Sports leagues everywhere were forced to cancel games and tournaments last month because of the coronavirus outbreak. Hydra FPV was no exception.
The local drone racing company had been gearing up for its big high school tournament when COVID-19 reached Minnesota. But instead of calling it quits, organizers decided to make their matchups virtual, a decision they say has increased both interest and participation in the sport.
"We've ramped up," Hydra FPV CEO and Co-Founder Marty Wetherall told Minne Inno. "The kids are all at home. They're not going anywhere for spring break. This is something they can keep doing every day even when everything else is changing so much."
Students are now racing virtually through a simulator program. They can take the controllers typically used to pilot drones and plug them into computers, allowing them to race each other virtually. The simulated courses are based on real courses that racers used to navigate in-person.
Wetherall said that taking the events online has allowed students from outside of Minnesota to also participate in the program.
"We've been in touch with other markets about expanding in the fall," he added. "We have plans to set up teams outside of Minnesota. We're just going to keep growing from here."
Founded in 2017, Hydra FPV organizes obstacle course drone races for all ages. The company has set up races everywhere from theaters and taprooms to conferences and children's museums.
From the start, Wetherall noticed that younger age groups especially loved drone racing. This led him to connect with Apple Valley High School and St. Louis Park High School. Soon, Hydra was helping the two schools build drones during class time. Naturally, the two eventually wanted to race. This led to the first Minnesota State High School Drone Racing Tournament.
Word spread and the league grew. There are now 20 schools, grades six through 12, throughout Minnesota with drone racing teams.
"It's a mix of kids that have been in robotics and others that just thought it was really cool," Wetherall said. "That connection we anticipated proved itself out."
Hydra FPV helped these new teams get started in the fall. Originally, they planned a season that ran from January to May. But the COVID-19 outbreak put a stop to that. The last in-person drone race of the season was held at Benilde-St. Margaret's in the first weekend of March.
The Hydra team quickly decided to move all of the races to its simulator program. It is now running races three days a week in both individual and team categories.
"They were so quick to adapt. It was inspiring," Wetherall said.
Hydra will host the Youth Drone Sports Championships in May, either virtually or in-person depending on safety recommendations at the time.
"I'm proud that we're racing online in this simulated way," Wetherall said. "It's remarkably compatible to this crazy new time."
