History of BEYBLADES at UT Dallas
In 2005, the first Beyblade competition was held on the campus of the University of Texas at Dallas at a summer camp. The energy, enthusiasm, and informal science and math development ignited by Beyblades resulted in the competitions being included in the subsequent summer camp funding grants from the State of Texas. By 2008, the UTD Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers introduced an Annual LEGO Explosion & Beyblades Competition for National Engineer’s Week. It was the first and only Engineering-Week event on campus. Now The Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science sponsors a campus – community wide E-Week celebration that brings close to 4,000 students and visitors to UTD. Hundreds of people get exposed to Beyblading.
The Beyblade Institute for Spin Technology and the Texas Beyblade League was formed in 2013. Courtney De’Andre Mayes became its League Chairman. His love and dedication to the sport of Beyblading was a driving force in the growth and development of the league and an inspiration to a new generation of Beybladers. We lost Courtney “D” from an illness in 2017. The Phoenix Flame Award is awarded in his honor.
