Steps to a Successful DI Season
More Resources are located on the TM Resource page of your MyCALDI dashboard
This List is intended as a guide. You may approach things in a different order or skip things. What ever works for you and your Team.
Remember to have FUN along the way.
Get Organized
Start The Season Off Right & Get Organized!
We have tried to put everything you need to help you manage your team on the MyCALDI website. Please familiarize yourself with what is available and where help is located.
What is DI and what should I be doing with the kids?
- A list of DI Team Manager Responsibilities
- What is the DI Challenge Program
- What is Instant Challenge
- The DI (Creative) Process
Team Manager Resources – on the MyCALDI menu has links
Team Challenge Previews – Use these to help your Team choose their challenge
Before you can pay your All In One Fee of $250 you MUST complete the Registration Process at MyCALDI. You access the teams registration area by clicking the team number on the left side of the MyCALDI homepage. Please make sure you have finished the Registration process by December 1st. Between December 2nd and January 15, the fee will increase from $250 to $350. After January 15 registration will be closed.
- Identify your Team Manager Information – We need your contact information so we can keep you up tp date on news and events in your area. Please make sure your information is correct HERE.
- Complete a background check HERE.
- Enter Team Member Information – So we know who to contact in case of emergencies.
- Identify Team Appraiser – Every team must provide Appraisers to participate in the Tournament.
- Identify Team Official – One Adult person from your Team that will work a shift at the Tournament.
- Enter the Team Name – These are often creative silly names.
- Select the Team’s Challenge for the Tournament. – This is done HERE
- Pay Your All In One Fee by December 1st for a $250 All In One Fee or $350 between December 2nd and January 15th – You can by credit card or check. Details are available once all Registration requirements have been met.
Challenge Materials – in MYCALDI menu
- Roadmap –Roadmap is a Team Manager resource developed to assist you in guiding your team members as they design and execute a Challenge solution. Section three (Guiding Your Team) explains the roles you will fill as a Team Manager, gives examples of how to begin solving a Challenge, introduces project management, and provides example meeting agendas. Section three will also point you to other resources available in Roadmap.
- Rules of the Road – Rules of the Road is a document that contains all of the rules, procedures, and some of the forms required to participate in a Team Challenge at a tournament. Regardless of the Team Challenge a team has selected, it is very important for the team members to review Rules of the Road to learn the details of the Challenge experience, to prepare for tournaments, and to make sure the Team Challenge solution complies with rules and procedures found in Rules of the Road.
- Team Challenge Materials–As soon as your Team has chosen their challenge, download a copy of the full team challenge.
Find a meeting Location
Meetings can be held at the home of the Team Manager, but can also be held elsewhere at parent’s homes, school or community rooms.
Your team will need a space in which to store the materials they are using and the things (props, scenery, gadgets, costumes, etc.) that they make.
Choose a Meeting Day and Time
Choose what works best for you. You are volunteering to help guide the kids every week. Set the meeting day to work with your child’s schedule. If that day doesn’t work for others, ask them to start another team that meets at a more convenient time.
Create a Meeting Calendar for Parents. – Check local school calendars for holidays. Discuss and customize the Calendar with parents at the Parent Meeting.
Before you meet with the kids you need to get organized. Make sure you have the help you need before your first Team Meeting
Meeting Tips
- Hold a Parent meeting to set goals, dates, times and get help!
- Sample Agenda
- A list of ways parents can help
- The Average Costs for a team.
- Recruit your Tournament Appraiser! All teams must provide trained appraiser (s) to participate in Regional Tournaments. More info HERE. The appraiser also needs to complete a background check. Have them start the process soon.
- Recruiting Your Teams Volunteer Appraiser
- What Is Destination Imagination? How to describe DI
- Tips for Parent Involvement
- Parent Info Guide
- Setting Expectations
- Congratulations you are a DI Parent – Letter to parents outlining the benefits of DI.
Check Out the events offered in your Region!
- Find your Region’s website at the top of your MyCALDI page.
- Register for local events that will help you and your team gain the skills to solve the DI challenges.
