Northern Alberta FPV League returns to M.E. Lazerte for whoop race

M.E. Lazerte High School’s atrium again gave Edmonton whoop racing its most distinctive stage: a compact indoor lane where Tiny Whoops could reward precision instead of raw speed. The Northern Alberta FPV League ran its Lazerte Whoop Race on May 17 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at 6804 144 Ave NW, with pilots directed to park in the staff lot behind the building, enter through the staff entrance, turn left down the hall and head for the atrium.

That school setting is the point. In a whoop race, the atrium’s tight footprint changes the entire competition. There are no long outdoor straights to settle into, only fast corrections, clean lines and constant reaction work, the kind of flying the league says Tiny Whoops were built for during winter. Its other main class, 5-inch quads, is reserved for the summer outdoor season, which makes Lazerte a crucial cold-weather and shoulder-season venue.

The event also showed how organized the grassroots scene has become. Pilots were asked to register through MultiGP and join the league’s Discord channel so channel assignments could be sorted ahead of race day. Entry was donation-based rather than ticketed, with a requested $10 contribution to Edmonton Public Schools athletic programs and an EPSB Foundation option for larger donations that could generate a tax receipt. That structure turned race fees into direct support for the host school while keeping the meet accessible for returning pilots.

Lazerte’s role is not new. The league’s calendar had already listed whoop races at the school on January 11, January 25, March 22, May 3 and May 17, making the atrium part of a recurring indoor series rather than a one-off stop. The Model Aeronautics Association of Canada also identifies M.E. Lazerte as an indoor flying site for Northern Alberta FPV League and says races there are held either in the North Gym or the atrium, underlining how deeply the school has been folded into the region’s FPV map.

For Northern Alberta pilots, that matters as much as any podium result. A school atrium offers a familiar, centrally located place to race, a practical entry point for new flyers and a reliable home base for veterans who want winter-style whoop racing to stay active well into spring.