The International Drone Racing Association, Inc. (IDRA) is a professional racing organization that sanctions and governs multiple
drone racing
First Person View, or FPV, drone racing, is a sport where participants control " drones" (typically small radio-controlled aircraft or quadcopters), equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays showing the live stream camera fee ...
events. IDRA's major events and series' include the 2017 Challengers Cup, 2016 World Drone Prix, 2016 North America Cup, 2016 GiGA World Masters, and the 2015 California Cup.
Justin Haggerty founded the company on 3 April 2015 to promote and build drone racing into a world renown sport. Early that summer, Co-Founder Charles Zablan joined the team and began preparing for the 2015 California Cup.
IDRA began working with the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
government and Aerial Grand Prix in October, 2015 to co-found and host the World Drone Prix in Dubai. The event, supported by Crown Prince Sheikh
Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktou, was held at Skydive Dubai on 11 & 12 March 2016 for $1 Million in cash prizes.
On 7 April 2016, IDRA announced its merger with RotorSports (Drone Nationals and Drone Worlds), which would consolidate operations under the IDRA brand.
On 13 April 2016, IDRA and
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
announced signing a three-year deal to broadcast drone races.
On 22 June 2016, IDRA terminated its merger with RotorSports, no longer sanctioning the 2016 U.S. Drone Nationals and 2016 Drone Worlds. The decision was made in order to protect the company from foreseen financial risks associated with RotorSports and the ESPN contract. The decision was later confirmed as the right course of action after the 2016 U.S. Drone Nationals and 2016 Drone Worlds was executed under budget, leaving
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
to cancel the Drone Worlds broadcast after a mediocre production from Drone Nationals.
On 22 June 2016, IDRA announced partnership with
Vuzix
Vuzix () is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Rochester, New York. Founded in 1997 by Paul Travers, Vuzix is a supplier of wearable display technology, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Vuzix manufactures and se ...
and Amimon to implement and help develop high-definition (HD) video receivers and compatible virtual reality (VR) goggles to
drone racing
First Person View, or FPV, drone racing, is a sport where participants control " drones" (typically small radio-controlled aircraft or quadcopters), equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays showing the live stream camera fee ...
.
On 6-7 August 2016, IDRA co-hosted, with the Korean Drone Racing Association (KDRA), the GiGA World Masters in Busan, South Korea. The event, sponsored by
Korea Telecom
KT Corporation (Hangul: 주식회사 케이티), formerly Korea Telecom, is a South Korean telecommunications company. KT is the second-largest wireless carrier in South Korea, with 16.493 million subscribers as of Q4 2017.
The formerly fully ...
, was broadcast on national television and enjoyed 50,000 spectators in its two days.
On 21 September 2016, IDRA hosted a Congressional Briefing in Washington, D.C. to announce their founding of the UAS STEM Alliance, a non-profit organization to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) via drone technology and
drone racing
First Person View, or FPV, drone racing, is a sport where participants control " drones" (typically small radio-controlled aircraft or quadcopters), equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays showing the live stream camera fee ...
.
On 11-13 November 2016, IDRA was the Blast Off Sponsor for the first annual Drone Summit at
Spaceport America
Spaceport America, formerly the Southwest Regional Spaceport, is an FAA-licensed spaceport located on of State Trust Land in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin north of Las Cruces, New Mexico, and southeast of Truth or Consequences. With V ...
, which included a speaking workshop, drone cinematography challenge, and
drone racing
First Person View, or FPV, drone racing, is a sport where participants control " drones" (typically small radio-controlled aircraft or quadcopters), equipped with cameras while wearing head-mounted displays showing the live stream camera fee ...
event. IDRA's Founder & CEO, Justin Haggerty, was the Keynote Speaker for the Drone Summit.
On 2 December 2016, IDRA announced its semi-professional series the 2017 Challengers Cup on social media platforms.
On 26 January 2017, IDRA announced its professional series the 2017 Drone Racing Series on social media platforms. The Drone Racing Series, composed of 6 international races, will start in China and end with a finals in the Netherlands.
Additionally, on 26 January 2017, IDRA launched the first primary liability insurance ($1 Million Policy) for drone pilots. IDRA Members will receive worldwide coverage to fly recreationally, for practicing and training, and racing! In conjunction, IDRA also will offer event liability insurance ($2 Million Policy) to sanctioned race organizers around the world. IDRA's insurance service is another attempt to strengthen the growing drone community. To build the new insurance business, IDRA partnered with Avion Insurance, an insurance broker in Florida.
On 10 February 2017, IDRA announced, on social media, its 3YR agreement to distribute race content from the Drone Racing Series and Challengers Cup on
Amazon Prime Instant Video
Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming and rental service of Amazon offered as a standalone service or as part of Amazon's Prime subscription. The service prim ...
.
On 02 March 2017, IDRA announced, on social media, a partnership with
Dailymotion
Dailymotion is a French video-sharing technology platform owned by Vivendi. North American launch partners included Vice Media, Bloomberg and Hearst Digital Media. It is among the earliest known platforms to support HD (720p) resolution video. ...
to distribute race content from the Drone Racing Series and Challengers Cup.
*
:es:Carreras de dron
References
{{reflist
Unmanned aerial vehicles
Air racing
Sports leagues in the United States
2015 establishments in the United States
Sports leagues established in 2015