- The events are also a great way to meet other Team Managers and learn new skills from other teams!
- Review your Region’s Appraiser, Official Requirements.
- Make note of Registration Deadlines and Fees.
Get Help
Before You Start Meeting With The Kids, Ask Other Parents for Help!
- Ask another Parent to help you Manage the Team. If they can’t attend every meeting handling the Team Event and Tournament Registration and other paperwork would really lighten your load.
- A co-team Manager would be required to obtain a CALDI approved Background Check.
- You will need to add the Co TM to the Registration area HERE.
- Team Appraiser & Team Official Descriptions
- Identify the Team Appraiser Early!– Every team must provide Appraiser(s) to participate in the Tournament.
- You need to Identify the Team’s Appraiser in the Registration area of MyCALDI
- Appraisers MUST be 18 years old.
- The Appraiser WILL NOT SEE their child’s performance on Tournament day.
- The Team’s Appraiser MUST complete the Appraiser training. Please check Events and the Appraiser’s Page for details
- Send your Appraiser HERE for more details.
NOT NEEDED FOR THE 2020-21 Season
Team Tournament Official
- Identify Team Official Early! – One Adult person from your Team that will work a shift at the Tournament.
- They will be able to see their child’s team perform.
- The shift is typically a task like monitoring doors during performances or helping set up the tournament site.
- Most Regions require the Official to be an adult.
- Identify Team Official Early! – One Adult person from your Team that will work a shift at the Tournament.
- They will be able to see their child’s team perform.
- The shift is typically a task like monitoring doors during performances or helping set up the tournament site.
- Most Regions require the Official to be an adult.
- Instant Challenge Helper Box of supplies
- Instant Challenge Resources – Zillions of ICs and help teaching teams.
Start Meeting
Start Meeting With Your Team.
Due To Covid-19 Please Observe Local CDC Health Guidelines!
All Training this year will be Virtual.
Attend Training in your Region –
The Region workshop will help new Team Managers prepare to start their DI journey. This training is packed with ICs, Team Builders, tips and HELP! Come ready to dive in and learn, share your experiences, and get ready to have FUN!
Additional Training Refresher Sources
- CALDI webinars – Topics to help answer specific questions during the season.
- DII Online Training – An online training portal for Team Managers and Officials. Email kbeisel@dihq.org to create an account first.
Start Meeting with your Team and get them working together. Focus on Teamwork at the start.
- Do something FUN for your first meeting. Give the kids a shared experience and a way to start bonding.
- Outline of a typical Meeting
- The First 5 Meetings Plan – An Example – All materials and ICs and activities for your first 5 meetings.
- Teamwork & Team Building games
- Questioning
- Expectations
- Team Rules
- Virtual Tools for you to use with your team.
Destination Imagination requires each team to imagine, create, and develop their team’s Challenge solution completely on their own.
We want our kids to discover that they can solve difficult problems on their own. This includes learning from the mistakes that they are likely to make along the way.
Stop interference and teach your kids to stop it too. Let them learn to succeed!
When your team meets for the first time, watch our 2019-20 Challenge preview videos and review our First Look document. This will give you a brief look at this season’s Challenges, including some of the themes and components for each Challenge.
The Instant Challenge portion of the DI competition is a chance for your team to show off its creative problem solving skills as they work together and “think on their feet” in a very short time frame to solve a problem. ICs are usually 5-10 minutes long.
Teamwork is a fundamental life skill. Building trust and teamwork using these games and activities is the first thing you should try with your Team.
Some exercises and games to do with your team the first few weeks. Building trust and teamwork is the first thing you should do!
Choose a Challenge
How do you get the kids to choose one Challenge when they all sound so FUN?
Challenge Choices
Find a Challenge the whole Team can get excited about. Try and have the kids articulate what they like about each challenge and have them discuss ways of adding in each Team Members interests into ONE stupendous challenge.
