We presented 2 Omer’s Awards and 2 Ranatra Fusca Awards this year at the closing ceremonies. Omer’s Awards may be presented to individuals or teams who particularly exemplify the spirit and philosophy of the Odyssey program, or demonstrate exceptional skill or talent, or exhibit outstanding sportsmanship or teamwork. Ranatra Fusca Awards may be presented to individuals or teams who demonstrate exceptional creativity or risk-taking in solving the problem.
Langston Hughes MS, The Wonderful Muses Div. II (by judge nomination), for taking extraordinary risks to achieve a very creative end – to allow their muse to fly through the air! With an impressive rolling, rotating stage set which projected a revolving t-bar threaded with a belaying system that allowed one team member to counterweight the Muse's flights of fancy, this team’s Muse actually flew over the heads of team members and over scenery at least 4 feet in the air. The design also including a lattice work base with wheels and an innovative safety design that included non-weight bearing plastic tubing struts to warn of any impending failure of the t-bar system. This was truly a risky, creative, and inspired design!
Sovereign Grace Homeschoolers Team A, The Wonderful Muses Div. III (by judge nomination), for a combination of several exceptionally creative elements and designs built into this team's performance. Beginning with a costume modeled on the 17th-18th century period complete with bustle, pleats, ribbons ... and even a matching multi-tier hat! This costume would have not been out of place in Colonial Williamsburg even though it was constructed of garbage bags, duct tape, and astrological charts all sewn together. For Urania, the muse of astronomy, the astrological charts as the white fronting of the black and white motif were a particularly inspired choice. But this solution also had more! An innovatively designed grandfather clock was prepped to be accidentally jostled by the careless muse and spill a random pattern of simple hardware to the floor. This hardware then inspired a character to understand and pursue astronomy (Urania again!) because of its abstract resemblance to the celestial star pattern. The design of the clock allowed the reliable and accurate delivery of the nuts and bolts to the floor to allow the plot to proceed with complete credibility. The inspiration to have the accidentally inspired leap of faith rely on a creative imagination coupled with a creative design is in the best tradition of Odyssey of the Mind.
Colvin Run ES, The Wonderful Muses Division II (by judge nomination), for exceptional skill and talent in the performance of a spectacularly staged and choreographed martial arts exhibition featuring dueling pairs of combatants. Utilizing skills drawn from disciplines ranging from gymnastics, dance, ballet, martial arts, and theatrical stagecraft, this team put on a performance that included roundhouse kicks, spins, dips, rolls, and more. The action was very authentic and it represented an obvious investment in training and discipline to achieve the result of wowing the audience and the judging team in a safe but very effective manner.
Oakton HS, The Eccentrics! Div. III (by coach nomination), for demonstrating the spirit and philosophy of the Odyssey program. To paraphrase their coaches:
This team’s Odyssey of the Mind started 11 years ago in 2nd grade with a problem called “Dream Vacation” and will end this year as graduating high school seniors with a cumulative 60 years of Odyssey experience. As coaches, we felt a bit overwhelmed in the early years, but realized that this program offered something very special to the kids: a means to express themselves in ways no other activity can. At our first tournament, we looked at our 2nd grade team and we looked at the high school teams and thought if our kids can grow up to be like them, Odyssey of the Mind is something very special. Over these 11 years, this team has shown the true spirit of Odyssey of the Mind. They have been Virginia state finalists 7 times, World finalists 3 times, and received 1 Ranatra Fusca Award. They are OMers, and we are most proud of them not for winning, but for the times they have lost. In the true spirit of Odyssey of the Mind, this team took lots of risks; sometimes they won big and sometimes they lost big. But they would always say “we win as a team and we lose as a team.” This sense of positive risk-taking has been a real life lesson. Last year, for instance, they represented Virginia at World Finals as a group of self-centered nuns in a humorous skit that as coaches we weren’t sure would work. They promised to keep in tin good fun and good taste. They were rewarded with 4th in the World for their long-term solution in “I’m Only Thinking of You” and got a standing ovation from a “crying from laughter” Dr. Sam Micklus.
The NoVA West problem captains, regional directors, and tournament director also applaud Pat and Michele O’Brien, coaches of this team for all 11 years. It takes very special coaches to help a team stay together for more than a decade, through the joys and tribulations of maturing from age 7 (when they needed help just to read the problem statement) to age 17 (when they drove themselves to the tournament). We hope to keep Pat and Michelle involved in Region 13 for many more years, and look forward to seeing these team members as officials and coaches in the years to come.
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