Updated, watch now: Elizabethton, Volunteer high schools both win firsts at robot drone nationals

JOHNSON CITY — A national robotics competition has a new home on the campus of East Tennessee State University, a walk away from its longtime home.What's more, local teams from Elizabethton and Hawkins County took the two top school honors Saturday despite competition from throughout the southeast.Elizabethton High School's varsity team, one of two from the school, won first for top score, while Volunteer High from Hawkins County won first for overall performance.WINNERS The RDL nationals awards for middle and high schools were Volunteer first place in Overall Champions and Elizabethton second place overall but first for getting the highest score.Third place for overall was Central Magnet High School from Murfreesboro, Tennessee.In the RDL Jr. nationals awards for elementary schools, the overall award went to Rose Hill Elementary in Lee County, Virginia; second place was Sulphur Springs Elementary in Washington County, Tennessee; and third was Hopkins Elementary in Lilburn, Georgia.The seventh annual Robot Drone League nationals was held at ETSU Ballad Health Athletic Complex, commonly and historically known as the Mini-Dome. This year's competition was called MINESHAFT and put drones and robots to work in coal mining-inspired activities.WHY MINESHAFT, WHY EVENT?John Lee, Elizabethton High Schools robotics coach and teacher of STEM or science, technology and engineering, said putting robots and drones to work recovering coal is practical and efficient, as well as safer because miners would not as often be in harm's way or face health consequences from breathing coal or rock dust.In the competition, drones had to go through a series of five circles and make other maneuvers, while the robots had to perform tasks ranging from moving tree to getting a rock or piece of coal from a pipe, climbing inclines and strategically positioning pipes over another piece of pipe."The Robot Drone League has become a transformative platform for students to engage in STEM education through hands-on experiences," Dennis Courtney, CEO of STREAMWORKS and RDL said in a news release from RDL. "The MINESHAFT challenge pushes students to think critically, solve complex problems, and work collaboratively — skills that are essential for the future workforce."Courtney and David Golden, a former Eastman Chemical Co. executive who is CEO of the ETSU Research Group, interviewed at the event said this marked the seventh year of the national RDL competition, all held in the Tri-Cities.It was held one year at the STEM Gym STREAMWORKS had on Lynn Garden Drive in Kingsport, before STREAMWORKS RDL practicing moved for a short time to a facility on Broad Street.The event has spent most of its history at the CPA or Center for Physical Activity at ETSU. This year, it moved to the larger venue of the dome because it outgrew the space at the CPA.The Research Group hosts STREAMWORKS at the Valleybrook campus in Washington County off Eastern Star Road near the Sullivan County line, known as part of the old Valleybrook Farm, but they said that facility has no suitable place to hold the RDL.ELIZABETHTON TEAMSOne member of the varsity Elizabethton team is Xander Jones, a junior who drivers the team's robot. A junior varsity team also competed from the school."I took the engineering class that first year," Xander said, adding that Lee didn't start at the school until Xander's sophomore year. "I'm planning on becoming an engineer, maybe a biomedical engineer."Xander and most of his team mates also participate in the underwater robotics world championships sometimes held in the Tri-Cities in Johnson City at ETSU or the Aquatic Center in Kingsport.VOLUNTEER TEAM"We are a fresh team," Volunteer High School RDL coach Cameron Buck of Hawkins County Schools said. He said the team Saturday had four freshmen and one sophomore because last year's seniors graduated."We've done other types of robotics competitions, and the kids like this one best," said Buck, who teaches four math classes and robotics class at the school in Church Hill. He said they like it because of the collaborative nature of the program, with teams sharing information and experience with one another to help rather than keeping competition secrets.Buck said he hopes Cherokee High School near Rogersville, which competed in 2024, and other Hawkins County schools will participate in RDL in the future.Of 10 people in the robotics class and RDL, he said only five could attend because of Saturday jobs and other commitments. The five are sophomore Chase Ladd and freshmen Anoa Potter, team Captain Destiny Winstead, Alexis Price and Diedre Roller.Buck said the school and school system allow robotics to be a class instead of an after-school club, which he said is important because freshmen and many sophomores don't yet drive and may not have a way to after-school practices.THINKING, FUNDRAISING"You have to think about a lot of things you do before you do it," Diedre said. Those including flying the drone, driving the robot and reflexes needed to do both, as well as programming the drones and robots for the first minute of competition to work on their own with no human direct control.Another issue is money. Buck said robots, drones and other things needed to support them don't come cheap. At first, the Greeneville-based Niswonger Foundation supported the Volunteer program through a grant, but that has ended.The team members sell shirts, doughnuts and print things with a 3D printer to generate funding, but he said the lion's share of money comes from a grant this school year from the Tennessee Valley Authority and money from the Dairy Cup in Mount Carmel.SOUTHEASTERN DRAWDennis Courtney, CEO of STREAMWORKS – Powered by Eastman and executive director of RDL, said the Saturday event free to spectators drew 35 teams from seven states: Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.The national competition, which required teams to win slots through competitions are regional events, has elementary school competitors as well as another class of competition for middle and high schools.ELEMENTARY TEAMSAmong the elementary teams were Sulphur Springs Elementary in Washington County, Tennessee, J. W. Adams Elementary in Bristol, Virginia; Green Valley Elementary in Roanoke, Virginia; Hamilton County's Red Bank and Harris elementaries in Chattanooga and the Chattanooga School of Arts and Sciences, a charter school.Others were Lee County elementary in Lee County, Virginia, along with Flatwoods and Rose Hill elementaries in Lee County and Hopkins Elementary in Gwinnett, Georgia.MIDDLE, HIGH SCHOOL TEAMSAmong high school teams was the Lee County High, which has two teams, as well as Chuckey Doak from Greene County, Volunteer from Hawkins County, two teams from Magnetude Robotics of Central Magnet School Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Morristown West and Morristown East high school from Hamblen County.Others were the Eagle Battalion from Jenkins County High in Georgia, which had two teams, Patrick Henry High from Washington County, Virginia, Blue Tech Robotics from the Baconton, Georgia, K-12 charter school, which brought both a high school and middle school team.In addition, Elizabethton High had two teams, with other teams being Happy Valley High from Carter County, Crosstown High from Memphis, and teams from Unicoi County, Hancock County and John Battle High in Washington County.BACKGROUNDThe RDL release said the MINESHAFT Challenge celebrates STEM innovation, teamwork and problem-solving as participants tackle real-world scenarios. From delivering coal from the shafts to interacting with advanced sensor technology, competitors will showcase their skills in robotics, drone piloting and creative engineering."This national competition is more than a battle of skill; it's a celebration of innovation and a catalyst for inspiring the next generation of STEM leaders," according to a news release from RDL that said the nationals "showcase of talent, perseverance, and ingenuity" for all to see.For more information on RDL and attending future events that give what the release called "a front-row seat to the future of innovation," go online to www.robotdroneleague.com.