Questar III’s Regional Odyssey of the Mind tournament will be held Saturday, March 8 at Rensselaer City School District. The tournament consists of 91 teams from schools in Rensselaer, Columbia and Greene counties – the largest tournament the BOCES has ever organized.
Odyssey of the Mind is an international program with a mission to teach students how to solve problems creatively. It encourages them to use their imagination and learn the importance of working as a team.
“This tournament is always a wonderful culmination for students of many months of hard work, brainstorming and creative problem solving as a team,” said tournament coordinator Arlene Sampson. ”Many students discover for the first time that they can really speak in front of an audience, or paint a backdrop or build a structure that holds hundreds of pounds. These are skills they will use for the rest of their lives. It is rewarding to know that the Odyssey of the Mind program can have such an impact,” she added.
Registration for the daylong competition begins at 7:30 a.m. and performances are from 8:10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The awards ceremony will begin at 5:30 p.m.
In order to assure that all participants, their families and friends will have a safe and enriching Odyssey experience, please note the following:
Parking: Due to limited parking, shuttle buses will be available every 30 minutes from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Shuttles will run from the CDTA parking lot on Route 4 to the school and satellite lots at the Sikh Temple (formerly Carmela’s Banquet House) and Doane Stuart School on Washington Avenue.
Food: Food will be provided by the Healthy Catering Café in the cafeteria from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and by the Rensselaer Athletic Association with assistance from the RCSD Senior Class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Concession Stand across from the Main Gym Mezzanine.
Weather: In case of inclement weather, the tournament will either be delayed or be held on Sunday, March 9. Please check local radio and TV stations for an announcement.
Teams are challenged to provide original and creative solutions to open ended problems and perform them in just eight minutes. One of this year’s problems requires the team to create a vehicle that takes “A Driver’s Test” guided by a team designed GPS system. Volunteer judges score the team for creativity.
Teams with the highest scores will go on to the state tournament in Binghamton on April 12, and, should they place first or second in their age group, they will advance to the World Tournament in Ames, Iowa May 28-31.
For additional information on the Odyssey of the Mind Program, visit: http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/default.php
Contact:
Nancy Bush, Region 4 Tournament Director at 518-527-6010
or
Arlene Sampson, Director, Region 4 Odyssey of the Mind at 518-573-9104
