Georgia Wins the 2026 Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship
Congratulations, Georgia!
The third annual Virtual Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship was held May 6th and 7th, with seventeen LifeSmarts State Junior Varsity Champion teams from across the country competing. The LifeSmarts Junior Varsity level involves students who are currently in grades 6 – 8.
Teams of 4 to 5 students competed virtually in East and West Divisions with the top two teams in each division advancing to the semi-finals on Thursday, May 7th. The winner of each semi-final competition advanced to the final competition match.
The teams from Georgia (Cobb County 4-H Junior Varsity, Georgia 4-H) and Missouri (Red – y to Win, Miller Middle School) were the East division semi-finalists while Nebraska (Cross County JV, Cross County Community Schools) and Colorado (Larimer County 4-H JV) were the West division semi-finalists. In very close semi-final matches, Georgia and Nebraska advanced to the 2026 Junior Varsity National Championship Finals.
In a hard-fought match where the lead went back and forth, Georgia won the Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Championship title. The Georgia team members are Navin Natarajan; Ky’Lan Mullins, Joy Patadia, and Tara Manickaraj, and coaches are Colleen Bakhsh and Kathleen McElroy.
The team earns the title of Junior Varsity National LifeSmarts Champion, LifeSmarts Champion medallions, a cash award for the team, and other prizes courtesy of LifeSmarts and LifeSmarts sponsors.
Nebraska took second place, with Missouri and Colorado tying for third place. Also competing in the National Championship were teams from Arkansas, California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.
LifeSmarts is the youth consumer education, leadership, and scholarship program run by the Washington, DC-based National Consumers League (NCL), the nation’s oldest consumer advocacy organization. It competitively tests junior high / middle school, and high school student’s knowledge of five topic areas including consumer rights & responsibilities, personal finance, health & safety, technology & workforce preparation, and the environment in online and in-person competitions using a quiz bowl-style format. LifeSmarts is available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and in partnership with student leadership programs including Student Government, 4-H, BPA, FBLA, FCCLA, and SkillsUSA. To learn more about, visit LifeSmarts.
