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WELCOME TO TOURNAMENT OF MINDS 2009
To all previously registered schools welcome back to the program. To all of our new schools this year we know you will enjoy the creativity TOM inspires in your team.
We wish all teams from across Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong success in all that TOM challenges you to undertake.
For a full list of TOM dates in your State click on the link to the left.
To our Victorian Schools our thoughts are with you at this most challenging time. Special thoughts are with Strathewen Primary School, Marysville Primary School and Middle Kinglake Primary School, which were all destroyed in the bushfires. We ask all TOM schools to support these schools by sending a donation to
Red Cross Bushfire Appeal on 1800 811 700.
For further information on our program and Registration Forms please click on the link, at left, to your State/Territory.
Schools in Hong Kong are already working on their Challenge solutions for a TOM Regional Final on Tuesday 24th March.
Schools in Auckland and Lower Hutt have the opportunity to take part in TOM workshops on Monday 9th March and Thursday 12th March.
Visit the New Zealand page for a registration form.
We welcome back Mind Challenge Ltd. as our national sponsor for
the Australasian Pacific Final Maths Engineering Challenge:
Please link to their websites at www.drwood.com and www.funkc.com.
Click here to access the TOM Facebook page
Australasian Pacific Final Awards 2008
What is Tournament of Minds?
Tournament of Minds is a problem solving program for teams of students from both primary and secondary years. They are required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges from one of the following disciplines:
Applied Technology
Language Literature
Maths Engineering
Social Sciences
Tournament of Minds is an opportunity for students with a passion for learning and problem solving to demonstrate their skills and talents in an exciting, vibrant, and public way.
Tournament of Minds has been one of the fastest growing national interschool programs to challenge the youth of Australia and is now expanding internationally. It provides for the ever increasing demand for sophisticated, educational opportunities. The rapidly increasing and widespread involvement of thousands of participants throughout Australia and internationally, demonstrates that Tournament of Minds is not only a worthwhile investment in the education of our youth, but is also an integral part of our collective future.
Our Aim...
Tournament's aim is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment.
The Tournament Objectives
- To provide the stimulation of real, open-ended challenges
- To develop creative problem solving approaches and techniques
- To foster cooperative learning and team work
- To promote knowledge and appreciation of self and others
- To encourage experimentation and risk taking
- To expand and reward creative and divergent thinking
- To stimulate a spirit of inquiry and a love of learning
- To develop enterprise
- To celebrate excellence
Real World Benefits
Tournament of Minds looks beyond academic achievement and understands that the pursuit of excellence knows no boundaries.
Tournament offers students a unique, total experience, providing challenge and growth through its six week problem solving structure. The Tournament process provides a platform for excellence and equips participants with strategies and skills which will support future success.
Tournament of Minds mirrors what successful businesses practise.
The Challenge...
Teams are required to work together on a Long Term Challenge for six weeks without assistance from teachers, parents or peers. They are encouraged to explore possibilities and experiment with ideas as they endeavour to produce their best possible solution. They develop a creative and original way to communicate this solution to others, working within predefined parameters such as limited materials, complex challenge criteria and the deadline of Tournament Day.
Students present the product of their ideas - their challenge solution - to a panel of judges and an audience on Tournament Day. They have ten minutes in which to present and must do so within a 3 metre by 3 metre performance area.
The teams must also participate in an unseen Spontaneous Challenge on Tournament Day. This challenge requires rapid interchange of ideas, the ability to think creatively and well developed group cooperation skills.
Judges for both the Long Term and the Spontaneous Challenges are professionals chosen from all areas of education, the arts and industry. They are thoroughly trained to enable them to assess the creative performance and technical aspects of the presentation.
Accept the Challenge...
Every school within Australia is invited to participate.
Tournament of Minds is a celebration of the talents and capabilities of our youth. Thousands of parents, educators, and interested public flock annually to watch and enjoy the exhilarating spectacle of the presentations and the ingenious solutions created by motivated students who have accepted the Tournament challenge.
Take up the challenge of the Tournament of Minds and help build a better future for Australia.
Participation...
Teams of seven students from school entry to year ten are invited to participate within two divisions:
- 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.
- Teams in the Secondary Division must be a mix of students from at least two year levels (up to and including year ten) with a minimum of two students from the year of entry to secondary school in your state, and a maximum of four students from any one year.
They are required to solve demanding, open-ended challenges from one of the following disciplines:
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Applied Technology
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Language Literature
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Maths Engineering
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Social Sciences
How to Participate
Schools: Simply contact your Tournament Director (see contacts page) and ask for a registration form. Complete the registration form that you receive and mail to the address provided on the form. On receipt of the completed from and payment, you will be forwarded a copy of the Instruction Manual. For extra forms or information please contact your State or Territory Director as listed.
As a Judge: If you enjoy the exhilaration of youth excellence and are enthused by creativity and challenge, you may be interested in becoming a Tournament judge. To find out more about what is involved, please contact the Tournament Director in your state or territory.
As a Sponsor: A number of exciting sponsorship opportunities are offered within each state and territory, as well as on a national level. Please contact the Tournament Director in your state or territory for state or national sponsorship packages.
As a Challenge Writer: Tournament challenges are designed to be complex, open-ended, challenging and appealing. Each year the program uses many Long Term and Spontaneous Challenges. If you are interested in submitting ideas, we would be pleased to hear from you.
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