Students from colleges and universities in the AAG Great Plains-Rocky Mountain and West Lakes Divisions are encouraged to compete in the 2006 regional Geography Bowl. Teams must be comprised of six persons and must include at least one undergraduate, one female, and one male. All team members must register for the conference. The Geography Bowl will be held Saturday afternoon, October 7, 2006.

The six individuals who score the most points, from each division, will receive a travel stipend to participate in the 2007 World Geobowl competition to be held in San Francisco at the annual meeting of the AAG.

To register your team, please contact Dr. Robert Watrel (see contact information below).

Note to faculty and students not participating on a team: Volunteers are need for moderators, scorers and question readers. If you are willing to serve, please contact Dr. Watrel.

All students attending the 2006 AAG Great Plains-Rocky Mountain and West Lakes Division annual conference are invited to participate in a competition for best paper. Students may compete in one of four categories: (1) best undergraduate paper, (2) best graduate student paper (MA or MS), (3) best graduate student paper (PhD), or (4) best student poster. All papers entered in the competition must report on original research conducted primarily by the student presenting the paper. All competitors must register for the conference. Papers and posters will be judged on the basis of content, organization, style, graphics, and, in the case of papers, quality of oral presentation.

The winners in each category will receive a $100 cash prize. Second place finishers in each category will receive a $50 cash prize.

Students wishing to enter the competition must submit an abstract no later than September 15, 2006. Students should follow the guidelines provided in the conference call-for-papers (attached). Abstracts should be sent by email to Dr. James Merchant (as indicated in the call-for-papers) and copied to Dr. Michael Shambaugh-Miller at the address indicated below. The category of competition for which the abstract is being submitted must be clearly indicated.