Northgate Odyssey

Northgate Odyssey of the Mind

Volunteers Needed

If the students are the brains, volunteers are the heart

Through the generosity of time and talent, volunteers help make Odyssey of the Mind possible. To have an organization, we need Board members. To have a team, we need coaches. To have a tournament we need judges and competition volunteers. All of these volunteer positions require different levels of commitment, but they ALL allow this enriching program to happen at our schools. Thank you for considering volunteering! We hope you’ll find volunteering to be a satisfying and uplifting experience. 

Become a Coach

To have a team, we must first have a coach. That’s where you come in! Although the idea of coaching might seem overwhelming, especially if you are unfamiliar with OM, it is manageable for several reasons: 

  • teams are small, only 5-7 students;
  • teams meet for about 1.5 hours once per week after school (this can sometimes turn into 2 meetings per week as competition gets closer – this is left to the team and coach’s discretion);
  • OM provides coach training (in early November);
  • OM has Odyssey Academy, which offers video tutorials walking you through the OM process;
  • OM problems are broken down with specific requirements, making them easier for team solutions to develop;
  • co-coaches are welcome;
  • we offer guidance and a support network of coaches at Bellevue and Avalon Elementary Schools and Northgate Middle School;
  • students must come up with the solution to the problem (coaches and parents cannot tell them what to do).

To give you a sense of what it means to be a coach and some of the dimensions of it, here are The First 10 Things Coaches Need to Know.

Competition Judge

Judges have a full-day commitment on the day of the competition. This volunteer position requires a half-day of training. Mandatory judge training is typically schedule on a Saturday in early February. There are 2 kinds of judges. Spontaneous Judges judge the short-term problem that is present to teams at the competition. Long-term Judges judge the long-term problems that teams have been working on all season. You will not judge the problem and level of your child is competing in, though it is likely that you will not see their performance. Judges are usually done by 4pm and often earlier. Here is a list of The Top 10 Things Judges Should Know

We are required to provide judges for each team and there is a sizable penalty for a team if a judge isn’t provided. We appreciate you helping the teams get their full points at competition!

Competition Volunteer

Volunteers have a 2-3 hour commitment on the day of the regional competition (between 8am and 4pm). You will not be scheduled at a time when your child presents their long-term problem. Here is a list of The Top 10 Things Volunteers Should Know.

We are required to provide competition volunteers for each team and there is a sizable penalty for a team if a volunteer isn’t provided. We appreciate you helping the teams get their full points at competition!

Interested in joining the Board?

Contact us at northgateodyssey@gmail.com.