Sub-state competititon results

 tournament  Comments Off
Mar 032012
 

Congratulations to all of the Sub-state Tournament participants who worked so hard to present creative solutions to their Challenges. We look forward to seeing your improved solutions at the State Tournament on April 14, 2012. All teams in Iowa do advance to the State Tournament, unless:

  • they do not have a trained Appraiser who also served at Sub-state this season
  • they made no visible effort toward a viable solution at the Sub-state Tournament
  • they are disqualified because of Interference in Instant Challenge (discussing their Instant Challenge with non-team members before Global Finals), or
  • they choose not to advance.

Special congratulations go to the elementary Silver Starz team from St. Albert School (Team 112-11552), which earned a Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award. According to the Appraisal team for Challenge E, Elementary Level, there was an error in weighing that would have greatly helped this team, but the Team Manager and the entire team said that wouldn’t be fair or right, and wanted a re-do on weighing. The Appraisal team felt this attitude reflects the true meaning of fairness and sportsmanship, and the Spirit of DI. The Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award is offered to those who act as superior role models in the areas of spirit, sportsmanship and volunteerism. Way to go, Silver Starz!

If your team placed 1st, 2nd or 3rd place in your Challenge and Level, but was unable to accept your award because you had to leave the Tournament early, you can pick up the individual awards at the Sales & Registration table at the State Tournament.

To download competition results, click on the applicable link(s) below:

PrintFriendlyEmailShare

State tournament results & special awards

 global finals, press release, scholarships  No Responses »
Apr 152010
 

Congratulations not only to the 15 teams that qualified to advance to Global Finals on May 26-29, 2010 at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, but also to ALL teams that showcased their solution at any Iowa tournament, regional or state. The fact that you followed through and completed your Challenge is a testament to your hard work and dedication, and also to the encouragement provided by your Team Manager and/or Coordinator, teachers, parents and family members. We enjoyed every one of your performances thoroughly! Now is the time for each team to celebrate its success, not only in terms of how you placed at a tournament, but also in terms of skills you gained and/or improved, friendships you made, and the fun you had.

Scores and press release

The scores for the State Tournament are posted at the state Web site here. You can analyze your results and see how you placed in your Central Challenge, Side Trips (if applicable) and Instant Challenge, and set some goals for next year. Please take a moment, too, to read the press release that appears here. You may wish to use all or part of this press release to announce your team’s results in your local community.

Renaissance Award

Besides the state-level 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners that were announced, congratulations are in order for the single You’re Gonna Flip! team that earned a Renaissance Award at the State Tournament. This award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance. Congrats to the Fairfield team, No Idea (Team 112-99026) for earning a Renaissance Award in the areas of engineering and design. The Appraising team wrote, “This team demonstrated outstanding engineering and design ability in terms of a mirror. The interesting problem the team had to solve was how to crack and then shatter a mirror in a safe and repeatable way. The team was able to hang polycarbon material (in pieces) to create the illusion of a complete mirror within a wooden structure. Each piece had to be strung on a piece of fishing line and be perfectly positioned to create the proper illusion. With a pull (or rather, kick) of a lever at the bottom, they loosened only a few pieces to crack the mirror. Later, the team removed the top supporting beam to cause the ‘glass’ pieces to fall and shatter. The engineering and design ability needed to allow the mirror to break in two different ways and time is immense and fully deserving of this award.”

DaVinci Award

DIrect DIposit team 112-61235 from Moville, which is advancing to Global Finals, earned the only Da Vinci Award presented this program season. The award, which the Ferocious Five received at the Western Regional Tournament, recognizes exceptional creativity, a unique approach to the problem and/or risk taking. The Ferocious Five received this award for outstanding creativity. The Appraisers wrote, “This team comprehensively incorporated a significant current event to explain the critical importance of getting supplies into Haiti, a country decimated by a catastrophic earthquake. We feel this team displayed the qualities that exemplify the spirit of DI and deserve the Da Vinci Award for outstanding creativity. Throughout the storyline, the team displayed research of the event by understanding the quake’s magnitude and resulting devastation. They showed critical reasoning and an innate understanding of public policy and administration by making important determinations of which structures would have to be rebuilt to get supplies into the country and to administer to its people such as airports and hospitals. And finally, by demonstrating that they considered alternatives and chose the most effective means to quickly get supplies into the country, they displayed compassion and empathy that we found wonderful.”

Scholarships

Additional congratulations go to the students who earned college scholarships this year. Mary Emily Berge of Indianola High School was awarded a Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship, and Stephanie Choquette from Eagle Grove High School received the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship that honors the memory of former DI participants and volunteers Dayle Kitch and Aaron Eilerts.

