Contests and Opportunities

Our programming empowers youth to be healthy – body and mind – with the skills to make healthy decisions and lead healthy lifestyles. Having the confidence and skills to lead healthy lifestyles not only improves overall well-being; it enables youth to tackle life’s challenges today and become leaders in their lives, careers, and communities as they grow into responsible adulthood.

Mind: Social and Emotional Well-Being 

4‑H’s Healthy Living programs provide youth with a better understanding of how their choices can help themselves, their families, and their communities. 4‑H helps youth build a firm foundation that encourages good decision-making and strong interpersonal skills with programs focused on substance abuse prevention and mental health issues. Social-emotional health is the cornerstone to confident, caring young leaders who understand how to take care of their minds and inner being, which is key to holistic well-being.

Body: Fitness, Health, Nutrition and Safety

4‑H fitness, health, nutrition, and safety programs help youth understand the importance of eating right and being active within a safe environment. Mastering basic health principles place young people on the right track to developing healthy habits now as well as managing their long-term health.

Healthy Living Ambassador 

Would you like to be a 4-H Healthy Living Ambassador? Your job would be to provide healthy living activities for 4-H clubs and maybe even help out with some County 4-H programs to promote healthier lifestyles. Lots of activities that may be used are listed on this page. If you find additional resources, let us know so we can share with the other 4-H Health Ambassadors!

Lessons from our 4-H Projects

Healthy Living Projects

Nutrition Jeopardy

Make your own Nutrition Jeopardy by using a poster board or find a template online. You can also borrow the one we have at the Maryland State 4-H Office.

Healthy Snack Resources

Health Rocks! Activities & Games

Up For the Challenge Activities

  • Let’s Play Outside
  • In Beat
  • Cooperative Play

Handouts-Free

Other Resources

  • Lost your Healthy Living Ambassador Activity Book? Redownload it Here.
  • Media Smart

Goal Setting

  • Set SMART Healthy Behavior Goal!
  • Track your weekly progress
  • Nutrition Pledge Cards - Generic
  • Healthy Living Challenge
  • Get Up and Moving
  • Growing Up Healthy
  • Numbers to Live By

Events

2024 4-H Public Speaking Contest

Contest Details

  • Date:  Saturday, April 27, 2024
  • Time:  Check-in at 10:00 am, Awards Program at 3:00 pm
  • Location:  University of Maryland, College Park, MD
  • Registration Closes:  April 10, 2024
  • Entry Fee: $5.00 per youth contestant. 
    County/city 4-H programs will be invoiced for contestants after registration closes.

Eligibility

Youth who received Champion placing for their age division at their 2024 local public speaking contest are eligible to participate. Each county/city 4-H program may register one youth contestant per age division in each category.

How to Register

Registration for this event is through 4-H Online. The contest is restricted to youth members who earned a Champion placing in their local Public Speaking contest.

Each eligible youth’s registration must be initiated by their county/city 4-H Online Manager. Families cannot start their registrations. This restriction prevents ineligible 4-Hers from registering for the event.

Once a 4-H Online Manager initiates the registration, the family must complete and submit it. The submitted registration must be verified and approved by the county/city 4-H Online Manager to forward to the State 4-H Office. 

To initiate registration for a qualified youth participant (county/city Champion), a 4-H Online Manager should follow these steps:

  1. From the Members tab, search for the youth member’s name. Click the name to open the member’s profile.
  2. Click Member List to view the family profile’s full member list.
  3. Click Events to view all open events.  Locate the Public Speaking contest event and click Register.
  4. Select the youth from the list of family members.
  5. Select the youth’s age division and click Start Registration. Registration will open.
  6. STOP.  The registration has now been initiated, and its status is incomplete.
  7. Notify the family that you have started the registration; they need to finish and submit it before the due date. The family will also receive an automated system email notifying them that a registration has been initiated.
  8. Follow up with the family and assist as needed. Once the registration is submitted, it must be approved by a county/city 4-H Online Manager to release it for State approval.

