Submitted report

The Destination Imagination Team, Out of the Blocks, competed at Global Finals at the University of Tennessee in May. The team of six fifth graders from Carpenter Hill Elementary included Ivan Silva, Bryson Severance, Travis Pierce, Beth Mueller, Riley Mueller and Aidan Kroeger. 

In a structural challenge, they built a structure that could hold 10 pounds of weight while pieces were removed from the structure. The goal was to achieve the highest weight removed ratio. They had eight minutes to perform in front of a team of appraisers. 

Out of the Blocks also competed in an Instant Challenge to test their ‘on the spot’ team work and creative problem solving skills. At Global Finals, they competed against 84 teams from 14 countries and 44 states. The team placed 19th overall; however, the structure received the fifth highest score. 

Global Finals is the culmination of months of preparation and success at the regional and state level tournaments held earlier in the year. 

Team manager Christie Pierce said the team had a lot of help in getting to the finals. 

“We want to thank the school district and community for all the support in getting Out of the Blocks to Global Finals. Many local businesses and individuals contributed to our fundraising efforts,” she said.