Tournament of Minds

Quote from Therese Asplin, Principal of St Francis Xavier

As a part of our Gifted and Talented programme, TOM is an exciting competition that allows students as young as ten to be a part of a problem solving and creative thinking team.

I really enjoy seeing the way these children think and work so well together under pressure. Many adult groups would find this level of cooperation and team work difficult to accomplish, let alone come up with such creative and often very funny responses to particularly demanding challenges.

I’m delighted to see how the staff involved in TOM are able to relate so well with these talented children. They work hard to teach a variety of skills as well as building the children’s confidence and pride in their ability to solve problems creatively. Mrs Carolyn Blake has worked particularly hard with all four teams this year. To win the Australasian and Pacific finals is an outstanding accomplishment. The whole experience of the trip, the competition and the friendships gained will stay with these children forever.

Our sponsors have been fabulous, especially Crosslands Resources and the City of Geraldton-Greenough, who helped to get our team and staff to the competition in Brisbane.

We are very proud of these students and all of our students who have taken part in TOM every year since 1993, when the school first entered the competition.

What do they do?

Tournament of Minds is a problem solving competition. Students are required to work together in a team of seven on a Long Term Challenge for six weeks. Students present their challenge solution to a panel of judges and an audience on Tournament Day. The teams must also participate in an unseen Spontaneous Challenge on Tournament Day.

Three teams of students from Saint Francis Xavier progressed through the regional competition into the State final which was held at the University of Western Australia on Sunday September 13th. The Social Sciences team were awarded first place and had the opportunity to represent Western Australia at the Australian Finals in Queensland. They traveled to Queensland, took part in the tournament and were winners in their section.

What do the students get out of it?

The competition challenges students to think creatively and work co-operatively within predetermined specifications such as limited materials, complex challenge criteria and a deadline.

Students participating in Tournament of Minds stated,
“My confidence has grown by participating in Tournament of Minds. I feel more able to accept challenges.” Emily Littlely (Year Seven)
“My ability to persist with problems has really improved and I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with others.” Clare Gee (Year Seven)

Who do they compete against?

Students compete, initially, against other schools within their state in regional competitions. Once the scores have been finalised from both the regional and metropolitan competitions, the top three teams from each division are invited to compete in the State Final. If they are successful and become state finalists they then have the opportunity to attend the National Finals.

They compete against other students in teams of seven. The Tournament of Minds website states, “Teams in the Primary Division must be a mix of students from at least two year levels with a maximum of four students from any one year.”

Type of Activities

Preparing for a competition like Tournament of Minds requires commitment from both students and team facilitators. Apart from time in class, students are expected to arrive at school early for practice and give up several hours of their weekends during the six week lead up to tournament day.

To prepare for the spontaneous challenge students complete a variety of activities promoting thinking skills, refine their brainstorming techniques and tackle past spontaneous challenges.

Further information can be found at the Tournament of Minds website at http://www.tom.edu.au/