OMER’s Awards

Pinecrest High School
Triathlon Travels, Division III
Southern Pines, NC
The team spent time between competitions clipping clothespins with inspirational messages written on them onto unsuspecting World Finalists. The team decorated the pins with color, sequins, paint, etc. and included messages like “Good Luck” and “Thank your coach” and “You can do it!” It was so thoughtful of the team to encourage other competitors and anonymously recognize everyone’s creativity. Pinecrest High School, thank you for performing this Random Act of Kindness!

Chino Valley Advogate F
Emoji, Speak for Yourself, Division II
Chino Hills, California
In the movies, a powerful story has beautiful music behind it to guide our emotions. We saw Hollywood-level story-telling today. We experienced a man’s life from childhood to adulthood. Throughout it all, the original music performed live mirrored the emotion of the story and brought it to new levels. The child had light-hearted music. The man had a more mature sound, which darkened and grew with his burdens. The link between the performance and the music was flawless. The combined effect had our hearts aching with the story and brought tears to our eyes.

Geneseo Central School
Mocumentary! Seriously? Division III
Geneseo, NY
The judges had never seen such an innovative backdrop. Charlotte the spider looked like a rock-star rock climber on a tension system backdrop held together by the tension of a web. This set was large enough to support the weight of a team member and a robotic fly who witnessed this wonderful weaving. The structure included three ladders with interwoven tie-down straps and was collapsible. Her team members dubbed Charlotte “humbly radiant!”

Orinda Rotary
Animal House, Division I
Orinda, CA
In this problem, teams are required to support three food items with their structure before they can start placing weights. While this team was attaching food to their structure’s balsa narwhal horn, the horn suddenly snapped off. Because weight placement cannot begin until all three food items are attached, the pressure was on. This team, however, didn’t miss a beat. The team members rallied to find a solution on the fly, fashioning improvised hooks and finding new attachment points. The team’s poise, teamwork, and creativity astounded the judging crew. The solution worked wonderfully, and the team went on to hold hundreds of pounds of weight (480 lbs).

Rylie from M.D. Williams Elementary School
Stellar Hangout, Division I
Pocahontas, Arizona
This unique musician wowed the judges with her audacious display of “arm-blarting”. The speed and melody of her blarts showcased a musical mastery that left the judges and audience impressed and in hysterics. After tuning up her instrument backstage with the seriousness of a concert musician, she stepped up to deliver her performance. Rylie’s instrument is not only unique, but her skill allowed her to deliver musical notes with the aplomb of a virtuoso.  She displayed exceptional and professional skill that truly brightened the performance. 

Caroline Morris from Ohio State University
A Stellar Hangout
Columbus, Ohio
Caroline Morris has earned this award for her amazing heart, endurance, and commitment to Odyssey of the Mind. Caroline was diagnosed with a severe kidney infection in April and spent weeks in the hospital. She continued to be part of her team from her hospital room by FaceTime and by writing the script. She had a kidney stent placed 2 weeks ago, which worked great… until arriving in Ames. Caroline went to the hospital in Ames on Thursday with a problem with her stent. Instead of flying home, she was committed to participating with her team, insisting she could make it for 8 minutes despite being in incredible pain. She did make it through the 8 minutes, and immediately had to return to the hospital. Talk about dedication! Caroline maintains such an uplifting and positive attitude towards all and exemplifies what it means to be an OMer.