Get involved

To ensure teams are scored fairly, we require each team to provide a judge (and volunteer) for tournament day so we can provide necessary training prior to the big day. A judge will need to be available for this role all day so there is consistent scoring. Simply stated, the teams, and very likely your children, have worked too hard not to be judged fairly. If you are a past or present supporter of the Odyssey of the Mind program please consider helping judge this year’s event.

General Information about Judges:

Your role as a coach is to not be the expert in whichever problem the team chooses to solve. In fact it is often better not to be an expert because there is always a risk of outside assistance. Your role is to facilitate creative problem solving, teambuilding, and brainstorming; teach kids how to manage a project or learn basic skills such as building concepts, theatrical principles, artistic qualities and more. We encourage you to bring in outside experts (parents, teachers, etc) to help teach some of these skills or to take “field trips”.

As a coach, you will be off to a great start when you set the example of adult behavior, sportsmanship, and Odyssey of the Mind spirit. Make the process of Odyssey of the Mind your goal and not the competition placements. All teams are winners because they have solved the problem to the best of their ability.

For more information on coaching contact the Coaching Coordinator at info@vaodyssey.org

Parents are the ones who are driving the carpools, forking out money for pizza, opening closets for major scavenging, waiting while the team cleans up after a meeting, postponing dinner because one more prop needs finished, and generally watching from the sidelines while the team “gets creative!”

Your Odyssey of the Mind Regional Board also relies on parents for help. Virginia Odyssey of the Mind competition uses approximately 100 judges and 100 volunteers to ensure a smooth, exciting tournament for all.  Consequently each team is required to provide one judge AND one volunteer to register. Here are the opportunities for parents, friends, and relatives to help make the regional tournament possible. We feel certain you will enjoy helping, and few volunteer opportunities directly benefit so many children in an educational program!

Odyssey of the Mind is an international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college. Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics. They then bring their solutions to competition on the local, state, and World level. Thousands of teams from throughout the U.S. and from about 25 other countries participate in the program.

 Virginia Odyssey of the Mind continues to look for Corporate Sponsors for our program. As a corporate sponsor, your corporation will be associated with a program that supports quality and integrity in education and at the same time contributes to the development of a society of creative problem solvers. If you are interested in becoming a Corporate Sponsor, or you want additional information on pricing structures, please contact us at info@vaodyssey.org.