Families can find an Event Registration “how-to” guide on the Maryland 4-H website. This guide can inform families how to submit their registration once it has been initiated by a 4-H Online Manager (see Step 12). It is also available to Managers on the 4-H Online Support Page in the AGNR Groups. Managers are strongly encouraged to review the family help guide and share it with families submitting a registration for this event.

All event registrations must be submitted by 11:59 pm on April 10, 2024. Registrations must be verified and approved by local 4-H offices by Friday, April 12.  

Contact event coordinator Navonne Owen nowen@umd.edu if you have questions about the event. Submit questions about 4-H Online registration or processing through the 4-H Online Support portal.

Rules

How Do I Enter the Contest?

  • Please remember the State 4-H Public Speaking Contest is for eligible youth who received a Champion or Reserve Champion placing in Prepared, Radio Spot, Interpretation, Extemporaneous or Visual Presentation and Demonstration at a 2024 county/city level public speaking contest.
  • You must identify your primary 4-H membership county to enter this contest.
  • Entries will be accepted via 4-H online.
  • Contestant information will be collected through 4-H online.
  • Each 4-H member must be entered individually.
  • The entry deadline is April 10, 2024, by 11:59 pm.

To register, go to 4-H Online. 

One of the many life skills that 4-H offers youth is effective public speaking. This skill, along with many others, helps to build confidence and leadership. Public speaking fosters creativity, critical thinking skills, leadership abilities, poise, and professionalism, valuable for the job market and life. Public speaking is an individual development experience. The speaker's own growth, measured against their own previous experience and accomplishments, is the most important feature of the program. Although the 4-H structure does identify "winners" in the competition, the primary objective is to develop strong communication skills in individual members.

Confident, responsible self-expression is a goal of the communication program. Public Speaking helps members to organize and present ideas, opinions, and information, logically and persuasively. They are building confidence in self-expression and taking responsibility for the most important skill of adult life - communication.

Judging their efforts provides valuable guidance to these young speakers. Judges' comments reinforce and reward their efforts. An unbiased observer can identify strengths and pinpoint areas needing attention. Judging speeds growth and development by presenting a clear, honest reflection to the speaker.

Questions can be directed to

Navonne Owen nowen@umd.edu

Judging/Awards

Judging

  • Each judge will be assigned to an age group and category.
  • Judging will be done in person.
  • Judges may be required to judge multiple categories and age groups accordingly.
  • Judges use a score sheet containing a rubric that identifies key areas related to the category, allowing judges to assign points related to the quality of each presentation.
  • Each judge will provide comments and an overall score independently for each 4-H member. These scores will then be averaged to determine a winner.
  • Timing counts, so practice, practice, practice. Points will be deducted if the speech does not fit the time parameters.
  • It is the goal of the 4-H Program to leave participants with positive, creative comments and allow them to maintain their self-esteem during the evaluation process by the judges.
  • Below are the judging score sheets. Please look over them for more insight on each area judged.
  • Judging sheets will be shared via email or mail with each youth after the contest.

Score Sheets

Awards

  • Awards will be distributed at 3 pm at Maryland Day in Ag Alley under the tent.
  • Each age group and category will have a Champion and Reserve Champion winner.

 

The 2020 Public Speaking Showcase

The 2020 Maryland 4-H Public Speaking Showcase highlights the wonderful public speaking submissions from across the state. Watch the various types of speeches and enjoy all of these amazing youth.

Fashion Revue

Girl on Stage for Fashion Review

Fashion Revue is a contest offered at the local fairs and the Maryland State Fair. 

The State 4-H Fashion Revue is open to members ages 14 -18 selected by their unit (county/city 4-H office) for competition. Each unit may send two (2) 4-H members in each Constructed class and two (2) 4-H members in each Ready-to-Wear class. Also, each unit may send two (2) 4-H members who are 13 as of January 1 of the current year to participate in the Fashion Revue

Walk MD!