Barbara Parris, Region Director

barbaraparris@verizon.net

Joel Johnson, Tournament Director

joeljohnson1@bellsouth.net

168 Tatham Creek Road

(828) 586 5148

November 26, 2007

Dear Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator or Team Coach,

The North Carolina Odyssey of the Mind competition year is up and running. The 2008 competition is scheduled for March 1, 2008 at T.C. Roberson High School.

Again, Western Region teams will register online (see enclosed instructions). You must register online for any team that could possibly compete, even if they are just thinking of forming a team. This gives us an early basis to estimate how many teams might compete at the tournament. This commitment should reach us as early as possible, but certainly by January 25, 2008 which is the final registration deadline. Only the teams that have registered online will be eligible to compete in the 2008 Western Region Tournament. Please have individual team coaches fill out this registration. This information will be used to create registration materials so we know who is responsible for your team at the tournament and also gives us direct access to coaches when we have additional information or changes that affect their individual problem.

Each membership will be required to provide a minimum of one judge and one volunteer per team competing. Because of a shortage of judges in the past, the tournament officials have the right to access a team penalty for failure to meet this requirement. Schools that have more than four teams need only provide a maximum of four judges and four volunteers. Primary teams are exempt from this requirement and need not provide judges or volunteers. After your team is registered, the coach or coordinator must click on the Judges’ Nomination Link found on the Western Region Web Page (http://western.ncom.org) and nominate judges and volunteers by January 4, 2008. These nominations are tied to individual teams so make sure you fill out a form for each team. This would be best done by the team’s coach. Our goal is to have all judges and volunteers register online so we can contact them with updated information in a timely manner. Judge and volunteer nominees will receive an e-mail that will guide them to their online registration. Each judge must register online or submit their individual registration form that states his or her problem preference, address, phone number and e-mail address. Judges and volunteers must be registered online or by mail by January 11, 2008. Judges must attend the Judges Training, February 9, 2008, at the Buncombe County Board of Education in Asheville, NC and commit to serve at the tournament from 7:30 AM – 4 PM, March 1, 2008. Only teams that have registered and trained judges will be eligible to compete. Volunteers must also register online or submit their individual registration form that provides us with their contact information. Volunteers should be available to work throughout the day during the tournament on March 1, 2008. Volunteers do not attend a training session. Judges and volunteers are vital to the competition. Without these valuable people, the tournament would not be possible.

The fee to send a team to your regional tournament is $105. Each region in the state sets a early-bird discount deadline date. If you register your team and make your payment before that deadline, your actual fee will be $80. Western Region teams will have until January 11th (early-bird discount deadline date) to register online, send in their registration fees, make sure their school’s national dues are paid, and confirm that their teams’ judges and volunteers have registered. The registration fee will be $105 for any team registering after January 11th. The final registration deadline date is January 25th – no registrations will be accepted after this date. There is no fee for a team entered in the primary problem if the team’s school has another team (Div. I, II or III) entered in the tournament. Checks or money orders should be made payable to Odyssey of the Mind Western Regional Tournament and mailed to Barbara Parris, Western Region Director, 168 Tathams Creek Road, Sylva, NC 28779. Make a copy of the e-mail invoice you receive upon registering and enclose it with the registration fee.

We will post a schedule online of the times and locations your teams will compete at least two weeks before the tournament. Make sure you check your email on a regular basis. All future communications will be through email.

Thank you for you continued support.

Sincerely,

Barbara Parris, Western Region Director