EV Go-Kart Challenge: The arrival of Edison Motors in Donald has brought plenty of excitement to the Columbia Valley—but perhaps no one was more thrilled than four high school students from Golden Secondary School (GSS), who recently competed in the second annual Edison Motors High School EV Go-Kart Challenge.
“The Edison High School EV Go-Kart Challenge is an annual event where Edison Motors provides 20 high schools in B.C. and Alberta with 48-volt electric vehicle parts,” said Edison Motors president, Chase Barber.
“Schools have one semester to design, engineer, and build a go-kart to compete in a series of racing challenges. The goal is to spark interest in engineering, manufacturing, and the trades.”
Golden’s inaugural team—made up of students Sylas Batten, Jayden Hall, Sage Dasher, and Eric Millard—entered the competition after hearing about the challenge through a parent, even before Edison officially moved into the area.
From there, the idea took off, with Edison Motors sponsoring the team.
With support from their teachers, Lena Spicer and Jens Seidemann, and help from family members, the students got to work.
The kit that each team started with came with a seat and seatbelts, brake and steering components, an electric motor, batteries, and a system controller and display. Everything else—from chassis to wiring—was up to them.
“It took us less than two months to build,” the team shared. “The process was a bit chaotic—lots of trial and error. We started with the rear swing arm [suspension] at the back of the go-kart and worked our way forward. ”
In addition to in-school shop time, the team spent evenings and weekends working in the shop—sometimes until 11 p.m.—just to get it finished in time for the May 31 competition in Merritt.
One of the hardest challenges? The swing arm. “It gave us a lot of trouble, and we had to wait on metal supplies, too, which slowed us down. Plus, we had some issues with the front-end steering early on,” the team explained.
But through all the setbacks came innovation.
The Golden team’s design stood out. “We were proud of a few things,” they said.
“The swing arm and rear end were built with brass bushings we machined with help from a friend in metalwork. We also mounted our battery at the front of the kart, which gave us better weight distribution. A lot of teams had steering issues because their batteries were on the back.”
Their commitment to quality didn’t go unnoticed. “We upgraded all the connectors to higher-end ones, and the engineers loved that.”
The race weekend in Merritt was unforgettable. “The best moment was hearing ‘First place: Golden’ called out in front of everyone. It was amazing, especially since it was our first year.”
The team dominated the competition:
• Jayden won the off-road race.
• Eric took the barrels event.
• Sylas won the on-road lap speed race.
• Sage came second in the start-stop event.
• And in the teacher race, Sylas’ dad brought home another win.
They encountered a few bumps along the way, like a snapped gas pedal and some overheating issues, but nothing stopped them.
“This year, the local Golden Secondary School took overall first place for their design and build, which is even more impressive given it was their first year competing,” said Barber.
Teachers Spicer and Seidemann praised the students’ dedication.
“These guys went way above and beyond,” said Seidemann. “From the moment we saw the kit, we knew it was a big challenge, but they were all in from the start.”
Spicer added, “I’m so proud of our students. The level of commitment, the problem-solving, the perseverance— it was next level!
The team expressed heartfelt thanks to Edison Motors for sponsoring Golden’s entry and making the entire experience possible.
After securing first place in three out of four events, the students took home a $1,200 prize, which they proudly split between the four of them.
Next year, the team will lose Sage Dasher to graduation, but they already have a new recruit in mind — one who helped with metalwork this year. And there’s more good news: the 2026 EV Go-Kart Challenge will be held right here in Golden, hosted at Edison Motors’ shop out in Donald.
“No one expected Golden to win,” the team laughed. “So, everyone’s definitely going to bring their A-game next year!”
