Students

Children in grades K-2 are generally placed on a Primary team. Primary teams will present their solution to a long-term problem and solve a spontaneous problem but will not be competing with other teams. This is intended to introduce young children in the primary division to the fun world of Odyssey in a non-competitive and less stressful environment. Please note that if there are not enough interested students to form a Primary team, K-2 students will be placed on a Division 1 team.

Children from Orenda in grades 3-5 must be placed on a Division 1 team. Division 1 teams will present their solution to a long-term problem and solve a spontaneous problem and will be competing against other grade school teams in our region. Each Division 1 Orenda team must choose a different problem to solve and will vote on their problem of choice after teams are formed.

2021-22 Problems are published here.

Team Formation and Meeting Schedule

Our goal is to place every child who is interested in participating, however we are limited by the number of available coaches. Teams will be created and assigned based on matching a child's availability with a coach's availability. In forming teams, we consider a blend of grades, days the children are available, problem interest and continued team building.

Teams generally begin meeting once per week starting in October or November. The team’s meeting schedule will be worked out and agreed to by those on the same team. Teams may meet at Orenda or another on-campus location, or may meet at a coach's (or other parent's) house. The early meetings will be focused on team building, spontaneous problems, and the broad concept presentations. As the teams get closer to the competition, students should expect to meet more frequently.

Team members will provide a snack for the team on a rotating basis.

All Primary and Division 1 team members MUST be available to participate in the Regional Competition on March 5, 2020. Division 1 team members must also be able to attend the NYS Odyssey Tournament on Saturday March 26, 2022, in the event your team advances.

Please note that meeting or competition dates may conflict with the 5th grade play rehearsal.

Cost to Participate

$60 participation fee per child. The fee for one child per coach and co-coach will be waived with a limit of one participation fee waiver per coach. Odyssey Shen District T-shirts are included in the cost and will be provided to all team participants, volunteers and coaches.

Materials costs. Each long-term problem has material costs associated with solving the problem. To minimize costs teams are encouraged to use recycled materials and share supplies such as tape and paint. These costs are covered by the team.