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WrestleMania Reading Challenge

2009-2010 WrestleMania Reading Challenge

The WrestleMania Reading Challenge, sponsored by YALSA and World Wrestling Entertainment with support from DK and Mattel, is a program designed to encourage teens and tweens to continue their reading beyond Teen Read Week; by doing so, they can win prizes donated by WWE. Registration for 2009-2010 closed in July. See a list of participating libraries.

Teen and tween participants can win a trip to WrestleMania 26 in Phoenix in March 2010! Librarians who registered canwin $2,000 for their libraries. Seven finalists will be named in three age categories: grades 5-6, grades 7-8 and grades 9-12. Finalists in grades 5-6 will read There's a Girl in My Hammerlock by Jerry Spinelli. Finalists in grades 7-8 will be required to read Saturday Night Dirt by Will Weaver (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Finalists in grades 9-12 will read Super Stock Rookie by Will Weaver (Farrar, Straus & Giroux). Weaver will appear that the WrestleMania Reading Challenge Championships in Phoenix on March 27 as a judge. Thanks to Farrar, Straus & Giroux Books for Young Readers for supporting the WrestleMania Reading Challenge.

Download the official rules (PDF) and use them as a guideline.

The goal of this program is to reach reluctant readers and get more teens reading beyond Teen Read Week by implementing a reading incentive program that provides prizes from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a reward.

The challenge begins Oct. 18 and runs through Jan. 19, 2010. Please download the WrestleMania Reading Challenge Toolkit (PDF) for program ideas and a reproducible booklog.

Promotional Tools

Promote the WrestleMania Reading Challenge at your library with downloadable tools! Print and distribute the flyer to teen and tween patrons and use the wallpaper as the background for computers at your library. Just right-click and download.

Promotional Flyer (JPG)

Computer Wallpaper (800 x 600, JPG)

Computer Wallpaper (1024 x 768, JPG)

Computer Wallpaper (1280 x 1024, JPG)

2009 Winners

Congratulations to Stephanie Diaz and Christian Cervantes of Houston for winning the 2009 WrestleMania Reading Challenge! Diaz won the Grades 7-8 competition by answering the most correct questions about Soccer Chicks Rule by Dawn Fitzgerald. Cervantes won the Grades 9-12 competition by answering the most correct questions about Shift by Jennifer Bradbury.

In addition to being named national champions, Cervantes and Diaz won ringside seats to WrestleMania. Participating in the finals were WrestleMania Reading Challenge spokespeople and WWE Superstars Mark Henry, MVP, and Matt Hardy, and WWE Diva Layla. Bradbury served as the judge for the competition.

Finalists for the three grade levels (5-6, 7-8, and 9-12) attending the championships in Houston included:

• Grades 9-12: Christian Cervantes, Houston, Texas, Tuttle Neighborhood Library; Gavin Marriott, Edgemont, S.D., Edgemont Public Library; Angelica Kruth, Munhall, Pa., Mt. Lebanon Public Library; William Haggerty, Snow Hill, N.C., Greene Central High School Media Center; and Karolina Flores, El Monte, Calif., El Monte Library, County of Los Angeles Public Library
• Grades 7-8: Stephanie Diaz, Houston, Texas, Walter Neighborhood Library; Marissa Brann, Corydon, Ind., Harrison County Public Library; Hansel Caraballo, New York,  I.S.143 Eleanor Roosevelt Library; Kyle Hoskins, Louisville, Ky., Zoneton Middle School; Kayla Bell, Los Angeles, Calif., Exposition Park - Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Regional Branch Library
• Grades 5-6: Jose Castro, Houston, Texas, Ring Branch Library; Herlinda Aparicio, Overland Park, Kan., Oak Park Library, Johnson County Library; Nicolas Covelli, Stormville, N.Y., Mahopac Public  Library; Donte Edwards, Alpharetta, Ga., Holcomb Bridge Middle School Media Center; Neom Rose Chacon, El Mirage, Ariz., El Mirage Elementary School

More than 50,000 teens and tweens from more than 1,800 libraries participated in this year’s competition. Participants read 10 books, magazines or graphic novels over a period of 10 weeks, and then created a slogan and bookmark design that promoted reading at their library. The regional finalists were chosen by a national judging committee of YALSA members.

About WWE

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. was founded by Vincent and Linda McMahon, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (WWE) has been involved in the sports entertainment business for more than 20 years and is one of the most popular forms of global entertainment today. WWE is an integrated media and entertainment company, principally engaged in the development, production and marketing of television programming, pay-per-view programming and live events, and the licensing and sale of branded consumer products featuring our highly successful World Wrestling Entertainment brand. WWE is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., with offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, and Toronto.

Further Resources

To learn more, you can also visit WWE's WrestleMania Reading Challenge Web page or additional information is available at the YALSA wiki.

See the 2008 WrestleMania Reading Challenge video from WWE!

Questions? Email yalsa@ala.org or call 1-800-545-2433, ext. 4390.