(10/2003) - Hello, my name is Kim and I’m a current ninth grader here at Shorecrest. I’m also a six-year participant of the Odyssey of the Mind program. I was asked to talk today about the accomplishment of going to the World Final Competition for Odyssey of the Mind. I would like to talk about that, however, that is not really what I am going to focus on. Instead, I would like to talk about what it took to get these two teams of amazing members and coaches to World Competition.

Odyssey of the Mind started at Shorecrest about six years ago. It was introduced as a creative-thinking, after-school program. The first year, Odyssey was truly just that. The teams did not compete - I doubt I even knew there was a competition. We barely read the problems or followed the rules. Odyssey of the Mind, that first year, was just a fun activity to keep us occupied and allow us to act. For some of us that wasn’t enough.

We wanted to truly become Odyssey participants and to compete. So we started out our second year with the plan to follow the rules. We had two teams that year and both did very well. But yet again, we were very new at this and didn’t know that you had to follow ALL the rules. We didn’t know all the elements that went into truly making a wonderful Odyssey of the Mind performance. That year we had one team make it to State Competition and it set a goal for all of us.

The next few years we had more goals and we had many teams do wonderfully and make it to State Competition. We had finally started to learn what was needed to do well and we were using those skills. We were writing better, more creative skits, making more elaborate costumes, more ingenious machines, and really getting into all the aspects of Odyssey of the Mind. And by now we had a few years of experience under our belt. After going to “State” so many times, however, it didn’t seem enough, so we set our sights on “World”. Then, two years ago we had one team and everything seemed to be going right for us. We thought that maybe this might be the year we make it. And we did wonderfully and had a great time at “States”, but sadly enough we lost by .03 points! It was a devastating blow, but looking back it was a necessary blow because it spurred us on to accomplish greatness and to not settle for less.

Thus we started the Odyssey of the Mind program of last year. We had two teams, 14 participants, 3 coaches, and about 6 months to get our solutions to the problems ready. However, as I now learned, that was not all the ingredients we had that allowed us to make it to World Competitions last year. We had dedication, hard work, creativity, leadership, experience, the yearning to do well and heart, along with a million rolls of duct tape and sticks of hot glue. So we began working on our projects. One team chose to do a technical problem which involved building a machine to transport and carry items. The other team did a partial technical and dramatic problem where they had to write a skit about a creature of artificial intelligence which they had to build. We worked hard, meeting usually every week, sometimes on weekends, and just about every day as competition drew near. WE worked as a team. Needless to say, there were disagreements but we stuck together. Looking back, that team work is probably what made the difference, that we were there for each other.

So competition time came and Shorecrest held up to the reputation it had now built. At Regional Competition, one team won first in their problem and the other, second in their problem. We were both going to “States”. Having seen other people’s ideas and having more time, we were inspired to work harder and to improve our skits before “States”. At “States”, many of us knew that it was either now or never for many of us would not be doing Odyssey of the Mind next year. So we gave it all we had. So, as we sat there that night for the State Competition award ceremony, we were ecstatic to hear Shorecrest called for first place in both problems. This was something that had rarely, if ever, happened before. Two teams from the same school winning first and going to “World”. WE WERE GOING TO WORLD!!!!!

And so, with hugging and crying we got ready to travel to…..IOWA. At World Competition we had a blast. The teams got even closer, probably because of spending so much time in the close quarters of the Iowa State Storm dorms. The teams, along with parents, had fun and bonded while rolling down hills (there aren’t any in Florida), ice skating, going to a dance, bowling, pin trading, and much more. Also, it was extremely interesting to see what other teams from around the country and the world had created as solutions to solve the problems. All together it was a wonderful experience - made even better by one team winning 3rd in “World”. The other team had some technical difficulties as a result of shipping, but they tried their hardest and I guess it’s a part of life. World Competition and becoming close with this wonderful group of people are things I will never forget.

Odyssey of the Mind has been an important part in my life as well as my teammates. It has taught me much. And I will use those lessons in life as well as school. If I had to write a recipe for being successful in Odyssey, I would have to say it would be dedication, friendship, supporting parents, leading coaches, and thinking outside the box. I would also greatly encourage all of you to participate or at least see an Odyssey of the Mind performance. Thank you for letting me speak on behalf of my teammates and myself.