For Release:           Immediate – March 27, 2023
Contact:                  Steve Ference, Director of University Marketing & Communications | (518) 429-7742 | sference@sunypoly.edu       
                             Lisa Marie Payne, CNY Drones Administrator | (315) 292-2002

High school team prevails in 1^st ever competition in New York State

UTICA, NY – CNY Drones and SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s (SUNY Poly) Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) Student Club are pleased to announce the winners of the U.S. Drone Soccer Region II New York Championship held on Sunday, March 26, 2023, in the SUNY Poly Wildcat Field House. Seven teams of high school students, age 12 to 18, from around New York State battled for Region II honors. The Yellow Jackets from Madrid-Waddington Central School District took home first place honors at Sunday’s event. They battled second place finalists, from Rome Free Academy / MVCC GEARUP, ending a grinding 3-set match with a final win. Third place honors went to Cicero-North Syracuse. Teams that remained for the Awards Ceremony received a special honor of the Region II New York Challenge Coin.

“This event is the first of many that will gather tech-minded students for a hard-hitting competition that links to New York’s drone education and employment pipeline,” said Lisa Marie Payne, CNY Drones Administrator and Drone Soccer Region II Director. “Bringing students to the SUNY Poly campus is a great opportunity to showcase our area. We hope that regional tech employers will see that students with passion to explore extra-curricular engineering activities are likely to be great job candidates with experiences that can set them apart in today’s job market.”

CNY Drones and U.S. Drone Soccer representatives will be traveling to New York City for a Media Day and drone soccer demonstration hosted by the New York Police Department’s Community Affairs Unit on Tuesday, March 28, 2023. The NYPD Community Center recently took on drone soccer and is poised to expand training and gameplay to the 5 boroughs. New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to make an appearance.

The next U.S. Drone Soccer competition for New York teams will be the Inaugural National Championship, set for April 16, 2023, at SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Utica campus. Student teams from several States including Alabama, California, and Colorado will meet their New York counterparts to battle for National Honors. May marks the first U.S. Drone Soccer International Competition and Exhibition set for Denver, Colorado. The event is part of AUVSI XPONENTIAL, an annual conference for drone technology companies and educators.

CNY Drones set out to establish Drone Soccer with funding, technical expertise, and logistical support from the Air Force Research Laboratory Information Directorate in Rome, NY, and in cooperation with SUNY Poly AMA Student Club. Combined efforts created a regional technical support hub in the Mohawk Valley responsible for assisting educators and students through the process of getting started and offering advice on independent league activities throughout the State. For more information on U.S. Drone Soccer in New York, visit: https://cnydrones.org. 

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About SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly)
SUNY Poly is New York’s globally recognized, high-tech educational ecosystem. SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience and nanoengineering, as well as cutting-edge nano bioscience programs at its Albany campus, and undergraduate and graduate degrees in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies; professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing; and arts and sciences, including natural sciences, game design, mathematics, humanities, and social sciences at its Utica campus; thriving athletic, recreational, and cultural programs, events, and activities complement the campus experience. As the world’s most advanced, university-driven research enterprise, SUNY Poly boasts billions of dollars in high-tech investments and hundreds of corporate partners since its inception. For information visit www.sunypoly.edu.