Hanging Out

Smiles all around! See the players enjoying some downtime in between competitions.

Update: State Champs Eliminated

This just in: these teams have been eliminated. Sorry, guys!

• Minnesota
• Nebraska
• Texas
• Washington
• Indiana
• Alabama
• New Mexico
• California
• Ohio
• Delaware
• Oklahoma
• Wisconsin
• Pennsylvania
• New York
• North Dakota
  

Game On!

Finally, what we’ve all been waiting for… the matches begin! Check out some of the teams in action on Sunday!

Check Us Out! WCCO LifeSmarts Piece Aired Sunday Night

We are stars!

LifeSmarts made the Twin Cities CBS news broadcast, WCCO, last night in consumer reporter/weekend anchor Terri Gruca's feature about LifeSmarts! You can view the story online here.

Updated Grid

Today is a half-day of quick competitions: the Consolation Bracket, where some unlucky teams will be eliminated from the 2008 National Championship, and the Winner's Bracket, where two of Tuesday's four semi-finalist teams will emerge.

This morning's competition is going to be fierce - in just a few hours, we'll know who's going to the semi-finals!

Team Photos!

Gorgeous and goofy images of your favorite state champs here!




These guys are New Jersey!

Matches Underway

Click on the grid to see it enlarged. States advancing through the Winners Brackets: Illinois, Ohio, Kansas, Florida, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. But today's matches aren't over yet - stay tuned for more!

LifeSmarts in the Strib!

This just in: Dollars & Sense John Ewoldt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune had a great column today about our LifeSmarts program. You can read it here.

Follow the Competition

Last night at the Captain and Coaches Orientation session, captains drew numbers to determine where they fall in today's first set of Winners Bracket matches.

Teams who competed online-only are testing out the buzzer system this morning, and after a quick welcome by WCCO's consumer reporter/weekend anchor Terri Gruca, and LifeSmarts alum/NCL Board Member Seth Woods, the first matches will begin at 11:15.

Stay tuned for results as they're available!

Random Bits from LS Nationals

"After four years, the grid makes sense." - South Carolina captain Brian Cauble, who's been to the national LifeSmarts Championship four years straight.

The Florida state champs from Marathon High School are from the Florida Keys. They reported yesterday that this is their first time seeing snow.

The team from Kansas started off their journey with an *interesting* experience, reported their captain at Saturday's orientation session. "On the way to the airport this morning, our Suburban hit a deer."

In honor of the state's role in the founding of Arbor Day, Nebraska brought small potted evergreens in little plastic tubes to share as a gift with the other teams. Last year's champion coach Ann George was spotted running up to her room to put the little guys in water.

Garrett Graham, captain of the Pennsylvania team from North East High (which happens to be located in the very westernmost part of the state), introduced his coach, Jeanne Lamb and added that his team's assistant coach couldn't be with the group because he's stationed in Baghdad.

First team on the dancefloor at the Saturday night mixer: California. First dance move: moonwalk.

They're Heeeeeeere

It's Saturday!

There's a steady stream of Super Shuttles bringing in State Champs by the van-load.

Teams have come a long way -- beat more than 20,000 students through online competitions, won at states, bonded through hours of studying and fundraising, and endured dicey weather to -- to get to Minneapolis.

The 2008 National LifeSmarts Championship is finally here!

We’ve started to see a handful of teams checking out downtown Minneapolis, exploring the hotel and registering for the competition. Here’s a sample of the prizes that are at stake for the players this long weekend:

Third place:

• $300 Savings Bond (Thank you to Toyota Financial Services)
• $25 Best Buy Gift Card (Thank you to the Consumer Electronics Association)

Second place:

• $600 Savings Bond
• $50 Best Buy Gift cards

And check out what the first place team is in for:

• $1,200 Savings Bond
• $100 Best Buy Gift card
• $100 Staples Gift Cards (Thank you to Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers)
• iPhones (Thank you to AT&T)

Thank you to all of our sponsors for supporting LifeSmarts and providing these sweet prizes!

OK, OK. We May Have Overreacted

Well, it's turning out that the weather really isn't THAT bad. It's just raining right now, and it's above the freezing mark. (Hmm, the freezing mark. That sounds like a good LifeSmarts question...) Don't get us wrong - it definitely looks more like winter than spring, and there are some areas in the state that are truly getting dumped on - but downtown Minneapolis is mostly just looking a little slushy.

People are no longer using scary words like "blizzard," and we NCL staff are settling in at the hotel where all the action will take place (which is really nice and has a restaurant with a yummy breakfast buffet).

The Star Tribune is reporting that the storm's been downgraded to a "Winter Weather Advisory," and 2-4 inches today. Tomorrow, the day when most LifeSmarts state champs will arrive, looks like even less of a weather threat. So happy and safe travels to all you state champs! We look forward to seeing you!