Woodrow Wilson High School’s Drone Team participated in and hosted a drone competition this previous Saturday, Jan.27. Those who competed from Woodrow include Jacob Gray, Trandon Allen, Kiera Martin, Ethan Arthur, Julian Escott, and AJ Wharton. Volunteers who helped with repairs included Joey Padilla, Tayshawn Escort, Noah Spaulding, Issac Meadows, Sayid Jaweed, and Zach Whitely. A total of eight awards were presented. Concluding with the Excellence Winner, the team advances to the Dragonfly Regional Championship at Fairmont State.
Ms. Jo Frost, the adviser, hosted the event in coordination with WVU Tech and Fairmont State. The evaluation process for the competition has many variables. Students who wish to participate must be of at least middle school age. Additionally, Ms. Frost explains, “Students are judged on their engineering logbook, safety, interviews with judges, and scoring points during teamwork competitions.”
All schools are eligible to compete as long as their team is registered through the Robotics Education and Competition Foundation. In West Virginia, robotics also offers co-curricular oversight through WVSSAC. “We were one of the first states with athletic competition recognition for VRC and Aerial Drones Competitions.”
Going to the drone competitions allows the students to interact with other schools. Sayid Jaweed states, “Getting to meet the other teams and talking to them about their drones is my favorite part about the competitions.” Drone competitions provide students with a fun and educational experience. “I used to fly drones with my dad, so it’s kind of cool, like a video game,” exclaims Sayid. The Drone Team’s biggest accomplishment at the competition was getting ranked third place for drone 44713C, having flown five hours for part of the day. Drone practice is held for an hour each week in room D23. For more questions please contact Ms. Jo Forst.
The team has recently been invited to 44713D, the JROTC National Drone Championship, in Mississippi this April.
