Geneseo and York Odyssey of the Mind Qualify for World Championship

GENESEO — Students at Geneseo Central School and York Central School qualified for the World Finals at the Odyssey of the Mind State Championship on at Binghamton University.

Official results say that the competition on Apr. 8 saw teams qualify for worlds in a total of  seven categories between the two schools.

At this year’s State Championship, Geneseo Central School had three 1st place finishes, in categories ‘Ready, Set, Balsa, Build!’ for Division III and ‘To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger’ for both Divisions I and II. Each of these teams, as well as the team that competed in ‘Catch Us If You Can’ for Division III, qualified for the World Finals.

York Central School also had two 1st place finishes, in categories ‘Odd-a-Bot’ for Division III, and ‘Ready, Set, Balsa, Build!’ for Division II, as well as one 2nd place finish in the category ‘It’s Time, OMER’  for Division III. All three of these teams will advance to the World Finals as well.

Geneseo and York’s qualifying teams will return to compete at the 38th Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University on May 24 – 27, where over 825 teams from around the globe are set to go head-to-head.

GENESEO RESULTS:
Catch Us If You Can Div I – 3^rd with 320 points
Catch Us If You Can Div III – 3^rd place with 339 points
Odd-a-Bot Div I – 3^rd with 289 points
Odd-a-Bot Div II – 15^th place with 241 points
Odd-a-Bot Div III – 3^rd place (tie with Shenendehowa) with 291 points
It’s Time, OMER Div I – 12^th place with 259 points
It’s Time, OMER Div II – 3^rd place with 320 points
It’s Time, OMER Div III – 4^th place with 325 points
Ready, Set, Balsa, Build! Div III – 1^st place with 334 points
To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger Div I – 1^st place with 345 points
To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger Div II – 1^st place with 334 points
To Be Continued: A Superhero Cliffhanger Div III – 2nd place (tied with Wellsville) with 325 points

YORK RESULTS:
Odd-a-Bot Div III – 1^st place with 334 points
It’s Time, OMER Div III – 2^nd place with 335 points
Ready, Set, Balsa, Build! Div I – 3^rd place (tie with Homerkinds) with 260 points
Ready, Set, Balsa, Build! Div II – 1^st place with 336 points

According to the Odyssey of the Mind website, the program is an educational experience that encourages problem-solving skills in students grades K-12. The students are categorized by grade into three divisions: students grades K-5 are in Division I, students grades 6-8 are in Division II, and students grades 9-12 are in Division III.