New heights: Hartselle hosts Tiger Rumble Aerial Drone competition
Hartselle hosts first Tiger Rumble Aerial Drone Competition at Pettey Center
Hartselle Junior High School’s Petty Center was buzzing with excitement as the city hosted its first-ever drone competition, the Tiger Rumble Aerial Drone Competition, this past Saturday. The event, organized by F.E. Burleson Elementary’s aerial drone program, attracted 14 teams from Alabama, Mississippi and Tennessee.
The competition was part of the Robotic Education and Competition (REC) Foundation’s regional series, which brings together middle and high school students from across the southeastern United States.
Competing teams showcased a wide range of skills including drone flight principles, programming, communication and documentation. These hands-on competitions help students gain valuable experience while inspiring interest in drone-related career opportunities.
This year’s event follows the success of F.E. Burleson and Crestline Elementary’s drone programs, which began in the 202324 school year. Altogether, Hartselle City Schools fielded six teams at the Tiger Rumble, competing against eight other middle and high school teams.
Hartselle’s elementary school teams included students as young as eight years old competing in a field with high school students. The older students are obviously surprised to see the younger students at the competition, according to coach Abby Webster, but the rubric is the same for everyone, so there’s no cutting the young ones any slack. Webster, who coaches two Hartselle teams, described the mentoring role that the students on the older teams naturally assume when paired with the younger teams, especially in the Teamwork Missions. “It’s almost like magic,” she said of the youngest participants.
“They’re learning, and you can see (it.) Sometimes they may be a little intimidated, but they don’t really show it. They take the challenge, and they just run with it,” she added.
Drone competitions are much more than flying drones through an obstacle course. Each event features several key missions: the Teamwork Mission, where teams are randomly paired to collaborate on objectives; the Autonomous Flight Skills Mission, which challenges students to program drones to operate independently; and the Piloting Skills Mission, where students remotely control drones through obstacle courses. Each mission lasts 60 seconds, and teams have two attempts to improve their scores.
The teams are evaluated based on their autonomous flight skills, piloting abilities, logbook accuracy and interview responses. The team with the highest combined score is named the All-Around Champion, and two Teamwork Mission Champions are recognized for their cooperative performance. These top teams will have the opportunity to compete in the national aerial drone championship in South Carolina later this year.
Stephanie Roden, gifted specialist at F.E. Burleson Elementary, expressed her gratitude for the support of the community.
“(The) event would not have been possible without the many volunteers and sponsors that continually develop these pathways for our students,” she said. “Much thanks to Hartselle’s Redstone Federal Credit Union for volunteering at the event.”
