The Super Mega Awesome Radical Team Kidz of Kent Primary School overcame the obstacles and drove away with first place. A few months ago Rachel Vetterman, Samantha Wetzel, Jordan Sweeney, Caitlyn Long, Liam Carmody, Sean Terwilliger and Peter Mills formed their team and began their first journey together into the world of Destination Imagination. DI is the world’s largest non-profit volunteer driven organization devoted to helping kids gain practical life skills through interesting, entertaining and mind-boggling challenges.

The S.M.A.R.T Kidz, as they so aptly named themselves, signed up for the Central Challenge, Obstacles, Of Course! The team had to build a vehicle with an energy source and propulsion system, build an obstacle course and build obstacles. The vehicle had to move around the course and overcome the obstacles without any direct team member involvement and all within eight minutes. While these seven children were mastering this they also had to develop a non-verbal story based on the theme of the course. They would also perform this within the allotted eight minutes. If you think this seems difficult you are correct. Well, you say their team manager could help them, right? Wrong! All of the solutions and work had to come from the children and only the children. Their team manager, Patricia Vetterman, could only facilitate. She could not give technical or other assistance.

This team worked together and used their minds and hands to solve the challenge. They met several days a week for hours at a time in order to prepare for the DI Eastern Division Tournament. When the time came they hoped for the best but thought since this was their first tournament they could not possibly win against the line up of veteran teams. The S.M.A.R.T. Kidz first task of the tournament was the Instant Challenge. This is another aspect of DI in which on the spot a team has to solve a surprise challenge within just a few minutes. The teamwork and positive attitude these children displayed was obviously the key to their successfully solving the Instant Challenge.

When it came time for the Central Challenge these attributes once again led them to success. They performed so effortlessly that you forgot they were only third and fourth graders. What these children accomplished very few adults could. Their performances earned this first year DI team first place and a spot in the DI NY State Finals Tournament in Endicott, NY on April 5, 2008. This experience showed the team that by using their skills, talents, imagination and teamwork they could face any challenge that was on the road ahead.