Most competitors don't refer to their opponents as "family" – unless it is within OotM. The tone of this year's World Finals reflected that compassion and camaraderie more than ever. Over the three days of competition, worldwide friendships were forged and teammates grew closer. This is quite an achievement considering there were over 800 teams participating and over 450 volunteers at World Finals.

In fact, there were so many OMER's Award nominations and stories of good deeds occurring during World Finals that during the Awards Ceremony, held in Hilton Coliseum at Iowa State University, everyone in attendance was awarded an honorary OMER's Award and given a round of applause.

Founder Dr. Sam also recognized this during his closing remarks, "This was a wonderful, wonderful Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. Each team can return home knowing that you represented your country with dignity, honor, and character. I am proud of every one of you and so is everyone in the arena."

Further showcasing Odyssey Spirit was the culmination of the first year of the Odyssey Angels Program where Pinetree Secondary School of British Columbia, Canada was recognized during the Opening Ceremony for its project that raises awareness for homeless youth in Canada. The group also gave presentations about the project during the Creativity Festival.

While Odyssey teams made memories and friendships that will last a lifetime, they also competed in the most challenging creative competition in the world. China had the most championship teams with five, North Carolina and Singapore are next with three, Pennsylvania and Poland each had two first place teams, and Arizona, California, Hong Kong, and Virginia each had one. Of course, all teams that came up with a solution over the year are winners and have developed creative problem solving skills that will help them in the future.