SF Bay Odyssey of the Mind Newsletter - #11 - December 4, 2011

PLEASE PRINT THIS EMAIL AND USE IT AS A CHECKLIST

Yesterday was the last Coaches training session of the season and it's time to register your team for the tournament along with your judge and volunteer. Every team should now have a trained coach.

Here are the steps every team needs to take in order to participate in the tournament:
1) Obtain your National Odyssey Membership number from your coordinator or school
2) Register your team online for the Regional Tournament
3) Pay the Regional Tournament Fees - online or by check
4) Register your Judge and your 2-hour volunteer

Step 1 - National Membership
Most of the schools have already purchased a membership. You will need to have a paid up membership in order to register for the tournament. If you don't know your membership number, check with your coordinator or school, or send us an email and we will give you the number. The schools that do not yet have a membership are listed at the bottom of this email. If you are the only team at your school and the school is not sponsoring your team, you may need to buy the national membership yourself. You can do so online at www.odysseyofthemind.com. State membership fees will need to be paid also.

Step 2 - Register your Team For the Tournament - DUE BY DEC. 31
Use this link to register your team for the tournament. You will need your National Membership number and the zip code under which your team was registered. Check with your coordinator if you are unsure as to the zip code they used. You will be registering for the SF Bay Region tournament. Please register your team as soon as possible as we need to know how many teams will participate in each problem. All teams should be registered by the end of December.
TEAM REGISTRATION LINK: http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/members

Step 3 - Tournament fees - DUE BY JAN. 22, 2012
Once you complete the registration above, you will be redirected to our website where you can pay the $75 per team tournament fee using Google Checkout. There will be a 30 second delay before you are redirected. You may also pay by check by making out a check to SF Bay Odyssey of the Mind and mail it to PO Box 338, Alamo, CA 94507 Fees are due by January 22, 2012. If you want to pay your fees online but not at the time of registration, use this link to access the page to pay your fees at a later time: http://www.sfbayodysseyofthemind.org/fees/fees.html

Step 4 - Registering your Judge and 2-hour volunteer
Each team is required to provide a judge who will work all day, the day of the tournament. Your judge will attend judges training either on Feb. 4 or Feb. 11, similar to the coaches training you attended. Judges WILL NOT be able to see your team perform so do not recruit someone who is counting on seeing the team perform on tournament day. Every team is required to provide a judge, NO EXCEPTIONS. Your judge just be 18 years or older. It take several hundred people to put on a successful tournament and every team must contribute a judge. Use this link to register your judge:
http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/judges/assoc_tournaments.php?assoc=CA®ion=SFBayRegion

Registering your 2-hour Volunteer

Each team must ALSO provide a person to work for 2 hours during the tournament. This is an ideal position for one of the parents on your team as they will be able to see the team perform. (we will work their schedule around the performance time, or schedule them to be the door monitor during your team's performance which means they will be inside the room during the performance)
There is a list of position posted on our website at www.sfbayodysseyofthemind.org. If your volunteer is interested in a particular position, put the request in the notes when you register your volunteer online. Examples of volunteer positions include: door monitor, working souvenir sales, helping with setup and serving the judges lunch, helping with setup and teardown, etc.
Use the same link to register volunteer, that you used to register your judge:
http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/judges/assoc_tournaments.php?assoc=CA®ion=SFBayRegion
Be sure and indicate that this person is your volunteer, not your judge by checking the appropriate box.

Schools who have not yet purchased a National Membership:
==========================================================
Alisal Elementary - Pleasanton
Acalanes High Sch - Lafayette
Alamo Elementary - Alamo
Canyon Middle School/Membership name TBD - Castro Valley
California HS - Dublin
Doughtery Ele Sch - Dublin
Excelsior Middle Sch - Discovery Bay
Glen Park Ele Sch - San Francisco
Glenview Ele - Oakland
Glotietta Ele - Orinda
Greenbrook Ele - Danville
Harder Ele - Hayward
Heritage High Sch - Brentwood
Hidden Valley Ele - Martinez
Iron Horse Mid Sch - San Ramon
Joe Henderson Ele - Benecia
Joaquin Moraga Int - Moraga
Lafayette Ele - Lafayette
Los Perales Ele - Moraga
Marshall Ele - San Francisco
Orinda Int Sch - Orinda
Pine Hollow Mid Sch - Concord
Rheem Ele - Moraga
San Ramon Valley HS - Danville
Sequoia Ele - Oakland
Sleepy Hollow Mid Sch - Orinda
Starr King Ele - San Francisco
Westwood Ele - Concord

If you are the person responsible for purchasing the National Membership, go here:
http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/registration/default.php

Thanks and Happy Holidays to all!

Dick and Janis