The high number of U.S. youth exhibiting at-risk behavior points to a lack of life skills development. We determined the effects of participating in one state's 4-H sheep skillathon on youths' life skills development and the youths' reasons for participating. The target population was 2014 Tennessee 4-H Sheep Skillathon participants (N = 153), and we obtained a 90% response rate. Participants perceived that they had a moderate gain in their life skills development, and a majority identified nine reasons for participation. Recommendations include informing parents/guardians of the benefits of skillathon participation and ensuring that skillathon participants have an opportunity to process and generalize content knowledge and life skills acquired through skillathon participation.