Bob Jones ‘DIstracted’ team wins Destination Imagination world championship

Bob Jones Principal Robby Parker, far right, accepts the Destination Imagination world championship trophy from the DIstracted team. Members are coach Robin Dauma, Sarah Grace Skillern, team manager Rhonda Daniel, Chris Gunner, Olivia Skillern, Sarah Schumacher, Lindsey Martin, Shannon Walker and Nathan Daniel. (RECORD PHOTO/GREGG PARKER)

MADISON – Their T-shirts say it all: “You Say It Can’t Be Done?” … “Challenge accepted” on back.

Bob Jones High School’s “DIstracted” team took first-place honors at the 2014 Destination Imagination Global Finals at the University of Tennessee on May 21-25. The Madison team won in the improvisation challenge called “Pandemonium.”

Destination Imagination is the world’s largest creative problem-solving competition for students.

DIstracted “made history as the first-ever team from Alabama to win a world championship in the high school (secondary) division,” coach Robin Dauma said. “Competing against powerhouse schools from Texas, Michigan and China, the DIstracted team accomplished a great feat with this win.”

Bob Jones out-performed 83 teams from 16 countries.

The world-champion team includes 2014 graduates Nathan Daniel, Lindsey Martin, Sarah Schumacher, Olivia Skillern and Shannon Walker and incoming seniors Chris Gunner and Sarah Grace Skillern. Rhonda Daniel is the parent team manager.

“Nathan, Olivia, Sarah and Shannon have been competing together, with Rhonda Daniel as coach, since seventh grade, winning the state championship and competing at globals since 2009,” Dauma said.

In the Pandemonium challenge, teams researched 12 historical periods, 12 typical occupations and eight types of stage makeup. Five minutes before performing, teams randomly selected a timeframe, occupation, makeup and “pandemonium,” or chaotic situation, Dauma said.

DIstracted’s criteria were a 1920 silent-film actor, TV fishing show host, monster makeup and their ‘pandemonium,’ “You can’t walk across the hot sand.”

DIstracted “seamlessly incorporated all elements into a hilarious skit, including a dream-induced conversation between the actor and TV host who used an invisible fishing pole to unroll a mummy’s bandages to walk across hot sand,” Dauma said.

At awards, the Bob Jones team sprinted down the arena steps to receive medals and a gold trophy. DIstracted presented their trophy to Bob Jones principal Robby Parker on May 27.

In 2012, a Bob Jones DI team qualified to compete with universities and won first place. “However, the secondary division (in which DIstracted won) had more competition,” Dauma said.

For more information, visit idodi.org and globalfinals.org.