A Castlegar student won first place in his category in the Junior Dragons Den championship.
Will Watt, 14, won first place in the Junior Division (Grades 8-10) for his Firestove invention.
“My idea was a portable camping stove that goes over a fire,” explained Watt, who’s in Grade 9 at Stanley Humphries Secondary School.
The Firestove is a pole with two grills attached to it. The pole is planted in the ground next to a fire pit to create an instant stove.
Watt has a working prototype and his next step is to use a portion of the $2000 he won to manufacture more and acquire a patent.
“Some of [the money] can go toward fabrication and I’ll put a lot of it toward post-secondary education,” he said.
To claim top spot in his age category, Watt first had to compete and win in the West Kootenay regional competition. He said he was a little nervous getting up on stage.
“It was really exciting, really nerve racking, but it was fun,” he said.
But the second time he got on stage things went smoother and ultimately he succeeded in pitching his idea.
Watt wasn’t the only Castlegar student to triumph in the den.
Vanessa Ford, who’s also a Stanley Humphries student, won second place in the Senior Division (Grades 11-12), pitching Simply Fresh Bath & Body products.