OM Competition

Prep - The Stahl house is always extra busy the day before the competition packing up all the needed supplies, getting and loading the Uhaul, and finishing up the paperwork that should have been done already...this led to a long day and late evening. This time we also had to add purchasing tarps because there was a chance of rain...oh and don't forget Makin changing up one vehicle and a team rehearsal! ;)  Yep, we were tired.

Competition day dawned cold, cloudy, and with a chance of freezing rain. We were very relieved it was not raining as we unloaded - SO, SO thankful for this. We arrived a couple hours before our performance time so that the kids could prepare as well as fix up any props as needed. We were a bit cramped as we had assigned locations to put our props in the hallway, but we survived.

The team did a great job presenting, with only a few minor "kinks" that the coaches and kids knew about, but overall we knew they did very well.

The kids did their "cheese chant" and loved that the judge came over and said,
 "after I heard that chant I just had to come over and meet you."

After the presentation, the judges go and talk to the students,
asking them lots of questions to see how they solved their problem.

They rushed off to their Spontaneous as soon as their long-term was done (this ran late, which made them rush even more!) and felt they did a great job at Spontaneous. In case you aren't familiar, this is a percentage of their scoring and they have to answer a problem in a certain amount of time - it is great for those quick-thinking skills. Judges look for creative answers - those receive more points.

So proud of them!!!

After the Spontaneous, we had time for a quick birthday cookie cake because it was Brittany's birthday. Then Christine and I put in our volunteer shift while Brad and the kids watched the elementary students perform our problem. We then had to head home to wait for scores (the scores were behind, so we had to wait for an email we got around 10 pm) and planned to watch the results together Sunday evening. (Covid precautions - no in-person awards ceremony...)

The kids brought their pins and did a little pin trading among themselves.

Then we watched the results...

FIRST PLACE!!! State, here we come!

(State is the second weekend in April...so more OM workdays to try and improve until then, but shouldn't be QUITE so crazy around here... ;) )