Campo Odyssey of the Mind Team Heads to World Finals

A little duct tape, hot glue, cardboard and paint combined with a lot of creativity have landed the Odyssey of the Mind team from the Campo Family YMCA a trip to World Finals.

In April, the Odyssey of the Mind team sponsored by the YMCA placed first in the statewide Odyssey of the Mind competition at the University of Central Florida. Now the team is headed to the University of Iowa in Ames, Iowa, May 23, to compete against teams from around the world.

Odyssey of the Mind is a competition in which teams of students solve problems in creative ways by writing and performing skits. Teams get a budget of just $125 to design and create their scenery, props and costumes.

The Campo Family YMCA team decided on a humorous solution for this year’s Classics Problem: To Be or Not to Be. The eight-minute skit was a take-off on the Shakespeare play “Hamlet.”

The six high school students, Jessica Alzamora, Sydney Luzier, Victoria Harris and Larissa Randall from Strawberry Crest High School and Corey Geer and Alex Geer from Bloomingdale High School, also were awarded a Ranatra Fusca award, given to teams that make an impact on judges for their creativity, said coach Ray Alzamora.

“The students are incredibly excited, no question. They enjoy the competition aspect and thrive on the creativity,” said Alzamora.

It also takes a great deal of sacrifice on the part of the team members, he said.

"You have to be committed to the program and there are so many conflicting opportunities, competition for kids’ time," said Alzamora. "But these kids meet once a week and are always scheming about ways to make their skit better."

“World Finals is such an amazing opportunity for kids our age to interact with teenagers from all over the world and learn to understand their culture,” said team member Larissa Randall. “It’s truly an honor to be able to compete at this level of competition and show the world our interpretation of creativity.”

The team, which has been competing together for five years, has gone to World Finals twice before.

In addition to preparing for the world competition, the team must raise money to get the teams, coaches and their props to Iowa. The estimated cost is about $10,000 per team for airfare, lodging and registration.

The team will hold a yard sale this Saturday, May 12, at St. Andrew's United Methodist Church, 3315 Bryan Rd., Brandon, starting at 7:30 a.m. The team also is looking for other fundraising opportunities and donations.

If you’d like to help or donate items for the yard sale, contact Alzamora at ray_alzamora@hotmail.com, alzamora@gmail.com  or 813-966-6399.