Orca needs your help paying for Districts!

For those of you that aren't familiar with Orca, they are the robotics team at Patrick Henry High School in Hanover, VA. Each year the team designs and builds a robot that is used to participate in FIRST Robotics Competitions.

The team is doing amazing this year! The teams participate in two regular season competitions where they are awarded district points based on their performance. Orca's first competition this season was in Blacksburg, where the team made it to the semi-finals. Orca's second competition was in Portsmouth where the team went all the way to the final matches and their alliance finished in second place. Based on their ranking in those competitions, Orca ended the regular season in the 16th ranking spot for the Chesapeake District and is now heading to the district competition in Fairfax Virginia. The team will be there from April 5th through April 8th.

This is only the 3rd time that the team has qualified for the District Competition, so this is a really big deal for them. Because getting to districts is not always accomplished, and building the robot is expensive, the trip is beyond their normal planned budget. In addition to the competition entry fees, there are also fees for travel, accommodations, and meals.

Please consider donating to help them be able to go. You can also help by sharing this with family, friends and supporters to see if they can help. Also, if someone doesn't want to donate electronically, checks can be sent to the team. Make them payable to Orca Robotics Boosters.

How well the team does at Districts will determine if they will advance on to Worlds down in Texas.

The events are live-streamed and can be watched from your computer or phone. Click the link below during the district competition and select "Watch Live Stream."

District Competition Link

Learn more about FIRST Robotics here