Students participate in the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition at BT BOCES this weekend. Sherburne-Earlville and Bainbridge-Guilford sent a total of five teams to the competition, and three of those teams will be moving on to the state competition on March 21. (Photos by Jessica Benson)

CHENANGO COUNTY – On Saturday, Chenango County teams traveled to Binghamton to participate in the regional Odyssey of the Mind competition at BT BOCES. Sherburne-Earlville and Bainbridge-Guilford sent a total of five teams to the competition, and three of those teams will be moving on to the state competition on March 21.

“Odyssey of the Mind is an international creative problem-solving competition for students. It’s unlike any other extra-curricular activity,” said Sherburne-Earlville Odyssey Coordinator Jonathan Sherry. “Teams of students spend months collaborating in an effort to solve incredibly complex problems. These students work tirelessly without any suggestions from anyone outside of their team, including their coach.”

Teams of no more than seven students select a problem from one of the five categories: vehicle, technical, classics, structure, or performance. Teams must work together to create an 8-minute-long performance that involves a set, a script, original characters, scored style elements and meets an array of other specifications in the most creative way possible. “These students exercise their critical thinking skills and develop a positive relationship with creative problem solving. The solution that students create responds to a lengthy rubric and is then performed for a panel of judges.”

In addition to the scored performance, students also have to do a spontaneous competition where they are given a problem that is unknown to them before hand and they must respond in real time, receiving points for each response, with creative responses receiving higher points.

This year, Sherburne-Earlville sent three teams to the regional competition. Two teams competed at the division two or middle school level and one team at the division three or high school level. The middle school teams, consisting of sixth, seventh and eighth grade students, tackled the vehicle problem and the classics problem. The vehicle team took second place for their performance and will be moving on to the state competition next month.

Sherburne-Earlville’s high school team, coached by Jennifer Ashton, also tackled the classics problem and received the highest scores for their long-term performance. Since other factors also make up the total score, Sherburne-Earlville took second place overall for their division and problem, but they will also be continuing to the New York State Competition.

“Sherburne-Earlville has been offering the program since the 1980s. We have sent countless teams to the State Finals, and fifteen teams to World Finals,” Sherry said.

Bainbridge-Guilford sent two teams to regionals this year. One team competed at the division one–elementary level. The team, coached by Eric Reicherter and Jason Northrup, consisted of five third graders, three of whom were competing for the first time. BG also sent a division two team, coached by Kimberly Morris. The team was made up of two fifth graders and four sixth graders. “This was their first year in division two. Our team came in 2nd place and are on our way to states,” Morris said. Both teams worked on their performance-based problem. “We’d like to build up our program next year. It’s a great opportunity for kids to be creative and be problem solvers while learning to work with a team. The memories and friendships the team members create are a huge part of the fun,” Morris said.

Chenango County teams have been participating in Odyssey of the Mind for many years, participation in recent years has declined. Region 13, which normally hosts Chenango County teams was combined with Region 12 this year due to the low number of teams registered. Former Coach Pete DeVinne explained that OM is unlike other extra-curricular experiences because of its ability to help students develop critical thinking skills. DeVinne said he has two employees who are former OMers, and those students have a unique ability to find solutions to problems in outside of the box ways. “Instead of following the same path to a solution, they find more creative ways to get things done,” DeVinne said.

This year’s New York State Odyssey of the Mind Competition will be held on March 21st at the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. Winning teams from that competition will be invited to attend the World Finals at Iowa State University May 27-30.

Sherry acknowledged that coaching Odyssey of the Mind can be a daunting task for those unfamiliar with the program. He welcomed anyone with questions about the program to email him at sherryj@seonline.org.