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NEW! COU Increases Scholarship Amounts
OMers, you deserve to be rewarded for your creativity, problem-solving skills, and dedication. We are thrilled to announce an increase in scholarships for high school seniors who have participated in Odyssey of the Mind! This year, COU is offering: Odyssey of the Mind Scholarships: What You Need to Know! WHO can apply?This program is open…
Tuesday Tip: Finishing Up Big Items
At this point, the tournament is quickly approaching and the team still needs to get major parts of their solution completed. Again, this is NORMAL. And with encouragement, the team CAN do it.
Tuesday Tip: Getting Back on Track
Happy New Year! Don’t be alarmed if it is January and your team still doesn’t have any costumes, any props, any other major parts of their solution completed This is NORMAL.
Tuesday Tip: Practice Spontaneous
Because the Spontaneous problem is unknown until the day of the tournament, parents and coaches can share what they would do in practice problems without any penalty.
How to Prepare for Spontaneous Competition
Now that we’re in the thick of the Odyssey Season, it’s time for a few timely reminders and some suggestions to help your team during Spontaneous practices as they prepare for Spontaneous competitions.
Tuesday Tip: Assiging Homework
As we begin Winter Break, there’s still a lot on the team’s To Do list. You, as the coach, can assign homework or say something like, “We need some committed team members who can work on one or two of these items on the list before our next meeting.”
Tuesday Tip: Something Fun!
In previous tips, you’ve seen the reminder to end with something FUN. And by this point the team might be needing something more than a round of compliments. So here are some ideas of things to try.
Team Tip: Build Sessions
Look at the list of things that need to be completed in order to solve the problem (if you created a list). Which of those things does the team think they can finish in a longer 3-4 hour session?
Team Tip: Performance
It would be considered Outside Assistance for the coach to direct the team’s performance. But the coach (or a parent volunteer) can give short stagecraft SKILLS lessons.
Volunteering as a Tournament Judge or Official
One of the most important volunteer opportunities that OM has to offer is being a judge or an official. Officials are the faces of Odyssey of the Mind that teams will remember about their experience. So make it memorable and HAVE FUN as you get an insider’s view of OM teams and their creativity!