Somers Excels in Destination Imagination Competition

Congratulations to the Somers Middle School team in the Destination Imagination competition. Named To Eat or Not to Eat, the team’s performance won first place in the Fine Arts category in the Global Finals of the organization devoted to inspiring students to become innovators.

The team was one of two from Somers who made it to the international tournament in Kansas City on Memorial Day weekend. The district’s elementary level team, Fierce Fish, also earned the opportunity to compete in the final tournament.

To Eat or Not to Eat faced 41 teams from across the country and 12 other nations, said team manager Cameron McClure. The team also won the Renaissance Award, which is given to a team for outstanding skill in design, engineering, execution or performance.

The theme was an exploration of how small or simple things can make a large impact. The winning performance used a seesaw as a set piece to represent a balance of power between two main characters, Professor Not So Smart and President Georgie Washie. McClure said the team had worked hard to improve after tying for 24th place at the finals last year.

“In my eight years of being a team manager, I have never seen a team so dramatically improve their performance after each tournament,” she said. The seesaw was a challenge, she said, adding, “I am very proud that they kept on trying and trying to find a way to make the seesaw do more and more.”

The two teams made it to the finals by coming in second place in both regional and the New York Eastern Region tournaments. Fierce Fish’s characters were a pig, a dog, and a horse who team up to save and then enhance the pig’s house after the other two animals accidentally cause it to catch on fire.