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RICHMOND -- Edison Local High School has been tabbed to host the Destination Imagination Southeast Regional Tournament next month, giving area students a chance to show off their creative thinking skills.
District D.I. Coordinator Kelly Dopp said this marks the first time Edison will hold the event, which is scheduled to take place March 9 in Richmond. She stated she hopes to see plenty of local teams involved.
"The regional coordinator reached out to see if we'd be interested in hosting," Dopp said. "This will be an all-day event -- from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. All of the D.I. teams will travel here and perform a team challenge and instant challenges."
D.I. is an educational program in which teams work throughout the year to solve open-ended challenges and present their solutions beginning with the regional tournament. Each challenge participant gains knowledge and experience in areas including, creative and critical thinking; project management; team building; conflict resolution; STEM; perseverance and a completion mindset. Approximately 25 teams are expected to attend. Dopp said it benefits local parents who had traveled an hour to attend past regional tournaments.
"Our D.I. parents have been so supportive," she commented. "My hope by hosting is that community members will come see a challenge or two. We've had fundraisers and parents of former D.I. members have supported them and said they were excited the program was still going."
Participants can view the newly-remodeled junior-senior high school building and recently-built Edison Fieldhouse during their visit.
Awards will be given inside the fieldhouse around 4 p.m., officials said. These teams will have the chance to move on to the state event and ultimately, the global finals.
The competition is free to attend and open to the public. Tri B's Coffee Shop in Toronto will offer beverages in the cafeteria from 9 a.m. to noon; and food trucks will be on hand outside throughout the day.
Dopp noted Edison has 10 teams taking part in the regional tournament -- five at John Gregg Elementary, three at Stanton Elementary and two at Edison High. She said the John Gregg teams made it to the global event in Kansas City, Mo., last year.
"We have 10 teams in D.I. and the Edison team is growing," she concluded. "We have two Rising Star teams for the younger classes and three competitive teams at John Gregg, three competitive teams at Stanton and two competitive teams at the junior high. I'm really proud they wanted to bring the tournament to Edison and it would be nice if people stopped by to support our teams and see what was happening."