Check out the PA Scores from World Finals 2011
http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/competitions/9000_scores_pa.html
2011 Season is over and the Wheels are still turning...
I admit it, on the way home from Williamsport the other night I had already begun thinking about next year. Planning strategy, making assumptions, blue-skying, fund-raising in my head. Because that's the crazy way that I think. Especially when I've got adrenaline mixed with cheap gas station coffee in my system. I was thrilled with our team's 3rd place finish, especially considering the fact that I would have been happy if we had finished in the top half of twelve teams on the state level. I had gone over the regional results from all the tournaments over and over and tried to predict who had an edge before we even got to states. I probably shouldn't do that to myself again. Because let's face it, so much of that judging is subjective and many of the judges at the regional level are first-timers.
And a team that gets last place in spontaneous at a regional event can pull it out and take first place at states--doing the exact same type of problem. Was it the difference in subjective judging or just the fact that they buckled down and practiced? Or both? Either way, a 3rd place finish for us was well-fought and won. And when you really look at the numbers, things could have ended differently for us if a really talented team had remembered their membership sign. Sometimes having your ducks in a row is as much part of being a winner as is your talent. How about that?
Back to next year. I truly hope this team stays together. Right now, they've all declared their intention to do so, as have their coaches. This was even before they had that trophy in their hands, so I'm feeling good about their chances of keeping that promise. I see that they've really formed some solid friendships and enjoy one another's company. I love that they have begun to feel safe discovering their talents with each other, that they stick up for each other. I'd like to see that continue to grow. For me, they are what it is to be a team. Some happy accident made them "click" and they really could be a force to be reckoned with in the future with their complementary talents. And the wheels keep turning in my head...