Broadcast contest lets kids test their play-by-play skills

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: August 25, 2008 - 11:22 AM

Loquacious kids who think they have what it takes to describe Adrian Peterson scampering to the end zone or Chad Greenway delivering a crushing hit can show off their play-by-play skills Tuesday at the Minnesota State Fair, and possibly win their way to the Minnesota Vikings radio broadcast booth.

Students in grades three through eight are invited to take part in the Midwest Dairy Council's 2008 Junior Broadcaster program, which kicks off with a free breakfast and audition sign up from 8 to 10:30 a.m. at the Blue Ribbon Picnic Grounds at Dan Patch and Randall avenues.

Then from 2 to 5 p.m., contest entrants will be given a script to read and be asked to "wow the audience" as they make an 2-minute audition tape before a panel of judges and fair attendees at the Miracle of Birth Center, said Carolyn Hudson, spokeswoman for the Midwest Dairy Council.

"They can just read the script, but we hope the do a bit of ad-libbing," Hudson said. "They do get points for creativity."

Judges include Princess Kay along with officials from the Vikings' offices and Dairy Council. They will score each candidate on a 1 to 10 scale as they look at criteria such as enthusiasm, how comfortable the candidate appears on stage, and their comfort level in talking about the contest's primary aim, which is to encourage children to develop healthful nutritional habits.

A bubbly Kylee Kohls, 9, of Litchfield, Minn., was not shy last year when she stepped behind the microphone and combined her passion for Vikings football and love for public speaking into a grand prize win.

She had this advice for this year's contest entrants.

"Just have fun," said Kohls, a fourth-grader who attends Ripley Elementary School. "Give it your best shot, have fun and don't be scared."

As the contest's top winner, Kohls was invited into the KFAN Radio booth and got to announce football scores over the air at one game as she sat next to Vikings play-by-play announcer Paul Allen and the rest of the broadcast team.

She also was invited to attend the Super Bowl in Arizona.

This year a total of eight finalists will be selected from auditions held Tuesday and on Oct. 11 at a location yet to be determined. Each finalist will get four tickets to a Vikings home game and get to participate in a pre-game or post-game broadcast.

This is the fifth year for the contest, which is designed to encourage children to eat three servings of low-fat dairy products daily and improve language and reading skills.

Recent Local + Metro stories

Love means not making summer end too soon - August 25, 2008

Love means not making summer end too soon - Dear potent locally-based bulls-eye themed retailer: Please don't take this the wrong way. I love you, and I hate when we fight. Remember when you moved the Windex to a totally different aisle, away from what had been cleaning supplies, and I was like What the Heck, and you were all like Just Deal With It? We laugh about it now, because it's funny, I guess, and love is like that. More