By Cole Klassen
It’s that time of year again. The time when those strange kids begin to mutter about duct tape, solutions, creativity, and spontaneous. They speak of a strange activity called OM and how majestic it is. However, few outside this select group understand what this “OM” is. I hope to alleviate that confusion.
OM, or Odyssey of the Mind, is a competitive event. However, unlike most sports, it has vastly different rules. Each year, teams consisting of four to seven members are given six problems to choose from. These problems are about building structures, vehicles, performing a play, etc. The team must pick one or two of the problems and create a solution. Sounds simple, right? Wrong!
There is no one way to solve any of the problems and no adults are allowed to help or even come up with ideas. Teams must look for creative solutions to these problems. That, I believe, is the core of OM. It’s not about coming up with the “right” answer, it’s about having fun, being creative. It’s also one of its greatest challenges, as some may have to build complex machinery by themselves.
Creating the solution takes a few months, then comes regional competition. At Regionals, teams present their solutions to an audience and panel of judges, accompanied by a skit. Teams are scored on creativity. Then also at Regionals is “spontaneous.” Spontaneous is a little hard to describe, but basically teams are given a problem and they have to come up with a creative solution within a time limit. It is very fast and challenging, as teams do not know the problem beforehand.
If teams place in the top two at Regionals, they move on to State, then to World. World is the final competition for OM and is incredibly fun. There are teams from all around the world and all of them have extremely creative solutions.
I talked to Mrs.Pickard, the school’s head of OM, and asked her why people should do OM. She said, “It’s FUN! And, the skills students obtain from OM transfer to so many aspects of life.” So I hope this article helps you understand the crazy world of OM a little better than before.
