Odyssey of the Mind 2012-2013Long Term and Style Judge Training

What is “Odyssey of the Mind”?International creativity competition for schoolkids

K-2 noncompetitive “practice problem”3 age divisions of competitive problem

Each team chooses 1 of 5 “long term” problems, and prepare a solution in the form of an 8-minute performance that meets certain specific requirements and is judged on stated scoring criteria

Performance is also scored on “Style Elements” that are a mix of required and team-selected features

Each team also competes in a “Spontaneous” problem that they have never seen before. (Not our concern…)

Regional winners advance to State tournamentState winners advance to World Finals

Which part of that are we doing?We are responsible for judging the Long Term

and Style aspects of one of the five long-term problems for this year; it’s called “The Email Must Go Through”Problem #2 (the “Technical” problem)Should involve both technical and artistic elements

Before we get into the details of the problem, let’s talk about the different judging roles we will need…

What is the challenge we are judging?Create and present an original performance that

includes a tangible representation of messages sent by email. A Sender character will load emails in a loading zone

to pass through an “email network server” to a delivery area

A “SPAM filter” will divert one email to an unintended location

One email will have a (tangible) attached work of artA Receiver character will send a reply to one of the

emails back through the networkThe emails may not be touched by the team during

transit

Judging Roles2 Staging Judge1 Timekeeper (aka Master of Ceremonies,

MC)4 Long Term (aka Section D Judge,

Problem Judge)4 Style Judge2 Score Compiler (aka Score Checker,

Scorekeeper)1 Head Judge (already assigned)

Staging JudgeGreets and preps every team

Welcomes teamsReviews paperwork for completeness and correctness

All forms OK (including required list), with enough copies of each

All Style categories fully described and in correct order No overlap between Style and Long Term scoring areas No illegal batteries, dry ice, weapons, bare feet, etc.

Works through staging checklistNotes any potential cost or Outside Assistance penalties

Pro: most time with teams of any judge roleCon: will only get to see one or two performancesSpecial skills: detail-oriented, familiar with Chapter 5 of PG

Master of CeremoniesGets paperwork from staging judges for each team,

and distributes to scoring judges (LT and Style)Introduces every team, fills dead time with

audienceTimes performances, stops teams at 8 minutes

(if necessary)Keeps things running on scheduleCoordinates team clean-up and exit

Pro: no decisions, numbers, or paperworkCon: not for the timidSpecial skills: big voice, firm hand, stopwatch

Long-Term Score JudgeWatches each performance and discusses with team

members the elements of the presentationScores each team on all elements of Section D of the

problem (4/7 of each team’s total score for the day)Works with other judges to decide whether to assess

penalties, and if so how much

Pro: most influence on who wins the tournamentCon: lots of decisions, some difficult – takes focusSpecial skills: deep familiarity with problem rules

Style JudgeWatches each performance and discusses with

team members the style elements of the presentation

Scores the 5 elements in Section F of the problem(1/7 of each team’s overall tournament score)

Double-checks that team-selected Style elements do not overlap with items scored in Section D

Pro: can focus on artistry; entirely subjectiveCon: need good notes to be consistent all daySpecial skills: interest in arts, design, language

Score CompilerCollects Long Term and Style scores from those

judgesEnters all scores into computer and prints resultsDouble-checks for incorrect or impossible scoresFiles all paperwork in correct folder/basket

Pro: no decisions, laptop programs available, often gets to see multiple performancesCon: lots of data entry and filingSpecial skills: detail-oriented, organized

Head JudgeProblem Captain’s representative at each siteKeeps the process flowing smoothly at the siteAdvises other judges as necessaryReturns (and explains) raw scores to coaches

Pro: no scoring decisions – advisor onlyCon: must be familiar with rules and all judge roles;

explanations to coaches are sometimes awkwardSpecial skills: ability to explain things clearly

Choosing judging rolesWe need to take a few minutes to assign people to

jobsReminder:

1 Head Judge = Carolina Bernstein2 Staging Judge1 Timekeeper (aka Master of Ceremonies, MC)3 Long Term (aka Section D Judge, Problem Judge)

(one spot reserved for Shelby Montague)4 Style Judge2 Score Compiler (aka Score Checker,

Scorekeeper)

What is the challenge we are judging?Create and present an original performance that

includes a tangible representation of messages sent by email. A Sender character will load emails in a loading zone

to pass through an “email network server” to a delivery area

A “SPAM filter” will divert one email to an unintended location

One email will have a (tangible) attached work of artA Receiver character will send a reply to one of the

emails back through the networkThe emails may not be touched by the team during

transit

Where do the rules come from?Chapter V of the 2012-2013 Program Guide

Download at http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/downloads/programguide.pdf

The official Long Term Problem StatementIncluded in your download packet

Published Problem ClarificationsView/download at

http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/clarifications/default.php

Officials’ ClarificationsProvided by me

Beware of oddly defined termsIf you know anything about how email works, the

terminology in this problem could be misleadingTangible objects, not electronic files“Server” is actually transport“SPAM filter” diverts instead of quarantining“Attachment” can’t be digital“Return receipt” must be deliberate replyEmails aren’t generally delivered to physical

locationsFor our purposes, it’s probably better to think of

this as “the UPS package must go through”

The EmailsMust be tangible representations of

messagesTangible = something you can touchDoes not necessarily involve words or symbols

Three separate emailsOne with attachmentOne generates replyOne gets misdirected to the “offbeat location”

Must be delivered to three separate physical locations on the floor of the Delivery Area

The Sender and ReceiversAll emails will be created (in the story) and

sent (physically) by the Sender character, who can be portrayed in any wayNot necessarily one kid in a costume…

The emails will be unloaded (downloaded?) by one or more Receiver characters. A Receiver will send a reply email back through the system.

