Michigan Region’s Regional Convention happened over the last week in December. Regional convention takes place over the course of four days rather than 2 days. Furthermore, Michigan’s Regional Convention is composed of competitions between chapters. The competitions range from Dodgeball, Creative Writing, Makeup Design, Iron Chef, and more! Every year regional convention has a theme and this year it was L’alot which means “rise up”.

In addition to these smaller competitions, at night there are “The Big Three”. The Big three are competitions that involve a chapter writing various scripts. These “big three” activities are worth more points than other competitions. They are song, cheer, and talent.

The first activity is song and chapters spoof a popular song to using BBYO vocabulary and the convention theme. During cheer every chapter comes up with a unique cheer that incorporates “rise up.”Finally, talent is the biggest competition of regional convention and requires the most work from chapters. Many chapter put together an ellaborate dance performance. These events require a lot of time, organization, and preparation and often chapters elect 2-3 coordinators to assist with these events.

Finally the region gets together to announce the winners of each event and the chapter that received the most amount of points. Other awards include a sportsmanship award for chapters that are the most supportive and a community  and service award for chapters that give the most back to our community.

Regional Convention is a great way to bring people together, form new friendships, and have some fun in healthy competition. For many it is the highlight of their time in Michigan Region BBYO. Given how fun the past couple regional conventions were, I can’t wait for next year, and I’m sure the rest of Michigan Region can’t wait too.