| Dear Illinois Omers, |
| First, let me thank you all for your patience and understanding over the last few months. I know most of you are hard at work solving the problems for this school year and are anxious to register your teams and find out the specifics of the 2008 competition. We have been working hard to lay the groundwork for a successful Illinois State Odyssey of the Mind Competition! |
| For the past several years, Central Junior High School has been a generous host to the Illinois Odyssey of the Mind state competition. At the end of competition last year, we realized that our competition had outgrown their beautiful school. IKQI sends its sincerest thanks to Central Junior High School and Belleville District 118! |
| This summer we started looking at potential competition sites in the Champaign area, a more northern location to accommodate our growing number of northern teams. We found a great location and a willing host in Barkstall Elementary School, and we began making plans with them. |
| After initial plans to host the State competition in Champaign were underway, a few potential competition site problems with the Barkstall facility were found. Unfortunately, these issues could not be addressed in time for the 2008 competition; therefore, the IKQI board decided to add a northern judge training session, which will allow us to further evaluate potential northern competition sites. If you have location suggestions please Contact Us! with information. |
| Again, please contact me with any suggestions for potential northern competition sites, potential northern problem captain shadows, interest in board membership, questions, comments, and/or concerns. |
Creatively Yours,
Amber Thurnau
Illinois Odyssey of the Mind Association Co-Director
With these decisions made, we are finally ready to give you some exciting updates: |
| Exciting Update #1! |
| Illinois Odyssey of the Mind State Tournament to be held April 12, 2008 at Belleville West High School in Belleville, Illinois! |
We are excited to announce a new venue for the 2008 Odyssey of the Mind state competition: Belleville Township High School West! The high school is a new building with ample parking, large problem sites, and nearby shopping and lodging. We know you are going to enjoy the competition at Belleville West!
Thank you to BTHS West for being our host! |
Exciting Update #2! |
| New northern judge training added to state schedule! |
| We are looking forward to making events more accessible to our northern members; therefore, we have added a northern judge training to the state schedule for this year. Additionally, we are hoping to use that session to evaluate potential northern competition sites for the future. Hosting the state competition requires a group of local volunteers who can be on-site in advance of events and use their area knowledge to ensure that the competition day can run smoothly for all the participants. |
| With this plan in mind, we are on the lookout for northern volunteers to serve as shadows this year. These people should be willing to shadow the key tournament officials and to take on that role up north in the event of future northern competitions. Currently we are looking for 5 volunteer problem captains to shadow our current problem captains this year through training, set-up, and tournament. If you, or someone you know is interested in being a shadow problem captain, contact Amber Thurnau, Co-Director of Illinois OOTM by email or at 618-698-7710. |
| We are also hoping for more northern representation on our board. We will be adding several new spots to the IKQI board. If you, or someone you know is interested in serving on our board, contact Amber Thurnau. |
Exciting Update #3! |
State Team Registration is Online!
Register your teams and pay state competition fee by January 31, 2008. |
When you are ready to register your teams for the Illinois State Competition on Saturday, April 12, 2008, you will complete your registration online this year. We are asking that you complete this by January 31, 2008 so that we can begin making plans for the state competition.
Before begin, gather the following information about each team you will register: |
: School Membership Name, Membership Number, and Mailing Address
: Coaches Name, Email Address, Mailing Address, & Phone Number
: Assistant Coaches Name, Email Address, Mailing Address, & Phone Number
: Team Member's Names, Ages, & Grade Level in School
: Judge's Name, Email Address, Mailing Address, & Phone Number |
| When you are ready to begin go to il.odysseyofthemind.org, click on the "Register Now" link and start filling in the information. Once you have filled out the information, you will receive an email confirming all of the information you provided and a code to allow you to edit the team information to reflect any future changes within the teams. This code will also allow you to check the schedule once we post it on the web. |
| Please make sure you fill out all the information, especially the e-mail addresses. We will begin to use the e-mail system extensively this year. E-mails that come back undeliverable make it difficult to communicate. |
| When you finish registering, please mail in your state registration fee. Each team must pay a state registration fee of $35 order to compete at the Illinois State Odyssey of the Mind competition. Checks should be made payable to Illinois Knowledge Quest, Inc. and postmarked by January 31, 2008. |
| There will be a $10 late fee for teams who register from February 1-15, 2008. Unfortunately, no registrations will be taken after February 15. Please remember that we need accurate team information at that time to begin the planning and scheduling of the state competition as well as contacting judges and volunteers. Send this payment to: |
Illinois Knowledge Quest, Inc.
c/o Dianne Karraker, Secretary
100 Fox Creek Road
Belleville, IL 62223
*** Please note the membership number and team name on the check. |
Exciting Update #4! |
| Our State Website has been given a fresh look. |
| Check it regularly for updates! Visit il.odysseyofthemind.org! |
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Coach Training Session Requests
Submit by December 15, 2007 |
| If you would like to request a coach training session, please contact Amber Thurnau by December 15, 2007. Any leaders needing help or information feel free to call and we will get you the services you need. We are here to facilitate you and your teams! |
State Competition Registration
Register by January 31, 2008 |
| Team Registration for the Illinois State Competition is now Online! Register your teams and pay the $35 state competition fee by January 31, 2008. |
Southern Judge Training Session
March 29, 2008 |
Belleville West High School
4063 Frank Scott Parkway
Belleville, Illinois 62223
*** Coaches: Please make sure that your judges know about the training and are planning to attend.*** |
Northern Judge Training Session
April 5, 2008 |
Location has been finalized!
Updated Jan 30, 2008. |
Horace Mann School
921 N. Kenilworth Ave.
Oak Park, IL 60302 |
Illinois State Competition
April 12, 2008 |
Belleville West High School
4063 Frank Scott Parkway
Belleville, Illinois 62223
Nearby Stores:
Target, Home Depot, and Office Max
Nearby Hotel:
Shrine Hotel
More information to come! |
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| Before sitting down to register, you and your team needs to find a person to volunteer as a judge for the state competition. Each team is required to supply one judge for the State Competition. The judge must attend the judge training session of their choice and be present during the entire competition day. |
Remember that judges will not be allowed to leave their competition sites on the day of competition to watch teams present, so parents may not make the best judges. Who would? Other teachers in the building, neighbors with volunteer spirit, more distant relatives, or friends all make good Odyssey of the Mind judges. |
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