Leesburg, April 10, 2023 – RoboLoCo, the Academies of Loudoun FIRST® Robotics Competition team, has qualified for the 2023 FIRST® Championship, aka “Worlds” by virtue of winning the FIRST Impact Award at the FIRST® Chesapeake District Championship at GMU on April 8, 2023.
The FIRST Impact Award (formerly the Chairman’s Award) is the most prestigious award in FIRST. It honors the team that best represents a model for other teams to emulate and best embodies the mission of FIRST. It was created to keep the central focus of FIRST Robotics Competition on the ultimate goal of transforming the culture in ways that will inspire greater levels of respect and honor for science and technology. To achieve this goal, ACL RoboLoCo has spent the last decade partnering with schools, local nonprofits, and fellow FIRST teams to increase the accessibility of STEM education in Loudoun County, promote FIRST programs, and support underrepresented groups in STEM.
This past fall, ACL RoboLoCo published Gerald and His Robot, a robot-themed children’s picture book that highlights the importance of teamwork and teaches readers about engineering fundamentals, such as gears and motors. RoboLoCo shared Gerald and His Robot at four of Loudoun Literacy Council’s Fall Book Parties, alongside Loudoun County Head Start and STEP. RoboLoCo was able to reach 400 underserved preschoolers, elementary school students, and family members! In order to spread the importance of STEM education, ACL RoboLoCo presents to educators at the Inspire Loudoun conference. To increase STEM opportunities and promote competitive robotics, ACL RoboLoCo mentors FRC 9235 – The Thunderbolts a new robotics team at Lightridge High School, helped start two FIRST LEGO League Explore teams, and organized workshops for over 40 FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams!
ACL RoboLoCo launched a STEM advocacy podcast, Robocast, where STEM professionals who provide insight into past experiences are interviewed to give advice to students pursuing STEM careers. Robocast has allowed RoboLoCo to increase awareness of STEM equity gaps and connect with FIRST teams worldwide, such as Cerbotics 4400 from Mexico. https://blogs.lcps.org/robocast/podcast/
The 2023 FIRST® Championship is April 19-22 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, TX.
The Academies of Loudoun “RoboLoCo” team (team 5338) is a FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) team competing in the Chesapeake District. ACL RoboLoCo is one of several thousand FRC teams across the globe. FRC is the highest level of FIRST® competitions, above FIRST® Lego League (K – 8th grade) and FIRST® Tech Challenge (7th – 12th grade). FIRST®, a nonprofit organization, releases a new game every year, and teams have nine weeks to build a robot to compete with, fitting with the organization’s mission to inspire young people to be leaders in the fields of Science and Technology, by engaging them in exciting student-based programs that involve problem solving, creativity, and analytical reasoning. For more information about FIRST® and FRC, refer to https://www.firstinspires.org/.