The Countdown Begins: Only One Month Until Nationals!

Its hard to believe, but the 17th Annual LifeSmarts National Championship begins in one month! State competitions have been winding down and today marks the last state competition, good luck to all the New York teams!

Since Nationals are so quickly approaching, I've included a list of important upcoming dates for coaches and team members to keep in mind:

March 31: Coach call (We’ll answer your questions and give you the chance to learn more about the national event, how competition will work, and what to expect!)

April1: Activity sign-up form due from state champion teams

April 5: Second coach call

April 7: Hotel reservation deadline

April 13-19: Online pre-competition opens

April 30: Let the competitions begin!

See you all in Hollywood!

Quizzes! Prizes! Spring!

Spring is here and Nationals are just a few weeks away! In the spirit of both Spring and Nationals, we are having a mini contest with T-shirt prizes! Answer all three questions below correctly, by commenting on this post or on our Facebook page, and you'll be entered into a pool to win a LifeSmarts T-shirt! A few lucky winners will also have the chance to receive a bonus mystery prize!

Questions:

1. The DTP vaccine helps prevent an infection caused by bacteria found in dirt, gravel and rusty metal. Also called "lockjaw", this disease is:

2. At what stage in the development of a new drug does the Food and Drug Administration first becomes involved?

3. You’re making homemade cookies with your younger sister and she really wants to taste the cookie dough. You discourage her because of what risk?

Good luck!

Palmer High School team shows its "smarts"

Congratulations to the Palmer High School Panthers, who where named Massachusetts State Champions last week and were featured in a MassLive.com news story. This is the fifth time – and the second year in a row – that a Palmer High School team has won the statewide LifeSmarts competition.

Palmer High School's LifeSmarts team poses with the trophy it won at the annual statewide competition on Tuesday, March 15th at the Federal Reserve Bank in Boston. Kayla M. Riel poses with the trophy. From left to right in the second row, Xavier M. Superneau, Bou L. Cote and Owen J. Roche and Coach Helena Naglack and Ryan N. Mastriani stand in back.

Click here to visit the list of all current 2011 champions. Good luck to all the state teams that are still gearing up to compete!

March Smartness heats up in Rhode Island!

Now that we are officially halfway through March, nationals are closer than ever. FOX Providence recently ran a great follow-up March Smartness segment. Check it out:

And congratulations to Rhode Island's winning team! The Lincoln School (Providence, RI) is pictured below shortly after winning the Consumer Cup and becoming the RI 2011 LifeSmarts State Champions, March 11, 2011 at the Rhode Island State House.

The team is comprised of (seated left to right) Megan Morrow (Captain), Addie Bodell, Maggie Savoie, Olivia Davis-Wilson, Carolyn Impagliazzo, and Coach Catherine DiChiaro (standing center).

“March Smartness” match in session at the Rhode Island State House, Friday, March 11, 2011.

New Hampshire and Maryland teams head to Hollywood

Last week, Inter-Lakes Regional High School beat out Mascoma Valley Regional with a score of 190 to 80, taking the New Hampshire state title. This marks the third consecutive year the team has won the LifeSmarts state championship.

From left: Kathleen Belanger, NH Jump$tart Chair & LifeSmarts State Coordinator, Teddy Willey,Sven Gustafson, Cody, Cook, Austin Hart, Galen Muskat and Coach Chuck Bates.

Congratulations Next Generation Team from Frederick County, Maryland!

State Winners: Cobey England, Nick Martin, Robert Dickens, Julie Roberson and Maura Taylor – Team Captain

Sandi Roberts, former Frederick County, MD national team winning coach, served as the Question Master!

Remember to send all your competition photos to danield@nclnet.org!

March Smartness underway!

Check out this great video on the LifeSmarts program from FOX Providence.

The intensity and excitement of March Smartness captured: a grid shot from mid-way through the Minnesota competition.

Eat your heart out NCCA: the Minnesota 1st place trophy

Congratulations to Hawaii's winning team from Iolani High School.
From left: Keali'i Lopez from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, team members Erin Nishimura, Lauren Faris, Barbara Reichart, John Ishida, Cody Petro Sakuma, and Kathy Morris from Hawaii Credit Union League.

Click here to read a great Dollars & Sense column on LifeSmarts by Star-Trib's John Ewoldt!

States continue to crown their champions

Now that we are in the second week of March, the Lifesmarts National Championship draws ever closer! Here are some more recent state champions:

Pennsylvania winners from North East High School. From left to right: Katie Perkins, Annette Haibach, Taylor Burnham, April Meehl, and John Hupp. PA's winning team was featured in the Erie Times-News, click here to read.

Kentucky winners from Mason County High School. The "Royal Pains" took the state title in Kentucky last year as well. The Royal Pains team includes Connor Appelman, Garric Buzzard, Amrita Srinivasan, Andy Ward and Parker Segal.
Click here to read more about the Royal Pains.

Good luck to Belmont High School, Inter-Lakes of Meredith, Mascoma Valley of West Canaan, Merrimack High School, Raymond High School, and Winnacunnet High School, who will all be competing for the New Hampshire state title tomorrow, March 9th.