What is Project Bowl?
Project Bowl is a long-standing program in Minnesota 4-H and is the second most attended event of the year.
In Project Bowl, teams of three to six youth members build skills working and thinking together while testing their knowledge in these 4-H areas: dairy, dog, general livestock, horse, llama-alpaca, poultry and rabbit.
Watch this 4-H Project Bowl YouTube video to learn more and see the program in action.
Compete regionally to advance
There are four regional bowls, which lead to the state competition.
Each regional contest has two divisions for horse, poultry and rabbit: Junior (grades 3-8) and Senior (grades 4 through one year post-high school). Dog will be offered with two divisions at two of the regional contests.
Again this year, in dairy and general livestock, there will be three divisions: Junior (grades 3-5), Intermediate (grades 3-8) and Senior (grades 4 through one year post-high school).
Regional winners advance to the State 4-H Project Bowl. Llama-alpaca teams have the opportunity to participate in the State 4-H Project Bowl.
Winners at the state level in dairy, general livestock, horse and poultry may go on to national contests.
Get your friends together, recruit a coach, study hard, and have fun during the Project Bowl season!
For participants
2026 rules
Review the rules and information 2026.
2026 references
Project Bowl references used for each contest will be posted below when ready. Each contest selects questions from the references provided each year.
Regional Project Bowl dates and locations
- March 7 - Sauk Rapids
- March 14 - Hastings (Note: Dog not offered at this site.)
- March 21 - Bemidji
- March 21 - Redwood Falls (Note: Dog not offered at this site.)
- March 28 - Snow date
2026 Regional Project Bowl registration form
Coaches: Completed official registration form must be submitted to the local Extension office no later than Jan. 26.
Extension staff: Completed official registration form plus entry fee ($50 per team) must be postmarked to the region of choice and the online form completed no later than Feb. 2.
Bowling 101
The state 4-H bowl committee is committed to increasing the interest in project bowl participation, particularly for younger 4-H’ers. This is why we are offering a non-competitive “Bowling 101” category.
2026 results
- Sauk Rapids
- Hastings
- Bemidji
- Redwood Falls
2026 photos
- Sauk Rapids
- Hastings
- Bemidji
- Redwood Falls
4-H State Project Bowl: April 11, 2026
Winners in dairy, general livestock, horse and poultry will advance to the national contests. If your team qualifies for the State Project Bowl, you must sign up before you leave the Regional Project Bowl. If you do not sign up before you leave, you will forfeit your state trip.
The State Project Bowl registration form for llama-alpaca is due by March 23, 2026.
April 11 at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School
- Team registration - 8:30-9 a.m.
- Team orientation - 9 a.m.
- Bowls commence - 9:30 a.m.
Team confirmation letter
- Coaches of qualifying teams will receive confirmation letters when they sign up for the state contest.
T-shirts and sweatshirts
- T-shirts and sweatshirts will be for sale at the State 4-H Project Bowl! The official design is still being drafted by Northwest Designs, but as in previous years, 4-H members will be able to have their names on the back of the shirts. Bring some extra money as you may want to buy a shirt! The Minnesota 4-H Project Bowl Program receives a portion of the sales.
Coach and volunteer information
Interested in coaching a 4-H Project Bowl team?
- 2026 coaches training held on Jan. 6 (Zoom webinar recording)
- The purpose of the training was to prepare coaches to work with a bowl team and build the bowl program by developing confident coaches. The training webinar included an overview of the bowl program, shared ideas for practices and answered questions.
- How to get started and sample questions
- Ideas for Project Bowl practices
- 4-H Project Bowl Procedure of Play video (YouTube)
- New to coaching Project Bowl? This role preview video (Kaltura MediaSpace) has a brief introduction to your role as a Project Bowl Coach.
Tentative 2027 dates
- March 6
- March 13
- March 20
- April 3 - Snow date
- April 10 - State
Contact
- Sharon Davis, 4-H animal science director, [email protected]
- Randi Schwartz, 4-H program manager, [email protected]