More than 20 Teams from BOCES Odyssey of the Mind Program Head to State Competition in Syracuse

ALBANY – Dozens of students from Capital Region schools will compete at the Odyssey of the Mind (OM) state tournament on March 21 at the New York State Fairgrounds.

Of the more than 650 students who participated in Capital Region BOCES and Questar III BOCES' OM joint regional tournament in February, Bethlehem Central School District led the pack with the most teams to secure a spot at the state finals. Winners of that competition will advance to the world finals in May. 

Capital Region BOCES is proud to celebrate our regional champions and wish them the best of luck ahead of the state competition! Capital Region school districts that are heading to the state finals include Bethlehem Central School District; Cobleskill-Richmondville Central School District; Duanesburg Central School District; Middleburgh Central School District; Scotia-Glenville Central School District; Shenendehowa Central School District; and South Colonie Central School District. 

OM is an internationally recognized extracurricular program that is offered to school districts through Capital Region BOCES Educational Support Services. In teams of up to seven members, students work independently of coaches to foster teamwork, divergent thinking, and self-confidence, culminating in regional, state, and world-level competitions. 

“OM is a program that truly allows students to have agency over their own learning. There are no teachers or adults telling them how a problem should be solved,” said Annie Gersztoff, Capital Region BOCES Library & Arts Program Manager. “It's a competition that celebrates creative thinking, active problem-solving, and artistic perspectives. There's not much else like it! I'm proud to be part of a team that keeps this unique opportunity available to students.” 

In preparation for the competition, students in grades K-12 chose one long-term problem to solve within the following categories: Vehicle, Technical, Classics, Structure, Performance; and a primary problem for students in kindergarten through second grade. The 2025-26 problems synopsis can be found here. 

The Capital Region Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) is the sixth-largest BOCES in New York state, and delivers more than 300 educational and administrative services to its 24 component school districts. Combined, these districts educate more than 80,000 students in the Albany, Schoharie, Schenectady and Saratoga counties of New York state. In addition, Capital Region BOCES provides several services to more than 150 school districts outside of the Capital Region. For more information, visit www.capitalregionboces.org.