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Ballston Spa Teams Head to Odyssey of the Mind World Championships

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Education, Featured.

Photo provided by Stuart Williams.

BALLSTON SPA — For the first time in more than 30 years, two Ballston Spa Central School District teams are going to the Odyssey of the Mind World Championships in Ames, Iowa in May.

The teams from Malta Ave. Elementary School and Ballston Spa Middle School earned a trip to Iowa by winning second-place trophies in their divisions at the state finals in Syracuse earlier this month. 

For some of the students, ranging in age from 8 to 13, this will be their second trip to the world finals. For others, it’ll be their third trip in only three years. In the past, students have competed against teams from Japan, France, Poland, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Slovakia, South Korea, and Germany.

Odyssey of the Mind is an international competitive program. Teams choose from a list of open-ended problems and solve one of them through a combination of an original theatrical sketch performance and engineering solutions using only inexpensive or recycled materials. Each team must also solve a second spontaneous problem.

The Problem 4 “Deep Space” Division One team from Malta Ave. Elementary School

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Ava Sorbero, 4th Grade 

Arlo Harrison, 3rd Grade 

Roebling Harrison, 5th Grade 

Bryson Skanes, 5th Grade 

Darren Vinson, 5th Grade 

Marlayna Goman, 5th Grade

Liam Caleb Yabut, 5th Grade 

Coaches: Jennifer Sorbero and Angela Harrison

The Problem 4 “Deep Space” Division Two team from Ballston Spa Middle School

Anthony Sorbero, 6th Grade 

Maxwell DeMeritt, 6th Grade 

Alex DeFabio, 7th Grade 

Danny Heggen, 6th Grade 

Adam Loomis, 6th Grade 

Coaches: Angela DeMeritt and Tina DeFabio

A GoFundMe page has been launched to help fund the teams’ trip to Iowa in May. To donate or learn more, visit https://gofund.me/c14126c1.

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