Kids corner: Destination Imagination teams place at global competition

Kopachuck team takes championship in Tennessee

Hugh McMillan

Kids corner

In May, I wrote about a fundraising effort for Destination Imagination teams from Kopachuck Middle School and Voyager Elementary School, both of which represented the state at the Global Finals in Knoxville, Tenn.

Did they ever compete!

Kopachuck’s team won the global tournament, and Voyager’s team placed fourth — in the whole world.

“Sometimes we forget that people outside of DI (Destination Imagination) don’t automatically know everything about it,” wrote Katie Stewart, an enthusiastic team leader and mom. “I am so proud of both of my teams! They have so much to be proud of, and what a wonderful honor for our community!”

Ten-year-old Reiley DiLoreto explained DI as a creative, non-profit organization.

“You build things out of cardboard, pipes and wood. Then you go to compete in Rochester,” DiLoreto said. “If you win, you get to go to Wenatchee. If you win there, you go to Tennessee for globals. It’s so much fun.”

Stewart said her teams began training last September for regional competition in March. They were so successful that they earned the right to go to Tennessee.

Not only that, but the teams paid all their own expenses — a minimum of $1,000 each. Team members flew into Knoxville, Atlanta or Nashville, Tenn., whichever ended up being the best price for their own family and travel situations.

They stayed in dorm rooms on campus and ate at specific times in the cafeteria. Everyone returned to Seattle on May 25.

“The competition ends really, really late on Saturday night, like midnight,” Stewart said.

More than half of the cost is for dorm rooms and food packages, but it doesn’t cover extras, like a rental car or extra meals.

“We fundraised like crazy in between state and Globals to help off-set costs,” Stewart said. “DI didn’t take any taxpayer dollars; it is completely non-profit and supported by competitors, volunteers and sponsors.”

Stewart said team members sold discount car wash tickets on weekends at Safeway, Albertsons, QFC and Hollywood Video.

“Some kids did eight to 10 hours at a time for several weekends, standing the whole time,” she said. “ We also sold candy bars in the mornings at Kopachuck Middle School.”

More than 1,000 teams competed in Global Finals. The competitions was broken into three age groups: Elementary (grades three through five), middle school (grades six through eight) and high school (grades nine through 12).

There is also university level, but only at Globals.

Voyager’s team competed against 72 other states, provinces and countries, such as Turkey, Mexico, Ontario, Singapore, China, Guatemala and British Columbia. Each team name was called, and its hometown and state were posted on large stadium screens.

Kopachuck competed against 69 states and countries, such as Korea, British Columbia, Brazil, Ontario, Poland, Columbia, Mexico, Turkey and Guatemala.

The team won the competition for the second consecutive year. It has made it to Globals four years in a row and placed second three years ago.

“I don’t know if a back-to-back win has ever happened before in Washington state,” Stewart said.

The Kopachuck team members — Jacob Stewart, Zoe Pollard, Cheyenne Wong, Phillip Olson and Casie Lively — have been together four to six years.

Voyager team members — Mikayla Stewart, Reiley DiLoreto, Cayla Berejikian and Blake Swanson — have been together for two years.

“Both teams are fully returning next year,” Stewart said.

All team members are busy kids who play soccer, swim, have piano lessons, etc., Stewart said.

Jacob and Mikalya Stewart both have earned black belts in Tae Kwon Do.

“Same goes for the adults,” Stewart said. “Many work full time and go to school full time but make the time for DI because they see what it does for the kids. They are our future. What better way to spend time than by helping them obtain lifelong skills?”

Stewart said both teams thank all of the individuals and organizations who helped them reach their goals.

“I would like to add how touched I am that, in these difficult economic times, our community stepped forward to help these kids to represent our state and community,” she said.

I asked if there was a crowd at the airport to greet the victorious teams on their return.

“Just proud family members,” Stewart said. “Since DI is not a sport, it tends to be underrated.”

What a shame! Think of the publicity if a soccer or baseball team had taken first in the world.

“That’s not why we do DI,” Stewart said. “The skills these kids have acquired and continue to develop will last them a lifetime. Those of us lucky enough to be around when they are grown will benefit from what these amazing kids can do for our community and state.”

Amen!

For more information, e-mail billandkt@hotmail.com, or, in September, call Kathy Fox, the regional director for DI, at Voyager Elementary School, 253-530-4800.

Hugh McMillan is a longtime freelance writer for The Peninsula Gateway. He can be reached at 253-884-3319.