While the name might lead you to believe that it was all fun and games, Dr. Jim Brosnin, Assistant Professor at University of Tennessee says while it was fun, the Weed Olympics, recently held at the University of Tennessee, were quite serious:
“To have a national contest with all the regional weed science societies and students from those societies coming together to compete in different weed science events was certainly very exciting.”
Dr. Greg Armel, also an Assistant Professor with University of Tennessee was co-host of the event:
“This event encompassed all areas of agriculture and horticulture in regards to weed management.”
The Weed Olympics involved about 150 students, both graduate and undergraduate from all over North America. Brosnin:
“We had students from as far north as Guelph, in Ontario, as far south as Florida, all the way down the eastern seaboard, through the central United States, out to as far as Washington State and New Mexico.”
Armel describes the events of the Weed Olympics:
“They have to be able to identify weeds, they have to be able to identify herbicide that’s been sprayed, and tell what herbicide has been treated there. They have to be able to engage in simulated events where they are actually directed towards clients, and help a client solve a problem that they don’t know anything about, and then the fourth component is that they have to show us that they can calibrate a sprayer, and deliver the exact volume, and the appropriate volume.”
This was the first event of it’s kind, and while University of Tennessee doesn’t have plans to host another one, Armel and Brosnin are hopeful that another university will see the benefits of hosting a Weed Olympics of their own:
“Clearly this is an educational event, so people are learning on the job, while they’re competing, so a lot of times it’s a very good, rewarding event for everybody.”
The top undergrad team was University of Guelph, the top graduate team was from Perdue University, the overall undergrad winner was Dan Tequila from Virginia Tech, and the overall grad student winner was Jason Parrish from Ohio State.
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