Vermont Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Austine Academic Bowl Team is Awesome in DC!

Our “Awesome Austine Arrows” Academic Bowl team traveled to Gallaudet University in Washington DC for the National Deaf Academic Bowl finals for the second consecutive year in a row. This was our reward for finishing in second place at the Northeast Regional competition, which as many of you know was hosted at the Austine School in March. The top two teams from each of the 5 regions get their tickets punched to the national championship at Gallaudet.

The competition took place the weekend of April 25-28, 2008.

Although Austine competed with spirit and teamwork, we finished in seventh place out of ten teams with a 3-6 record. This was an improvement over the ninth place finish in 2007. Austine lost many of our games in a hotly contested competition with close scores. We did very well and we are proud of our finish. We are after all one of the top 7 schools in the country and #1 in New England in 2008! Go Arrows!

As a special treat, VCDHH President Bert Carter joined us at Gallaudet and cheered on our team. The players were delighted to have him with us. Thanks Bert! We hope you enjoyed the time with us.

The Awesome Arrows team will sadly (but proudly) lose two members to Graduation in John Wholey and Audree Connelly. Both were long time members of the Austine Academic Bowl team. Head Coach Michele Miller-Rausch and Assistant Coach John Meyers feel strongly that our team will continue to do well with the remaining players in Sophomore Maggie Schiller and Freshman Cherie LaBeau. We are on the lookout for new team members to join Maggie and Cherie in 2008-09. To join the team, you must be at least a freshman Austine student.

About Gallaudet University; Gallaudet was federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English. Gallaudet prepares its graduates for career opportunities in a highly competitive, technological, and rapidly changing world. Visit Gallaudet online at http://gallaudet.edu/