Catoosa, Walker and Whitfield County students show off their skills in local drone-flying competition
Several local students from Catoosa, Walker and Whitfield County schools competed in the first Tennessee Valley/ North Georgia FTW Drone Competition on Saturday, Feb. 29, at Lakeview Middle School in Rossville.
The event, organized by For The Win Robotics, was open to 6th–12th grade students from the surrounding area and tasked each team and competitor with flying drones through an obstacle course while judges scored the piloting skills in two major categories: Package Delivery and Drone Racing.
In the Package Delivery portion of the festivities, pilots were challenged to carry a quarter with their drone and drop it on a mat at the opposite end of the course while his or her teammates spotted the obstacles for them.
That event was followed by head-to-head racing where two pilots squared off at opposite ends of the course with the goal of competing three laps in the fastest time without crashing.
Ultimately, Lakeview Middle School’s Will Oliver won the highest achievement in the Package Delivery category while Cooper Chappelear of Heritage Middle School won the top Drone Racing Award.
The Ace Award also went to Will Oliver, who had the highest average across both categories.
Oliver, a seventh-grader, says he’s been flying drones for awhile and was excited to showcase his piloting skills.
“It was challenging going around the hoops and having a spotter. It was a lot of fun though,” Oliver said. “It’s really cool knowing how to fly drones. It’s a lot of fun to show off and stuff.”
The California-based For The Win (FTW) Robotics is a company dedicated to promoting STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) through the use of drones in schools.
With Feb. 29 competition being the first in the area, students from Saddle Ridge, Lakeview, Heritage, and Eastbrook Middle schools all considered the event a great chance for students to get involved with such a fun, technology-related event.
“This was our first experience at a drone competition and it was an awesome experience,” said Beth Chappelear, STEM teacher and instructional tech coach for Heritage Middle School. “I enjoyed watching my students work together as pilots and spotters to navigate the course. They are already asking me when we can compete again. It was such a positive experience for all of us.”