DALTON, Ga. — “Have fun, no pressure and do the best you can do” was the advice Westwood Elementary’s Odyssey of the Mind team coaches gave the students before they competed in the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals at Michigan State University last month.

The team members took the advice to heart and placed fifth out of 56 teams for their age group, third through fifth grades. A total of 850 teams competed at the event. 

“It was a little bit frightening to see how many people were there and what we were up against,” said team member Spencer Hayes. “We thought we weren’t going to place that high. When we found out we placed fifth in the world it was pretty amazing.”

Odyssey of the Mind is an “international educational program that provides creative problem-solving opportunities for students from kindergarten through college,” the organization’s website states. “Team members apply their creativity to solve problems that range from building mechanical devices to presenting their own interpretation of literary classics.”

The members of Westwood’s team were Hayes, Andre Avila, MyLinh Carroll, Eli Crow, Francis Cuaresma, Ava Parkinson and Ben Thorne. The team was open to any students who were interested in participating. 

Westwood’s team was the first Odyssey of the Mind team from Dalton to compete in the World Finals since Dalton Middle School in 2010. Earlier this year the Westwood team competed in regional and state competitions. Crow said World was “a lot different.” 

“We’ve never been to World and there were more people there,” she said. “There were all kinds of different things to do and people to meet, plus none of us have ever been to Michigan.”

Teams were judged on their ability to solve both long-term and spontaneous problems. The Westwood team competed against teams from 22 states and seven countries in “Problem 1: Catch Me If You Can” for the long-term problem. The teams had to design and build and then operate a mini “vehicle” from a “multi-level parking garage” to a “secret meeting place” without being stopped. Westwood chose a build a vehicle using recycled materials provided at the competition. 

To add excitement to the competition, students were allowed to dress in costumes they made and perform short skits, written by the students. 

The team’s spontaneous problem was to make a vehicle that would only turn left. Cuaresma said it was challenging.

“We kind of didn’t do that, the car shot straight through and we literally threw it off the ramp at a certain angle,” he said. “It was legal so we didn’t get penalized for it.”

Westwood placed fifth in the long-term category and third in spontaneous. 

Parkinson agreed the spontaneous problem was challenging.

“We had some trouble, the car went down the ramp a little too fast and broke, but otherwise we did pretty good,” she said. 

Eliza Avila, a coach and the mother of Andre, said it was hard watching the students struggle and not be able to help. Sandra Crow and Lucile Cuaresma were also coaches with children on the team.

“It was really frustrating that you couldn’t tell them what to do, they have to figure it out on their own,” Eliza Avila said. “After five times the car worked and everyone including the audience clapped.” 

Martha Thomason, the school coordinator for the team, said placing in the top 25 was huge.

“To break in the top 10 is even more outstanding,” she said. “Not only were they fifth in their age group, but third in spontaneous and that’s one you can’t plan for.” 

Eliza Avila she’s proud of the students.

“They performed very good overall, all of those practices paid off,” she said. 

Juli Hayes, the mother of Spencer, said she’s also proud of the team members.

“To see how the whole team has evolved over the years is amazing,” she said.

As a goodwill gesture, Juli Hayes gave away nearly 500 friendship bracelets she made with the help of friends to other teams at Odyssey. She plans to give some to donors who contributed financially to Westwood’s trip.

Thomason said more than $10,000 was raised in less than a month. In addition to private donors, several restaurants — Gondolier, Las Palmas, Love Empanadas, the Oakwood Cafe and The Sweet Spot — contributed a portion of their sales to the team.

“We wouldn’t have been able to go without the help of the school and community as a whole,” she said. “This city comes through no matter what, and to raise that much in under a month is pretty cool.” 

Asked if they had anything to say to the donors, the team members responded in unison, “Thank you!”