Switzerland participated in the Odyssey of the Mind Virtual World Finals
Over a span of nearly 40 years, World Finals has been the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work for the millions of students across the world who have participated in Odyssey of the Mind programme for the academic year. First and Second place winners for each of the five Long Term Problems and four Divisions (age groups), in their respective National tournaments, are invited to compete at the World Finals, each year.
2020 has been a special year for Odyssey of the Mind (OotM) and the entire world.
The gathering of over 850 teams from around the world, for the World Finals, was cancelled. When OotM HQ decided to conduct a virtual World Finals there were more questions than answers, yet, amazingly, on May 15, 2020, there were 843 teams registered who had sent in their videos and required documentations. Teams from around the world found different methods to present their solutions. Nothing stopped Odyssey of the Mind teams to show off their creativity!
Teams from Canada, China, Belarus, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland were among those participating in this unique experience along with many teams from the USA.
Teams from Nations and La Grande Boissière Campuses, seven teams eligible for the World Finals, enthusiastically participated in the Virtual World Finals, knowing they had not been able to fine tune and improve their Long Term and Style March 7th performances and accepting that their participation in the event was what counted. Their Spontaneous Problem component was done Virtually on Sunday, May 17th. Their participation brought them a sense of fulfillment and great satisfaction. There were smiles and expressions of joy.
We are over the moon, learning that one of our OotM Switzerland teams came in 9th place out of the 118 teams with whom they were competing!
Below are just a few comments from our OotM Switzerland parents, who speak for the other 45 parents,
“It was such an up lift for (*my son) to be able to complete in the Ootm year so positively, when a little while ago there seemed only disappointment and cancellations in sight.”
“The excitement for (*my daughter) to participate in the World Finals was super…Thank you for performing miracles, first the regionals just before the lights are turned off, and now the world finals with lights still not on! Miracles…”
“OoTM remains one of the single biggest and best things she talks about – pandemic or no pandemic!!”
*child’s name removed
Our participation in the Virtual World Finals could only have happened with the enthusiastic involvement and dedication of the students, their parents and their coaches.
Marcia Banks, OotM Switzerland Association Director and coach
