. Asher Howard and Rhett Young took first place in this competition.

Next was fire building. This year the competitors were given a flint fire starter. They had to find things to get their fire going and build one high enough to burn through a string that sat a foot above the ground. The quickest team to burn through the string were the winners. Howard and Young placed third in this event. The fourth event was knot-tying. They had to identify some knots that were already tied and then they were given some string and had to tie some knots themselves. This was difficult as these are not knots that we use every day. This event was judged on accuracy. Howard and Young also took third place for this event and they ended the day as the first-place overall team in the junior division and won some camping chairs.

Our senior team also did very well in the competition. They had to compete in the same events as the juniors, plus axe throwing. The axe throwing is where they started. They were throwing axes from 15 feet away and trying to stick the axes into a target. It sounds simple, but getting the axe to stick can be difficult. The next challenge they did was the atlatl. They were judged with the same criteria as the junior division. Christian Trombley and Cheyanne Marshall placed first in this event. In the canoeing event, they placed third. In the fire building, they started off slow getting their fire to start, but they quickly built it up enough to burn the string and got second in this event. They placed first in knot tying. Our seniors did well and had some great competition. The senior team brought home third overall.

If you are interested in participating in these activities or joining 4-H, please contact our office at 870-845-7517 or visit us on the second floor of the Howard County Courthouse. Ask for Samantha Horn or Dawson Bailey. The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.