Sawyer High School teacher given $10,000 grant to build Esports and Drone Racing teams

(Sawyer, ND) -- A rural North Dakota teacher is receiving a $10,000 innovation grant from the state to establish a Drone Racing Program and an Esports team.

The money is being awarded by the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction through a fund established using COVID-19 recovery funds. Those funds are being sent to Ryan Stockie, a Sawyer High School teacher, who will use the funds to purchase racing drones, equip a computer lab at the school, and provide coaching for the sports teams.

“By minimizing the impact of socioeconomic status, age, gender, sexuality, or physical abilities, our program will be widely available with no insurmountable barriers for any student,” Stockie said in his grant application. “Our students are interested in something other than traditional sports and activities.”

Stockie says Sawyer High School students have expressed a high interest in both Esports and for Drone Racing, whereas other sports extracurriculars had only three participants between 7th and 12th grade in a school that has 68 students. Esports teams compete head-to-head in popular multiplayer video games like Rocket League, Fortnite, and League of Legends. Drone racers fly radio-controlled and camera-equipped aircraft at high speeds, which spectators can watch through the camera on the drones. Sawyer High School would join the University of North Dakota, Bismarck State College, and the University of Jamestown as schools that have Esports teams or programs. 

The next application window for grants is July 12-26, 2023. The grant will be awarded on August 3rd, 2023.