When you work with Instant Challenge (IC) for Destination Imagination (DI), it is said, “What happens in IC, stays in IC.” Why? We want it to be fair to all the teams that participate in DI to have the same experiences when they are presented with the same IC.
IC is not something that a team can prepare for except by practicing old IC’s and learning about the different ways materials can be used. They also can prepare as they learn how to work together as a team. Teamwork is one of the biggest scoring areas in IC. Other areas that can be scored are how materials were used and was the challenge solved.
But if one team goes into IC knowing about that challenge exactly and how to solve it, they have an unfair advantage over those teams that don’t know the challenge. Since DI is a program around the world and each area holds tournaments at different times, if a parent learns about a challenge from their child and then discusses it with their sister in another area and then the sister discusses it with their best friend who then discusses it with their child that just happens to be on a DI team, what could happen? This is why, “What happens in IC, stays in IC,” until after Globals so all children are on the same playing field.
I can say that I had many great solutions presented at the Denver Region Tournament in the Rising Star IC challenge. They were great in understanding that I had to keep their “creations” a secret until June, which can be a very hard concept for 5 through 7 year olds. It’s important for parents to understand this concept as well and have faith that DI is there to help their children grow and that they will learn about the challenge soon enough. Just think of it as the present that you are waiting to unwrap in June that your child has for you.
Thank you to the Challenge Masters, appraisers, Team Managers, and teams for making yesterday such a fun day at George Washington High School for the Denver Region Tournament. I’m sure I’ll see some of those teams that are moving on to state in IC.
Tags: Destination Imagination, DI, Instant Challenge, Wendy Frenzel
