Students posing for a photo during a Destination Imagination tournament

There are so many ways to get involved with Destination Imagination of New York, regardless of your age or experience. Below are several ways you can join this great community and ignite your own imagination while supporting New York students! If you’ve got other ideas, we welcome them. You can contact us here to let us know what you’re thinking!

Make Friends for Life: Form a Team

NYDI teams include students in grades K-12 as well as University. Grab some friends and form a team, or you can contact us about joining an existing team. If you’re brand new to DI, here’s a look inside the magic and more information on how the season works!

Facilitate the Fun: Become a Team Manager

Being a DI Team Manager is a fun and rewarding way to spend time with awesome kids. The best part is: the students are required to do all the work! They need to solve the Challenges with their own ideas, make their own mistakes along the way, and ultimately develop their own solutions. Anyone 18 or older can be a Team Manager—the only requirement is to be enthusiastic about facilitating a handful of students as they imagine, build, and grow. We offer guiding materials, training, and mentorship for NYDI Team Managers, and if you’re a little shy about jumping in or worried about the time commitment, you can always co-manage with a friend! The first step is to recruit a group of 2-7 students and form a team.

Help Make the Magic Happen: Volunteer as an Appraiser or Tournament Official

If you’ve never attended a DI tournament before, prepare to be blown away. In New York, we run Regional and Affiliate (statewide) tournaments each year where students present their solutions to the Challenges they have worked on all season, and tackle fun Instant Challenges on the spot. No two Solutions are ever alike; you will be amazed by the ideas teams present that you would never have thought of yourself! Tournament volunteers, Appraisers, and Officials make all the magic possible by keeping our events safe and organized, checking in and announcing teams, and rewarding points using DI’s scoring system. No experience is necessary—all you need to volunteer is enthusiasm, an open mind, and a little free time. Contact us if you’re interested!

"I love volunteering for this program. To be surrounded by such creative individuals fills my soul! It’s an honor to bear witness to all the hard work of the children and young adults. Our collective future looks bright when the DI participants get to work with their solutions!"
Michael Huvane, Volunteer and Team Manager

Still have questions?

Contact your Regional Director to learn about more ways to get involved.

Destination Imagination Team Managers