Mary Emily Berge has participated in the Destination ImagiNation program for 6 years. Her team received the Da Vinci Award twice, and earned 2nd and 3rd place finishes at the State Tournament on three separate occasions. She says, “In Destination ImagiNation I learned to think critically for the first time in my life . . . In DI I was presented with challenges that were hard for me, but fun because it was one of the first activities that ever engaged my mind.” Mary points out  through the DI program, she also learned about responsibility, teamwork and compromise, and how to think on her feet.

Stephanie Choquette, who has been a Destination ImagiNation participant for 4 years, has been extremely involved with her church, teaching, playing music, serving on the parish council and more. She has volunteered for the local food pantry, the Humane Society of North Central Iowa, and Meals on Wheels. She tutors students and volunteers at her school, and is an active member of the Student Senate and Character Counts program. “It makes me feel good that I can make a difference in my community,” she says. “I am very grateful that my family helped me get involved and start doing community service activities. I have gained a new perspective on the way people and animals live that are less fortunate than I am.”

T-shirt and pin design

A big thank you goes to 7th grade student Temesha Derby of Grinnell, who is responsible for the design of the gumball pin. Another set of thanks goes to 7th grader Luke Whitney of Anthon-Oto Middle School for the light bulb design for the T-shirts. The T-shirts with this design will be worn proudly by all Iowa teams at Global Finals during Opening Ceremonies, and the pins will be traded with teams from around the world.

Appreciation

Thank you also to all of the following people who helped make Iowa’s Destination ImagiNation program a success this year:

  • Affiliate Board members
  • Tournament Directors
  • Affiliate Webmaster
  • All Challenge Masters
  • Temesha Derby from Grinnell (supported by Grinnell State Bank) for the 2010 state pin design concept
  • Luke Whitney from Anthon-Oto Middle School for the 2010 state T-shirt design concept
  • Dean Wallace of Carroll Pepsi-Cola Bottlers, Inc. for donating pop and bottled water for Appraisers
  • Panera Bread for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Eastern Regional and State Tournaments
  • Quiznos for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Western Regional Tournament
  • Doyle Forster and the folks from Chartwells who provided food service at the State Tournament
  • American Legion of Iowa Foundation for medals and award plaques
  • Cyber-Anatomy for providing free printing of some of the Instant Challenge Team Workshop materials
  • Iowa Energy Center for printing and free use of facilities for Board meetings
  • Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools for hosting the Western Regional Tournament at a discounted rate
  • Kirkwood Community College and Ames Middle School for hosting our tournaments and free use of the facilities
  • Thanks to their site liaisons, as follows: Bruce Antion of Ames Middle School; Tim Fitzpatrick & Penny Miller of Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools; and Lori Bell of Kirkwood Community College
  • All Appraising volunteers, school Coordinators, workshop facilitators, Team Managers and parents who provide the DI experience to Iowa students

We could not run this program without everyone’s efforts.

Congratulations once more to all Iowa teams, and thanks to everyone! We hope to see you back next year. Keep posted for news about our Global Finals teams, and about next year’s Challenges.

PrintFriendlyEmailShare

State tournament results

 scholarships, tournament  No Responses »
Apr 072009
 

Congratulations not only to the 13 teams that qualified to advance to Global Finals on May 20-23, 2009 at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, but also to ALL teams that showcased their solution at any Iowa tournament, regional or state. The fact that you followed through and completed your challenge is a testament to your hard work and dedication, and also to the encouragement provided by your Team Manager and/or Coordinator, teachers, parents and family members. We enjoyed every one of your performances thoroughly! Now is the time for each team to celebrate its success, not only in terms of how you placed at a tournament, but also in terms of skills you gained and/or improved, friendships you made, and the fun you had.

Scores and press release

That being said, the scores for the state tournament are posted at the state Web site here. You can analyze your results and see how you placed in your Central Challenge, Side Trips (if applicable) and Instant Challenge, and set some goals for next year. Please take a moment, too, to read the press release that appears here. You may wish to use all or part of this press release to announce your team’s results in your local community.

Renaissance Award

Besides the state-level 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners that were announced, congratulations are in order for the single Private DI team that earned a Renaissance Award at the state tournament. This award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance. Kudos to the Carroll team, DI of the Tiger (Team 112-08221) for earning a Renaissance Award in the area of performance. The Appraising team wrote, “This team demonstrated exceptional theatrical skills. All team members were comfortable and critical in their roles. They incorporated a “voiceover” introduction that was effective and produced great humor. Not only were their actors in motion up front, but had great integration of ‘background’ movements all during the performance. They created an awesome ‘musical genre’ in their skit that included song and choreographed dance. Although improvised, this group could take their act on the stages on Broadway with their incredible theatrical abilities and stage presence!”

