WrestleMania Reading Challenge

About the Challenge

The WrestleMania Reading Challenge, sponsored by YALSA with support from World Wrestling Entertainment, is a program designed to encourage teens in grades 5-12 to not only continue their reading beyond Teen Read Week, but to earn a reward for doing so by offering chance to win prizes donated by WWE.

Teen and tween participants can win a trip to WrestleMania 25 in Houston! Librarians who registered can win $2,000 for their libraries.

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. 12 and runs through Jan. 12, 2009.

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.

2008-2009 Contest Details

Download the 2008-2009 Toolkit (PDF) and Reading Log (PDF).

Additional information is available at the YALSA wiki.

The program will be implemented in participating libraries Oct. 12, 2008 thru Jan. 12, 2009. Registration took place through July 31 on the Teen Read Week web site's registration page. All libraries that registered by July 31 received a free promotional poster to hang in their library featuring WWE Superstars Layla, Matt Hardy, Mr. Kennedy and MVP.
The 2008-2009 program is for tweens and teens in grades 5-12.
All tweens & teens will be challenged to read 10 items in their free time between Oct. 12 and Jan. 12 and keep a log of what they read.
There are two levels of teen participation: 1)Teens can read 10 items and keep a log. When they submit the log to their librarian, they can get a free mini poster featuring this year's participating WWE Superstars. Librarians are free to decide which prizes to give out. 2) Teens can read 10 items, keep a log and enter the bookmark contest. Bookmark winners at the local level will win a DVD from WWE. Fifteen regional bookmark winners (five each from grade categories 5&6, 7&8 and 9-12) will win $2,000 for their library and a trip to Houston to see WrestleMania 25. The grades 7&8 and 9-12 regional winners will also get the chance to compete to be the WrestleMania Reading Challenge National Champion.
Each library will judge their bookmarks and pick one winner from each grade category to advance to the WrestleMania Reading Challenge Regionals. Each of your three winners will receive a DVD from WWE. The winning entries are sent to YALSA no later than February 2, 2009. From all the local winners YALSA will choose fifteen finalists, three each from 5 regions of the country (one from each grade category).
In order to participate in the National Championships, regional winners will be required to read a book and answer questions about it at the competition. The book will be announced by July 15, 2008.
In Houston the ten national finalists in grades 7-12 will compete for the National Reading Challenge Title and a ring-side seat at WrestleMania.
This event is sponsored by the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

Further Resources

To learn more, you can also visit WWE's WrestleMania Reading Challenge Web page.

See the 2008 WrestleMania Reading Challenge video from WWE!

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