The superintendents and teams of each of the PASE contests have been working diligently over past months to come up with a plan for PASE 2020 contents. These have been difficult decisions, to be sure; we appreciate everyone’s support!
As you know, we postponed the contests from June until September. We then surveyed the coaches and 2019 youth participants to determine whether youth/teams would be willing to come to campus, be involved virtually, or opt out. Based on that data, two contests received the highest priority rankings: livestock judging and quiz bowl. Other contests had fewer than ten youth interested in participating. Based these data, available resources, and current COVID-19 guidelines, here are the plans to proceed:
1. Livestock Judging Contest – a proposal is being submitted to UNL Administration to host an in-person event for senior-level participants only on Sunday, September 20 on East Campus. We believe this contest can reasonably be socially distanced and hosting on a Sunday will limit exposure to others on campus during the week. If the proposal is accepted (this is the process for all groups over 50 coming to campus), more details will be shared.
2. Quiz-Bowl – this event will be cancelled for 2020. Given the limitation of existing equipment, it is not feasible to socially distance this event; for 2020, a virtual event is not viable.
3. Skill-a-thon – this event will be cancelled for 2020. It is not feasible to distance this event; a virtual event is not viable.
4. Poultry Judging Contest – this event will be cancelled for 2020. It is not feasible to distance this event; a virtual event is not viable.
5. Meats Judging Contest – this event will be cancelled for 2020. It is not feasible to distance this event and you’ve indicated that a virtual event is not viable.
Again, thanks for everyone for their efforts to provide opportunities for 4-H’ers! It is appreciated. Let us know if there are questions.
Kathleen Lodl
Associate Dean/4-H Program Administrator
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension
211 Ag Hall, Lincoln, NE 68583-0703
402.472.9012 • klodl1@unl.edu