Scholarships

Another set of congratulations goes to the students who earned college scholarships this year. Marissa Paulsen of Carroll High School was awarded a Students for a Creative Iowa Student Scholarship, and Hannah Smith, also from Carroll High School, received the Kitch-Eilerts Memorial Scholarship that honors the memory of former DI participants and volunteers Dayle Kitch and Aaron Eilerts.

Marissa Paulsen has participated in the Destination ImagiNation program for 7 years. Her team has consistently placed in the top five at the state tournament, and earned a trip to Global Finals twice. Marissa writes, “There is a quote I understand more and more after every Destination ImagiNation practice I attend–’There is no I in team.’ DI stresses the importance of teamwork, but I don’t think everyone realizes just how important it is for every aspect of Destination ImagiNation. Our DI team has many talented individuals, but I truly believe we could not have accomplished what we have without teamwork.”

Hannah Smith, who has been a Destination ImagiNation participant for 7 years as a co-teammate of Marissa Paulsen, is also a volunteer who has amassed more than 650 hours as a tutor, an outreach group role model, a church volunteer, a Big Sister and a mentor. In her scholarship application, Hannah points out, “Being a volunteer is time consuming, but I would not want to not be involved in some type of program that allows me to be me, where I see that I make the difference. My involvement in these programs has helped me develop a sense of who I am outside of school and my family. I am grateful that I have had these opportunities to volunteer with a variety of kids because I know I can treat each individual uniquely and make a positive difference.”

T-shirt and pin design

A big thank you goes to 9th grade student Jenna Dengler of Northwood Middle School in Ankeny, who is responsible for the treasure chest pin and T-shirt design this year. The T-shirts with this design will be worn proudly by all Iowa teams at Global Finals opening ceremonies, and the pins will be traded with teams from around the world.

Thank you

Thank you also to all of the following people who helped make Iowa’s Destination ImagiNation program a success this year:

  • Affiliate Board members
  • Tournament Directors
  • Affiliate Webmaster
  • All Challenge Masters
  • Rick Sweet for a $600 donation for computers
  • Grinnell Mutual Insurance for donating 6 laptops
  • Carroll Pepsi – Cola Bottlers & Rick Hoffman for donating pop and bottled water for Appraisers
  • Hy-Vee (Urbandale) for donating Instant Challenge materials
  • Panera Bread for discounting the cost of Appraiser lunches at the Eastern Regional and State Tournaments
  • American Legion of Iowa Foundation for medals and award plaques
  • Kwik Trip of Urbandale (100th St. & Douglas Ave.) for some Instant Challenge supplies
  • Laura Cruse for donating $20 when unable to attend the Instant Challenger
  • John Nolan for donating a printer
  • Iowa Energy Center for printing and free use of facilities for Board meetings
  • Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools for hosting our tournament
  • Kirkwood Community College and Ames Middle School for hosting our tournaments and free use of the facilities
  • Thanks to their site liaisons, as follows: Bruce Antion of Ames Middle School; Tim Fitzpatrick & Penny Miller of Carroll Kuemper Catholic Schools; and Lori Bell of Kirkwood Community College
  • All Appraising volunteers, school Coordinators, workshop facilitators, Team Managers and parents who provide the DI experience to Iowa students

We could not run this program without everyone’s efforts.

Congratulations once more to all Iowa teams, and thanks to everyone! We hope to see you back next year. Keep posted for news about our Global Finals teams, and about next year’s Challenges.

PrintFriendlyEmailShare

Regional tournament results, special awards & resources

 instant challenge, tournament  No Responses »
Mar 042009
 

Eastern regional tournament results

Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in the Eastern regional tournament.

Scores have just been posted to the state Web site, so you can view them here.

Congratulations also to teams that earned special awards at this tournament, as follows.

The Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism and Sportsmanship.

  • Grinnell State Bank team 112-70638, “The Cow Ran Dry and Took Grandpa.” The Appraisers wrote: “In the spirit of DI, this team performed well without a member of its team. They were able to creatively disguise a missing member. The students that performed acted as though the three members were all that were on the team. As middle schoolers they went on to compete the challenge at hand, without making excuses. They were not even planning to mention that they were not at full capacity. These students realized that a job needed to be done and they didn’t complain about doing it. Each member of the team took a part of the person’s role and responsibilities. All students shared equally and not one complaint. Way to go, girls!”
  • Grinnell Middle School team 112-44223, “New Improv.” The Appraisers wrote: “A different Middle Level team was missing a cardboard box at check-in. The ‘New Improv’ team emptied their box and loaned it to the team in need.”

The Renaissance Award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.

