The robotics team attended the First Robotics world championship in Greensboro, North Carolina, from April 5-6. In total, Fuquay faced off against over 100 teams from across the world. This event was a major milestone for the team, showcasing months of hard work. 

The club strives to build STEM, business, and leadership in our community through innovation, competition, and service. They create multiple 115 pound robots to be used to complete objectives in competitions. Each robot is designed, built, and made entirely by students, with guidance from mentors and professionals. 

In these competitions, they had three robots, all with different objectives, trying to gain points in order to beat the other teams. The first ranked team is able to choose which opponent they want to work with. At the first competition, Fuquay ranked first, and chose the second place team to work with. They both ended up breaking down during the playoffs competition, getting third place.

“We had the most capable robot we could build,” said senior Evan Kruger.

 In the second event, Fuquay placed second and ended up working with the first place team in the next round to go undefeated. Their strategy involved using a combination of speed, precision, and teamwork to dominate their opponents. At the world championship, they faced off against 75 teams. Many of Fuquay’s robots broke down, and they ended up placing fourth. 

“We worked really hard on building these robots, and it was cool to see our hard work pay off even if we didn’t win it all,” said Ben Park.

Despite these challenges, the team remained optimistic and proud of their accomplishments throughout the competitions. The SLICE team has really accomplished so much, and showcased bright minds within Fuquay-Varina.