General News
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Backpack Drive Gives Back to Community
By Kim Carmichael, Chief of Staff | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:54 PM
Central Texas area students choose backpacks from the donation site in Austin. UIL staff donated 72 backpacks to the non-profit.
Photo by Kim Carmichael
Back to school means a fresh start to a new school year.
For some children it also means worrying about having the supplies they need for a successful school year. For the second year in a row, the UIL staff wanted to erase that worry for local school children grades Pre-K through fifth grade by hosting a backpack collection drive.
This July, UIL staff partnered with an Austin-based non-profit organization to provide the tools that students need for a productive school year. The back-to-school initiative is an important community program that provides children living in poverty with one backpack, a set of school supplies, books, and two new sets of clothing. The program helps children to feel confident and creates positive experiences at the beginning of school to promote academic success.
The 2012 UIL backpack drive resulted in 72 new backpacks donated by UIL staff members to help some of the 2,000 students who benefitted from this year’s program.
We wish all students, teachers and coaches and school administrators a successful 2012-13!
Former UIL Athletes Compete in London Olympics
By Chris Schmidt, Public Affairs Representative | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:45 PM
When Brigetta Barrett was at Duncanville High School she brought home the 5A high jump state championship in both 2008 and 2009. At the London Olympics, she won the silver for the same event.
Photo by Photo courtesy of Duncanville High School
Olympic competitors are some of the most talented and well-trained athletes in the world so it’s no surprise that many of them were successful high school student-athletes. Several former UIL state champions made waves representing Team USA during the 2012 London Olympics. Several even medaled at the games.
The following is a rundown of how former UIL state medal winners fared at the 2012 Olympic Games.
League Promotes 4, Hires 4 Over Summer
By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:35 PM
Like most school districts, the summer is a time for new hires and shuffling of staff. UIL is no different. This summer, the League had a variety of staff changes and new hires for the upcoming school year.
Heather Bollinger
Last year, UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt started a new mission at the League — archiving the League’s history and preserving it for generations to come. This year, Breithaupt is continuing that initiative and hired archivist Heather Bollinger in July.
“I am working on documenting the history of the UIL,” Bollinger said. “This includes organizing and preserving photographs, audio-visual materials, manuscript records, department records, fielding research requests, etc. I am currently working on digitizing the Leaguer and the Constitution and Contest Rules.”
UIL Dives into Social Media
By Jeanne Acton, Journalism Director | Monday, August 27, 2012 5:24 PM
This is not your parent’s organization.
Over the past five years, UIL has moved quickly and thoughtfully into the technology age.
The printed Leaguer is gone. Athletic manuals are posted online. The UIL even has a Facebook page and Twitter feed.
Lone Star Cup Winners Crowned
By Chris Schmidt, Public Affairs Representative | Monday, August 27, 2012 2:03 PM
Lake Travis activity coordinators, school board members and the superintendent (far right) celebrate the Lone Star Cup win at the district convocation ceremonies. Assistant Athletic Director Traci Neely presented the trophy and a $1,000 check to Superintendent Brad Lancaster.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
Each year, schools around the state compete for the right to be called UIL state champion. Those state champions then compete for the right to take home the UIL Lone Star Cup.
The UIL Lone Star Cup Award recognizes five high schools – one in each of the five UIL classifications – each year based on their overall team achievement in a variety of sanctioned academic, athletic and music championships. In 2012, Southlake Carroll, Austin Lake Travis, Argyle, White Oak and Lindsay won the coveted trophy with their overall excellence in UIL competitions.
With five state championships in the 2011-12 season, Southlake Carroll High School captured its third Lone Star Cup victory and first in Conference 5A with 100 points. The Dragons’ five state titles, most among Lone Star Cup winners, came in football, boys’ and girls’ cross country and boys’ and girls’ swimming and diving
Richards Accepts TILF Scholarship Coordinator Position
By | Friday, May 25, 2012 10:24 AM
Trudy Richards, TILF scholarship coordinator
As of May 1, there’s a new face at the Texas Interscholastic League Foundation.
Trudy Richards, previously a member of the UIL Academic Department, is now the TILF Scholarship Coordinator.
Her experience with the League started as an elementary-school competitor and continued as a competitor in high school, a League intern in college and a UIL journalism coach while teaching seniors at Manor High School.
Bastrop High School Football Team Presented with National Spirit of Sport Award
By Chris Schmidt, Communications Officer | Friday, May 25, 2012 10:05 AM
Athletic Director Dr. Mark Cousins (far right) presents the Spirit of Sport Award to the Bastrop High School football team.
Photo by Photo courtesy Donald R. Williams, Executive Director of Community Services/Communications for Bastrop ISD
The Bastrop High School football team was presented with the 2012 National Spirit of Sport Award for Section 6 of the National Federation of State High School Associaitons (NFHS) for their contributions to their community during one of the worst natural disaster in Texas state history.
The National High School Spirit of Sport Award was created by the NFHS to recognize those individuals who exemplify the ideals of the spirit of sport that represent the core mission of education-based athletics. UIL Director of Athletics Dr. Mark Cousins presented the award to head football coach Gerald Perry during a school board meeting on Tuesday, May 15.
Academic Meet Marks a Year of Firsts
By Jeanne Acton, UIL Journalism Director | Friday, May 25, 2012 9:58 AM
At the UIL Academic State Meet, Math Contest Director Larry White congratulates junior Bobby Shen from Dulles High School for his perfect score on the test. Shen won four individual gold medals at the meet.
Photo by Jeanne Acton
It was a year of firsts at the 102th UIL Academic State Meet.
Academic Director David Stevens ran his first State Meet. Junior Bobby Shen from Dulles High School was the first student to achieve a perfect score on a state math test. It was the first year since the 1950s that One-Act Play used panel judging, and the first year extemporaneous speaking allowed computers in the prep room.
And the firsts all appeared to go smoothly.
Dr. Stevens said he was pleased with the success of his first meet. “I didn’t know what to expect so I was prepared for anything,” he said. “For me, it was great. I saw a few minor areas where we can improve and a few major ones.”
2012 TILF Scholarship Banquet
By McKensie Wallesen, UIL Intern | Friday, March 30, 2012 12:45 PM
Video of the 2012 TILF Scholarship Banquet.
Shepherd HS Junior Gets Her Golden Ticket and Competes in American Idol
By Chris Schmidt, Communications Officer | Friday, March 30, 2012 11:51 AM
Amber Holcomb, a junior at Shepherd High School, made it to Hollywood to compete in American Idol. Holcomb runs track and field at her high school.
Photo by Photo courtesy of Amber Holcomb
"Congratulations, you’re going to Hollywood!"
For the past decade, aspiring pop divas and rock stars have longed to hear that phrase because it means they have aced their first audition on their way to becoming the next American Idol. On the latest season of the singing competition, Amber Holcomb, a junior at Shepherd High School, heard those very words.
“I was so excited I didn’t know what to do,” Holcomb said. “I’ve been wanting to audition [for American Idol] ever since I was probably about 13 or 14.”