  • West Des Moines team 112-09237, “Rising Stars Western Hills Elementary.” The Appraisers wrote: “This Rising Stars team rose above their expected level of performance and design. The students created original music (lyrics that the Appraisers continued to sing after the performance). It was fun, innovative, and educational. The team designed exceptional costumes to depict sea creatures including crab, pufferfish, snail and a host of others—all of them well conceived, fun and which fit the challenge perfectly. This was a joy to watch.”
  • Maharishi School Silver team 112-51578, “Was Replaced,” Individual Award to Avery Travis. The Appraisers wrote, “The individual designed a large cardboard set piece, in two pieces. The pieces were joined by flexible wrapping; the wrapping itself colored differently on each side. To change scenery, the set folded in on its center and seemed to magically re-appear as a second set. The effect was outstanding. It was reminiscent of a ‘Transformer™’ toy or like a color-changing “Flip toy” from the 50s. It was highly unique as a set and deserving of the Renaissance Award for design.

Western regional tournament results

Congratulations to all of the teams who participated in the Western regional tournament.

Scores have been posted to the state Web site, so you can view them here.

Congratulations also to teams that earned special awards at this tournament, as follows.

The Spirit of Discovery & Imagination Award is offered for exceptional Spirit, Teamwork, Volunteerism and Sportsmanship.

  • Ankeny team 112-45996, “BADA BLING.” The Appraisers wrote, “We feel this team exhibited all the elements of the Spirit of DI Award primarily through integrating together all of the following:

“Being a role model. The team demonstrated and presented the importance of being yourself, even with pressure from peers.

“Community/volunteerism. The team showed an awareness of caring for the environment by using recycled items for their props.

“Teamwork. Team members used individual strengths and brought them together . . . showcasing each other’s strengths.

“Sportsmanship. The team was courteous and showed good character before, during and after the performance.

“Spirit. It was evident they enjoyed working together and performing together. And, it appeared to be a meaningful topic for them.”

  • Van Meter team 112-20994, “Six Imagineers.” The Appraisers pointed out the exceptionally inclusive nature of the team, despite a special challenge. They wrote, “The team still put together a good performance and everyone had fun. The spirit of inclusiveness is certainly part of Destination ImagiNation.”

The Renaissance Award is offered for exceptional skill in the areas of engineering, design, or performance.

  • Indianola team 112-49478, “A-JEARCH.” The Appraisers wrote, “A-JEARCH created an incredibly creative backdrop display to portray The Old Man and the Sea story. They used a container of water and a projector to create a realistic water scene that projected onto plastic sheeting. Additionally, they used “Shrinky-dinks” and cardboard shark jaw cutouts to project an image of fish and sharks swimming in the water. The projection screen also doubled as a curtain-like apparatus to allow different parts of the story to be portrayed. It was a unique arrangement.” The Challenge Master noted, “Those ever attending a Grateful Dead concert would feel nostalgic.”

State tournament schedule

Please note that the State tournament schedule will NOT be posted until after the deadline for special schedule requests has been passed (March 17). If you have a special request, please email it to: askcre8iowa@cre8iowa.org.

Preparing for the next level of competition

Any regional tournament provides your team with a great opportunity not only to showcase its Team Challenge solution, but also to learn where there are possibilities to improve. Yes! Most teams make changes between the regional and State tournament (highly recommended). Has your team examined its Tournament Data Form closely? Has the team identified exactly what they want to have evaluated as a Side Trip? Appraisers can only award points for what is stated on the form. Be very specific, and use complete sentences. If the Head Appraiser noted some areas that will be looked at more closely at the Tournament, you will wish to examine these within your Team Challenge and make appropriate modifications. Remember also that your solution must be able to fit within a standard doorway.

DISC WIKI Resources

As your team prepares for the next level of competition, it will find many resources that are available online, in particular the Destination ImagiNation Resource WIKI, which has been assembled by the Destination ImagiNation Support Committee (DISC). DISC’s goal for this Web site is to provide Destination ImagiNation teams and team managers with a comprehensive and up-to-date list of resources, which is maintained and updated by DI volunteers. Although this is not an official DI site, its comprehensive collection of resources is immensely useful. In particular, you will wish to visit these pages:

Instant Challenge. Now is also the time to really practice Instant Challenge. Most of the top teams at the state Tournament have scores that are just within a few points of each other; Instant Challenge often separates the teams. If you are not sure where to find more Instant Challenges, check out this resource list, on which the cre8iowa Instant Challenge Library is included:

http://diresources.wikispaces.com/main_instantchallenge

Team Videos. You may also find it helpful for your team to view videos of past teams’ performances so that your students understand what a typical performance is like. Visit this resource page:

http://diresources.wikispaces.com/videosteamchallenges


PrintFriendlyEmailShare