If One kid likes the technical challenge and the others like the fine arts challenge… can the Team think of ways to add a technical piece to the fine arts challenge so everyone is Happy? Getting a New Team to pick a challenge as they are getting to know each other is time consuming. As a facilitator ensure the kids all have a voice but try not to vote. With voting there are always winners and losers and hard feelings. Teamwork is about compromise and recognizing everyone has valuable ideas. Typically the teams that added everyones interests and compromised come up with Spectacular Solutions.
How to get your Team to choose a Challenge
Team Name Selection – DI Team names are often DI punny or unusual. Teams often choose creative names that relate to their challenge or presentation in some way or just make them laugh. Let the Team go wild with their choice.
Make a Plan
Have the kids write the plan down so they learn how to do this important skill. Hang the plan in a place the Team can see it. Add sticky notes and notations as the plan gets more detailed. Keep all the ideas incase they want to revisit and idea at a later time.
Research Information – the hardest for teams to complete is the research phase because many kids aren’t super interested in pushing through this drier part of the process. Make sure that everyone has a copy of the Challenge at each meeting and that they keep referring to the things they have decided that they need to learn in order to solve the Challenge. Refine Ideas as necessary
- CPS Tools
- Focus on Scoring – Make sure the Team uses scoring when planning their solution.
- Team Choice Elements
- Story / Script overview
- CALDI Resource Page
- CALDI Pinterest Page
- Destination Imagination Pinterest Page
- Internet – Please make sure you monitor searches to ensure appropriate material.
Create a Plan & then make Models first.
- Make Models – Paper models save time and energy and are a great way for kids to refine their ideas into a workable solution.
- Field trips
- WOW Elements
Team's Solution
Remember that whatever the kids come up with is Fine. Its their solution and they will learn more and have more FUN If they have a chance to fail and learn. Let the Kids OWN their solution.
Creating Props, Backdrops & Costumes
- Project management with DI Teams
- How to record team costs – from Rules of the Road
- Embellishments & Team Choice elements
- Pinterest Idea page – for inspiration
Improv Teams
- The Structure Team Guide is a step-by-step approach to teaching a Destination Imagination team about building structures, from NYDI.
- Balsa Goddess Website- The Balsa Goddess Website has great information for teams doing the structure challenge. This was written by an experienced structure DI participant. This site has great resources for material and tools as well as information pertaining to weight placement and tester building.
- Structure tutorial- A great informational tutorial to help all teams doing the structure challenge covering a range of topics including safety, design principles, glues and jigs.
- Structure Workshop – A presentation from Illinois DI that might be useful to show to teams deciding to do the structure challenge.
- Structure Tester Guide – Plans and directions on how to build a structure tester like the ones used at tournaments.
Get Ready for the Tournament
You won’t think they will be ready, the rehearsal was a flop… it will all work out.
Remember that DI is all about the Journey! Have FUN and don’t stress!
Prepare your Team & Parents for Tournament Day
- Elevator Pitch – Practice what to tell the Appraisers about your solution.
- Failure Proof your Team– Talk to them about all the things that could go wrong and have them come up with a plan
- Tournament Information Form to give to Parents and Fans
- Tournaments and the Meaning of Success to a Team
- Picking up & Understanding Team Score
- 3 Team Tips to Stand Out
- Tournament Info Sheet for Parents
Tournament Tips
Prepare your Team & Parents for Tournament Day
- Elevator Pitch – Practice what to tell the Appraisers about your solution.
- Failure Proof your Team– Talk to them about all the things that could go wrong and have them come up with a plan
- Tournament Information Form to give to Parents and Fans
- Tournaments and the Meaning of Success to a Team
- Picking up & Understanding Team Score
- 3 Team Tips to Stand Out
- Tournament Info Sheet for Parents
Tournament Day
Wow! You made it!
The kids are ready! It is time to have FUN!
Be the Team Cheerleader and remember …it is all about the Journey. Have FUN!
Celebrate the Team
Celebrate all the FUN the kids had, all they learned and accomplished!
Get ready for Next Year!
After Tournament Celebration
- Participation Certificates
- Thank you for volunteering Certificate
- What’s next? State Tournament
Summer Activities
- 12 ways to promote problem solving over the summer
- 7 Summer activities to try
- STEAM Activities