Russellville students will once again make an appearance at the national Team America Rocketry Challenge, for the third year running – but this year it isn’t an RCS team that made the cut.

The fledgling Russellville First United Methodist Church rocket team nabbed one of the 100 TARC slots, coveted by hundreds of teams across the nation. FUMC’s team was one of only three from Alabama, with the other two being from Lincoln.

Although the team is new, it comprises some familiar talent. Andrew Heath, team captain for the RCS 2015 World Champion team and 2016 TARC Finalist team, is coaching the FUMC team. Cady Studdard, who was also on the 2015 and 2016 RCS teams, is a team member, along with Greyson Studdard and Grace McDermitt.

Cady is a 10^th grader at the Alabama School of Math and Science. Greyson and Grace are seventh graders at Russellville Middle School.

Team adviser/mentor is Scarlette Studdard, and Ann McDermitt is fundraising/PR coordinator for the team.

As noted at rocketcontest.org, the Team America Rocketry Challenge is the world’s largest student rocket contest and a key piece of the aerospace and defense industry’s strategy to build a stronger U.S. workforce in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry, TARC was created in the fall of 2002 as a one-time celebration of the Centennial of Flight but by popular demand became an annual program.

Approximately 5,000 students from across the nation compete in TARC each year. The contest challenges students to design, build and fly a rocket to safely carry a raw egg payload to a specific altitude and back within a certain amount of time. The contest’s rules and scoring parameters change every cycle to challenge the students’ ingenuity and encourage a fresh approach to rocket design. Based on local qualification flights, the top 100 teams are invited to Washington, D.C. in May for the National Finals.

Top placing teams split more than $100,000 in cash and scholarships and the overall winning team will travel to Europe to compete in the International Rocketry Challenge taking place at either the Farnborough, England, or Paris, France, Air Show, depending on the year.

Teams interested in competing in TARC had to register by December 2016 and send in their scores to qualify by April 3. From all scores submitted, the top 100 teams were selected and announced April 7.

Although Russellville FUMC was the only local team to qualify as a finalist, the two Russellville City Schools teams and the Sheffield team were selected as alternates.

“Alternates will go to the championship in the event some of the 100 cannot go,” explained Lee Brownell, AMSTI science specialist and UNA Rocketry Hub founder. “Finalists have until April 25 to RSVP. If they do not, then the alternates get called up.”

Brownell was able to work with FUMC on a few occasions to help them prepare, as he did with teams from across the region.

“I am pleased with the outcome. I was hoping to have more teams in the finals, of course. We had three other teams pretty close,” Brownell said. “But I was really impressed with all the teams this year. The FUMC team came to our practice launch days and to some of the workshops I held. I am very proud of them and their team leader.”

The finals will be held May 13 at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va., 45 minutes outside of Washington, D.C.