ORCA Robotics-Patrick Henry HS-Needs help going to Worlds!
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ORCA 3136 has qualified for the Worlds Championships in Houston later this month, and the team needs your help! 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.
This year has been the strongest season for ORCA since the team was formed.
- At the first qualifying competition (at their own high school), the team was ranked in 3rd place leading into the playoffs where they were captain of Alliance#3.
- At the second qualifying competition (at Deep Run HS), the team was ranked in 1st place leading into the semi-finals where they were captain of Alliance #1. They made it through to the competition finals where they ended as the competition finalist. (2nd place finish)
- Based on their ranking in those competitions, ORCA was in the 13th ranking spot for the Chesapeake District and competed at the district competition in Petersburg Virginia. This is only the 4th time ORCA has qualified for the district competition.
- At the Chesapeake District Competition, ORCA was selected by Alliance#6 for playoffs. This is the first time ORCA has ever been in the playoffs at the district level. Alliance#6 made it through to the finals where they ended as the competition finalist.
- ORCA's ranking and performance at the qualifying events and district event qualified them for the Worlds Championships in Houston. This is a huge accomplishment and a first for ORCA.
Only the first two qualifying events are guaranteed. There were just over 100 teams competing in the Chesapeake District this year. Only 54 teams go to the district event for Chesapeake, and then only 16 go on to the worlds championship.
Because getting to districts and worlds is not always accomplished, the trip is beyond their normal planned budget. In addition to the competition entry fees (worlds entry is an additional $5,750), there are also fees for airfare to Houston, and meals for six days. The team works to fundraise and find sponsors, but they have a limited amount of funds and resources.
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.
Thanks in advance for your contribution to this team, it means so much to them. Please share this fundraiser with your friends and family. Every little bit helps.
Thank you!
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ORCA is a small team of high school students that participates in the First Robotics Competition to design and build a robot from scratch each year. During competition season, which starts the beginning of January, the team dedicates hours upon hours of their time to their robot. They stay after school multiple days a week and spend their weekends working as a team. After building the robot, they program/code the bot for manual and autonomous driving, and then practice, test and tweak the design and code to optimize it as much as possible. Since they are a very small team, each member fills multiple roles and responsibilities.
ORCA 3136 Patrick Henry High School Robotics Team
(Orca Robotics Boosters)
First Robotics Competition
Organizer
Rebecca Gimbel
Organizer
Ashland, VA
ORCA Robotics
Beneficiary