May News

News from NY Odyssey about Team New York at World Finals, Battle of the Problems, New York OMers winning scholarships from NYSOMA and COU, Friend of NYSOMA and Community Star awardees, as well as details of the Pin Design Challenge.

Good Luck Team New York!

In just over a week 53 teams will be arriving in Ames, IA to represent New York at the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals.

Some of these teams are veterans having been to World Finals before, some have been working for years to get there and some are totally new to the program and found themselves at World Finals.  

Whatever their Odyssey experience, we know they will make NY proud and we wish them all good luck.  Have fun teams, learn from this experience and come home ready for the Odyssey 2026-2027 season.

African Road ES, Allegany Limestone MS/HS, Attica Central School, Ballston Spa MS, Bethlehem Central HS, Catskill HS, Circleville MS, Dale Jr HS, Fairport Odyssey (3 teams), First Presbyterian Church of Skaneateles, Geneseo MS/HS, Goshen MS (2 teams), Grace Colaborative (2 teams), Hagan ES, iPad Rehab Microsoldering, Irondequoit HS (2 teams), Iroquois MS, Long Beach ES (2 teams), Long Beach MS (2 teams), Maine Memorial ES, Maine-Endwell MS, Mendon Center ES, Middletown HS, Monhagen MS, Montgomery ES, Mount Morris MS/Sr HS, Orville A Todd MS, Park Ave ES, Park Road ES, Pittsford MS (2 teams), Round Hill ES, S S Seward Institute, Salamanca HS, Sandfordville ES, Sherburne Earlville HS, St. John the Evangelist School, Tesgao & Skin PTA, Thornell Rd ES, Vestal HS, Vestal MS, Warwick Valley MS, Wellsville MS, Wood Rd ES, York MS/HS

Don’t forget our Division 4 team, Diver Library. 

Thank you to everybody who have supported these teams, helping them fundraise and simply being there to cheer them on. 

Battle of the Problems

Congratulations to the winners of our first ever "Battle of the Problems" challenge!

At the Officials reception, the Friday evening before State Finals, while officials caught up with old friends and made new ones, we challenged them to a simple table-top spontaneous challenge.

Teams of officials were grouped by their long-term problem. The task they were set was to build the tallest tower that would hold a ping-pong ball using the items in a bag

The first ever "Battle of the Problems" champions were crowned - Problem 3. 

Now, will they keep up this winning streak next year?  Can’t wait to see.

Pin Design Request

Every year NYSOMA solicits design ideas for next year's pins. Even if you aren't a gifted artist, any type of suggestion is welcomed.

NYSOMA Scholarship winners

Every year NYSOMA awards a number of academic scholarships ($1,000) to New York OMers, who are graduating High School or are in their freshman year of College.

Odyssey of the Mind participants employ aspects of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) in the design of solutions to Odyssey’s unique problems.

This year’s challenge for applicants was to make two videos: a 3-5 minute video showing how they and their team have used aspects of STEAM to solve Odyssey problems in unique and creative performances or solution elements, and a 30-second version of the video to be shown at State Finals.

Their video submissions were creative, memorable and really did an effective job of showing how Odyssey addresses STEAM. They will be published on the NY Odyssey website after World Finals (Don't want to give away details of their solutions!!)

Sophia Amato, Region 5

Ruth Christensen, Region 14

Noah French, Region 15

Inaaya Sethi, Region 12

Carly Seligman, Region 5

OMers in the Class of 2027, keep your creative juices flowing – NYSOMA Scholarship applications will be available HERE early next year.

COU Awards

Alumni Ambassador - Ashton Talma - Freshman at Albany University studying Biology

Emerging Alumni Award - Nora Cardinal and Jailynn Harmon, Middletown HS, Region 5.

COU Visionary Scholarships

Inaaya Sethi, Region 12

Noah French, Region 15

Ruth Christensen, Region 14

Carly Seligman, Region 5

Tegan Morehead - Region 4

2026 Friend of NYSOMA

Kate Sholar

As the governing body of NY Odyssey, we have been busy updating our Policies and Procedures. To accomplish this task, we needed expert help to craft the precise wording required to draft and revise these documents.

As a practicing attorney, this OMer has always been available and willing to answer our questions, giving her expert guidance with best practice advice. Her recommendations have been supported with many hours of pro-bono research and legal drafting to make sure that NYSOMA is compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.  

In addition to helping NYSOMA, this individual is a working mom, and the coordinator for nine Odyssey teams.

With much gratitude for her help and advice, NYSOMA is delighted to award the Friend of NYSOMA this year, to Kate Sholar from Region 11.

2026 Community Star Award

Jessica Harney

NYSOMA recognizes individuals who go above and beyond to support the program in their community.  Their efforts may not be far-reaching throughout the state but have an impact locally.This individual is a coach who introduced Odyssey to her school district 20 years ago and has remained deeply committed to the program.

When faced with the possible loss of Odyssey in her school district this year she refused to step away and instead used her problem-solving skills to ensure her students could continue participating.

Believing strongly in the program’s value—especially for students in rural communities—she also reached out to other schools to try to grow the program, all while continuing to coach.

We honor this year’s Community Star award to Jessica Harney for advocating for and valiantly leading the fight to keep Odyssey part of her own students’ lives and that of others.