Montana Destination Imagination

Recruiting Teams

In our last newsletter we discussed ideas for determining interest in the Destination ImagiNation program within your school's student body.  The next step in the process is to recruit teams.  Recruiting teams first involves bringing interested students and parents together to get information on the full program and the time commitment.

Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to host a Destination ImagiNation information night.  This is intended to be a fun and informational  meeting for both students and parents.  Make sure that all of the students who indicated an interest in the program and their parents are invited.  If your school is new to the DI program, invite your regional director or an experienced Team Manager to come and explain the program.  It is important at this meeting to let your interested students and their parents know the following:

1. The purpose of Destination ImagiNation.

Team members are taught creative problem solving strategies and team building skills to find unique solutions to challenges.

2. The philosophy of team ownership of the Team Challenge solution.

Teams are encouraged to use the strategies and teamwork to create the solution with their own ideas, their own choice of materials, their own manpower and their own presentation.

3. The role of Team Manager(s).

Team Managers are required to present team building exercises, creative problem solving strategies, and Instant Challenges to practice the skills the team is learning.  The Team Manager is also in charge of keeping the team on task but is NOT in charge of solving the challenge.  Free training and on-going support are provided for volunteer Team Managers.

4. The time commitment for team members and Team Managers.

Like all extra curricular programs, Destination ImagiNation teams need to devote time in order to prepare for the tournament.  Team Managers and parents should understand that weekly meetings of approximately 2 hours each are necessary for the team to pull their ideas together.  It is also recommended to let everyone know the State Tournament date and the Regional training, IC and tournament dates if known.

5. Presentation of the year's Team Challenge choices and Instant Challenge demonstration.

Students and parents can really experience the program and understand the value of the time commitment when they have had the opportunity to learn a skill and put it to work.  They can also visualize how the Instant Challenge skills can be used in all the Team Challenges.

If you need a set of information night materials please contact the State Director, Heather Geiger.

Forming Teams

Once you have determined that you have students who are ready to join Destination ImagiNation, the students must be assigned to teams.

1. Teams may compete with as few as 2 team members but with no more than 7 team members.  Once a team has 7 team members contribute to the Team Challenge solution, the team cannot replace any team member who drops from the team.  For this reason, it is important that students understand the commitment when signing up for Destination ImagiNation.

2. Teams compete at tournament by level and the levels are determined by the team member in the highest grade.  The Elementary Level competition involves teams 5th grade and under.  The Middle Level competition involves teams with students 8th grade and under.  The Secondary Level competition involves teams 12th grade and under.  A team may consist of team members across grade levels but they will compete at the level of the team member in the highest grade.  The Rising Stars Challenge is written especially for teams of kindergarten through 2nd grade.  The challenge is designed to introduce the younger teams to the creative problem-solving process and allow them to present a solution in a non-competitive venue.  Although their teams are not ranked by score, all Rising Stars teams that present at the Montana State Tournament are awarded medals.

Each team must have a Team Manager.  Elementary teams are encouraged to have co-team managers especially if this is the team's first year together.  Although many secondary teams can handle most of the meeting planning and execution duties, there must still be Team Manager of record over the age of 18. 

Parents should understand the commitment that their student is making to the team.  Although parents are not allowed to help their student with solving the team challenge, the team depends on the parent helping their child by making sure the child arrives at meetings on time and does not skip meetings.  Parents are encouraged to help the team by providing snacks, running errands for team requested materials or even preparing Instant Challenges for the team to practice.

Be sure to read the Rules of Road for more details on team formation.