Ocala middle school rocket club prepares for national competition

OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) - It’s almost time for members of a middle school rocket club in Ocala to blast off to a national competition.

Members of the Cornerstone School Rocket Club practiced launching rockets before heading up to Washington D.C. later this month.

“We’re practicing for the finals at D.C. and I’m honestly very excited about that,” said member Kyle Mintz.

The team is competing in the American Rocketry Challenge. They won 12th place out of 100 contestants at last year’s competition.

“I went last year for the finals with three others in the team,” said member Jackson Dewar.

Members have to safely land a rocket with an egg inside and stay in the air for around 45 seconds. They started practicing at the start of the school year with a variety of different rockets.

“Most of the time our rockets have been getting within 20 feet of the height which is pretty good,” said member Zayn Anderson-Pickering. “That would probably get us in the top 10.”

Each member has their own task for the competition.

“We all work together regularly, but for the finals we have assigned roles so it’s as efficient as possible,” said member Daniel Effren.

Club mentors love seeing the kids learn life skills, while gaining more knowledge about rockets.

“It gets them working together, measuring and weighing things, and working towards a goal,” said Peter Zaloom.

The kids scored high last year, but this time around they’re reaching for the skies to win the grand prize.

“The winner goes to the Paris Air Show to fly against the British, the French, the German and the Japanese teams,” said Zaloom.

The Cornerstone School Rocket Club will head up to Washington D.C. for competition on May 20.

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