A new wave of tech sports are taking off this school year as highly-engaging, COVID-safe STEM activities for students. Now Mall of America is putting them all together under one roof for the first time at RdyTechGo, where a flying drone will cut the ceremonial grand opening ribbon on Thursday, Oct. 1.
Tech sports are real-life video games with real hardware to build, program, and troubleshoot before you can play and compete, all at a safe distance from other competitors. The nationwide success of robotics in schools has cleared a path for faster, higher-flying competitions attracting more students, like first-person-view (FPV) drone racing, robot sumo, artificially-intelligent (AI) car racing, and a spectacular new sport making its US debut on opening weekend at RdyTechGo—drone soccer.
Twin Cities startup Hydra FPV created RdyTechGo to host its growing Youth Drone Sports Championships (YDSC) program while schools are limiting extra-curricular activities, and it’s taking the opportunity to add an unprecedented array of safely-distanced tech sports beyond drone racing, including hosting Minnesota’s new AI Racing League, a variety of robot games like robot sumo, and now US Drone Soccer’s first-ever dedicated arena.
Other activities include a full 12-station Esports Park created in partnership with the Minnesota Varsity League and Minnesota Esports Club, and a unique BYOD (Bring Your Own Drone) area where drone owners can get technical advice and flying tips from RdyTechGo’s staff of experienced pilots.
Schools preparing drone teams to fly in the YDSC at RdyTechGo this school year include 2-time defending state champion St. Louis Park along with Apple Valley, Benilde-St. Margaret’s, Blaine, Hill-Murray, Minneapolis Patrick Henry, Our Lady of Grace, Providence Academy, Robbinsdale Armstrong, Robbinsdale Cooper, St. Croix Lutheran, St. Paul Johnson, and St. Thomas Academy, plus several teams sponsored by MinneAnalytics including last year’s state tournament runner-up Eden Prairie, Eagan, Edina, Minneapolis Southwest, Minneapolis Washburn, and the MN STEM Partnership. Interested schools and students can learn more at this link.
The First-ever US Drone Soccer Tournament is Friday, Oct. 2, at 4:00 p.m CDT and Saturday, Oct. 3 at 12:00 p.m., with the first US Drone Soccer Championship Match happening between 4:00-5:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. RdyTechGo is on the north end of the 3rd floor at Mall of America, two doors to the left of the Culinary on North food court. Best parking is on the Arizona level of the West Parking Ramp.
RdyTechGo’s extensive COVID-19 Safety Policy can be found at this link.
The Youth Drone Sports Championships (YDSC) is a global drone sports education program based in the Twin Cities that offers students in grades 2-12 a fun and engaging entry point into STEM. Kids can’t resist a chance to fly, and the skills they learn set them up to pursue a wide array of high-value careers. To start an educational FPV drone program at your school or youth organization, visit https://www.youthdronesports.org/
