Coach: Dr. Tracy Scheffler
tscheffler@ufl.edu 

Four students work together as a team for 4 events: lab practicum, written test, quiz bowl, and oral presentation. The competition is designed to test students' knowledge, hands-on/practical skills, communication ability, and problem-solving. Material and activities relate to livestock and companion animals, as well as various discipline areas, such as reproduction, meat science, and behavior.

The breadth of skills and knowledge makes this a very challenging competition. Ideally, students will be close to completing their degree or have significant experience in coursework or other animal science-related experiences. Additionally, because it is truly a team event, it is beneficial if the students have strengths in different species and discipline areas.

The competition is typically held over two days (weekend) in late January in conjunction with the Southern section meeting of the American Society of Animal Science (SS-ASAS; location changes by year). Each university is allowed one team for the regional competition (students can only compete at the regional competition one time), and the winning team advances to the national competition, which is held in conjunction with the national ASAS meeting.

2023 Team

The 2023 team included Jordan Bishman, Douglas Natoce, Emma Schoenfeld, and Gina Tran.

Overall placing: 5th (out of 11 teams)
Lab practicum: 3rd
Quiz bowl: 9th
Written exam: 6th
Oral presentation: 1st

The 2024 competition will be held January 27 & 28 in Louisville, KY.

Coaches: Emily Lindner & Dr. Emily Miller-Cushon

lindneremilye@ufl.edu
emillerc@ufl.edu 

The Animal Welfare Assessment Team competes at the AVMA Animal Welfare Assessment Contest (AWJAC) each fall semester. The competition is made up of a written and oral reasoning component. Students are required to enroll in ANS4605 (1 credit) during the fall semester to develop skills and acquire knowledge to be successful in the competition. Practice times are determined shortly after the fall semester begins once students' schedules are finalized. Practices range from 1.5-2 hours a week, with an additional 2-3 hours outside of practices for independent research.

November 2022 was the first time UF sent an undergraduate team to the Animal Welfare Assessment Contest. The team placed 10th overall in their division and 8th in their division for live assessment reasonings.

Coaches: Jesse Savell and Allyson Trimble
sanspur@ufl.edu
trimbleak@ufl.edu 

The Brahman Show team is an opportunity for our students to get more hands-on cattle experience while helping promote our department's brahman herd. In the Fall students will help with the halter-breaking process of the cattle and will prep them for the show season that takes place in the Spring semester. Students are expected to work with the cattle a minimum of 3 nights per week. During the Spring semester students will enroll in 1 credit of ANS 4605.

Coach: Dr. Saundra TenBroeck

sht@ufl.edu

This is a 1 credit course that is both intra- and extracurricular. This course will focus on preparing students to correctly evaluate a horse in several disciplines. By the end of the semester, the student should be able to effectively evaluate and truthfully defend their opinion of a horse in each discipline. Successful completion of this course implies the student will be able to:
1) Write and deliver oral sets of reasons.
2) Score in the 90th percentile in placing classes.
3) Make decisions quickly and confidently
4) Comfortably speak in front of a group
5) Compete successfully at the intercollegiate level.

Team members practice a minimum of 2 evenings per week with some Saturday workouts. The course can be repeated and is typically a spring-to-fall sequence with two contests in the spring and two in the fall. No prior experience is necessary.

Coach: Allyson Trimble
trimbleak@ufl.edu 

Students on the team will begin competing in the Spring and will finish in the Fall semester. The team will typically travel to two contests per semester. We practice a minimum of two nights a week, with occasional weekend practices and events. Students who are traveling with the team are required to enroll in 1 credit of ANS 4605 each semester.

Participating on an intercollegiate judging team is a great opportunity to travel the country, network with industry leaders, make new friends and diversify your skill set.

Coaches: Dr. Chad Carr & Kyle Mendes

chadcarr@ufl.edu
kmendes15@ufl.edu

More info to come!