Sender and Receiver(s) are scored for loading and unloading the emails properly, and for the creativity of their portrayals.

For example…• Could be an alien, an animal, a

kitchen item, a mathematical object, a robot, a planet... The Sender must be a single character in the story.

• Could be costumed kids (including different kids at different times), models, toys, puppets, etc.

The Email Network ServerTransports the emails across the Internet Zone

Two taped lines on the floor, 8 feet apartSeparate the Loading Zone from the Delivery Area

This is the “technical” part of the problem (maybe)Opportunity for some engineering skillsMust operate without direct contact of emails

by team membersScored for creativity of how it works and

originality of its designCould be as simple as a slingshot or hockey

stick

The “SPAM filter”Associated with the email network server, but

scored separately from the transport mechanismAt some point will divert one email to an

unintended (“offbeat”) locationScored for

Creativity of how it detects SPAMOriginality of the reason (in the story) that the

misdirected email got flagged as SPAM

I hope we see at least one solution that actually filters emails by their physical characteristics, without team intervention

Style ElementsArtistic quality of one of the emails

Clarification: could be a fourth physical email, that team must attempt to send through the network

Creative use of a trash item in a costume“A trash item” can be 1 item, or multiple parts of one

thing, or multiple identical trash items

Two “free choice of team” elements (which the team will describe on their Style form)

Overall effect of these 4 elements in combination

Staging and Style judges need to watch out for overlap with Long Term (Section D) scored items.

Section D ScoringObjective scores (yes or no, all judges must

agree)The Sender loaded all three emailsThe Receiver(s) opened all three emailsThe emails were sent successfully (3 separate

scores)The reply was sent back to the Sender successfullyThe work of art was attached and delivered

For any of these that get zero, write a note to the Head Judge explaining why

Section D Scoring (continued)Subjective scores (1 to _ points, judges need not

agree)Overall creativity of performancePerformance qualityCreativity of Sender and Receiver portrayalsOriginality of “email network server” designCreativity of how SPAM filter worksOriginality of why one email was divertedArtistic quality of the work of art attachmentCreativity of explanation for why work of art is being emailedCreativity of the chosen offbeat locationEffectiveness in the performance of the offbeat location

Safety RulesJudges (especially Staging Judges) need to be familiar

with the safety rules in the Program Guide (pp. 36ff) and Regional House Rules (from our website)No open flames or flammable fuelsNo internal combustion enginesNo dry ice or other extremely hot/cold itemsNo live animals or taxidermyNo weapons, explosives, smoke bombs or similarOnly specific permitted types of batteryShoes must be worn at all timesEtc.

ANY JUDGE may stop a performance AT ANY TIME if they perceive an impending safety issue, including bare feet

PenaltiesWe don’t want to assign penalties, but they are a

necessary way to maintain an even playing field.Over Cost – could some other team really reproduce this

team’s solution within the cost limits?Outside Assistance – did the team come up with all of the

ideas and do all of the work?“Spirit of the Problem” – a requirement that isn’t scored

but was not met (e.g. Sender must be portrayed as the creator of the emails)

Unsportsmanlike Conduct – On or off stage. Did they make a mess they couldn’t clean up? Cause a delay? Harm others? Include offensive material in their performance? Say hurtful things?

Missing or Incorrect Membership Sign – must comply with Program Guide specifications

Penalties (continued)Any judge can raise the question of whether a

penalty may be appropriateJudges should confer and reach consensus on

Whether to penalizeExplanation for penaltyAmount of penalty

If a penalty is assigned, attach a message to the Head Judge (in addition to writing the penalty on the Long Term judge scoresheets) explaining exactly what the penalty was for. To explain it to the coach, the HJ will need the best description you can give.

OMER’s AwardAwarded to a team or individualRecognizes one or more of:

Outstanding sportsmanship / teamworkOutstanding artistic or performance qualityOutstanding contribution to OotM program

ExamplesAstonishingly skilled dance performanceLending tools to a competitor at the last minute so

they can fix their broken vehicleAgreeing to coach 3 teams because 2 other

coaches quit

Ranatra fusca AwardThere’s a story behind the name…Awarded to a team or individualRecognizes one or more of:

Outstanding creativity – way “outside the box”Exceptional risk-taking in a good cause

The thing you will talk about at work on MondayExamples

The papier-mâché headThe morphing soldier/dinosaurThe shadow-extruding machine