If you are a past or present supporter of the Odyssey of the Mind program please consider helping judge at the Illinois State Tournament. We need 70+ Judges and many additional volunteers of all kinds to hold a successful tournament. The teams have spent many hours preparing their creative solutions to the problems, and the tournament serves as an end point and a reward for their hard work. It is important that all the teams are judged fairly.

Judges work as a member of a team to evaluate the performance of a team in the Long-Term, Style, or Spontaneous portion of an Odyssey of the Mind competition. Each individual Judge is responsible for only a limited number of items to evaluate. Judges work as a member of a team, alongside experienced Problem Captains and Head Judges. Judges usually are able to select the problem they are most interested in, or will be assigned a problem if they do not have a preference. Judges must be 18 yrs old or older and attend the Judge Training session of their choice to be certified to judge at the tournament.

Judge must be present for the entire tournament, usually from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm. Please remember that Judges will not be allowed to leave their Problem Site on the day of competition to watch teams present in other problems; this ensures that all teams in a problem are scored consistently by the same Judge Team.

What Types of Judges Are There?

Judging Team Roles for Long-Term Problems

• Problem Captain: The Problem 'expert', organizes and trains judging teams.
• Head Judge: The leader of the judging team, compiles the master scoresheet and presents the scores to the teams.
• Problem Judge: Scores the specified aspects of the Long-Term Solution.
• Style Judge: Reviews the team's Style Sheets and scores the listed items on 'Style'.
• Staging Judge: Checks in teams at their competition time. Reviews the teams paperwork, ensures cost & other requirements (prop size, footwear, etc.) are met.
• Timer/Announcer: Announces teams to audience, times the Long-Term performance.
• Scorechecker: Verifies the Judges' scores adhere to the problem requirements, checks all score calculations for accuracy.
• Weigh-In Judge: (for structure problems) Checks that structures meet the height and weight requirements and fulfill any other requirements for the problem.

Judging Team Roles for Spontaneous Problems

• Problem Captain: The Problem 'expert', organizes and trains judging teams.
• Head Judge: The leader of the judging team, compiles the master scoresheet, scores the teams as well.
• Problem Judge: Evaluates and scores the teams answers and/or solutions.
• Timer/Announcer: Explains the various times that will be given, e.g. think time, practice time, response time, and clearly tells each team when to begin and end each timed portion. Often scores as well.
• Scorechecker: Verifies the Judges' scores adhere to the problem requirements, checks all score calculations for accuracy.

For more information on the different Judges and the associated responsibilities, please visit the Odyssey of the Mind Association website.

Are There Other Ways to Volunteer?

Yes! Volunteers are needed to help with the Information Desk, concession & merchandise sales, monitor the entrances to Long-Term performance sites, and distribute food & drinks to the Judge Teams, among other things. Volunteers can usually help for just part of the day and then be able to watch the Long-Term performance of their children's or friend's team. If you are interested in volunteering some of your time on the Tournament Day, please email Amber Thurnau with your contact information. Thank you!