Olympics with an Agricultural Twist
April 6, 2023
From left to right, Dylan George, Kolton Stevens, Gage Green and Alyssa Snitker at the Aggie Olympics. (Photo taken by Piper Logan)
Last month, the spirit of competition took over the Fair Grove FFA as teams competed against each other in various events when the first ever Aggie Olympics took place.
The various events were selected and designed to test competitors on their agricultural and life skills. Braden Booth (12) explained, “It consists of FFA (Future Farmers of America) members getting together to compete in a variety of events, all based around agriculture and testing various agricultural and life skills.”
The events were wide ranging in the skills they test but they still related back to Agriculture, the events included Root Beer chugging, tire throwing, a feed bag agility race, farm fear factor, hay stacking, dummy roping, farm obstacle course relay, and tug of war according to Booth and Agriculture teacher Cole Johnston.
Though 2023 was the first year that saw the Aggie Olympics in Fair Grove, the event was years in the making, the desire to make it happen stemming back years. Johnston explained, “This was actually our first year having this event. We have wanted to host this event for our members for the last few years. This year it worked out on Monday of FFA Week to host Aggie Olympics rather than our traditional field trip.”
The event served roles other than giving the kids in FFA a fun time and allowing them to compete with each other. Aggie Olympics allowed kids to get to know each other, especially for newer members, and to kick off FFA week, a nationwide celebration of the club. Booth elaborated, “The event serves to bring our chapter together and help newer members get to know each other. It also helps us kick off FFA week, which is a national celebration of FFA.”
At the end of the day, only one team was left on top while the six other teams were forced to suffer a defeat. The champions after all was said and done were Jaren and the Angels consisting of Jaren Robinson (10), Mikala Angelo (10), Gretta Arnett (10), and Tony Lassley (10). Despite it being new to the club, the Aggie Olympics were believed to be a success. According to Booth who explained, “The event went really well. We had seven teams competing, and the event ran very smoothly.”