Kenmore Middle School student named to U.S. National Model Rocketry Team

Carl Schurke, an 8th grade student at Kenmore Middle School, was recently named as a member of the U.S. National Model Rocketry team. As a member of the 2025 U.S. Spacemodeling Team Carl will compete in the World Spacemodeling Championship to be held next August in Zrenjanin, Serbia. The U.S. National team, sponsored by the National Association of Rocketry, will compete against teams from 24 other countries. Carl will be representing the United States in the S6A Streamer Duration competition. 

Carl, a Lynnwood resident, qualified to be a member of the 2025 U.S. Spacemodeling Team this past August in Pueblo, Colorado by competing against junior model rocket flyers from across the United States. At that competition, Carl flew several events earning his way onto the team in one of those disciplines. 

For the World Championship, Carl will be representing the United States in an event called S6A Streamer Duration. Flown in three rounds, the Streamer Duration event demonstrates the ability to build and successfully launch a lightweight tube rocket with a streamer as a recovery device. The goal is to have the streamer fully deploy and keep the rocket in the air as long as possible. Building an extremely light-weight rocket strong enough to tolerate launch and picking the perfect time to launch into rising warm air is what this event is about. S6A is an easy event to fly but one of the hardest to consistently excel at. Carl will be representing the United States both as an individual and as a member of a 3-person team.

The World Spacemodeling Championship is organized with the help and support of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI), which is the governing body for all aspects of international aviation sports. The World Spacemodeling Championships are held every two years, with the last being in July 2023 in Austin, TX. 

The World Championship Carl will be participating in is the Olympics of international model rocketry. Each championship begins with an opening ceremony where teams march in by country in their uniforms carrying their national flag. The event lasts a week, and each day’s competition ends with a medal ceremony, which includes Olympic-style medal stands and the raising of the home country flags of the winners while the national anthem of the gold medalist is played. 

Congratulations, Carl, on this remarkable achievement, and best of luck competing at the World Championship next summer!