SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- It was the culmination of practices over many months and hours of logging data.
- Circuit Girls return from competition
- The all-girl robotics team placed 4th in division
- They've turned their attention to next year's world championship
Meticulous crafting of an engineering notebook and testing of a robot they called, Avexa.
But, the all-girl robotics team from Seminole County returned from the world robotics championship victorious, winning 4th place in their division and 23rd overall.
“I feel really, really proud about it," said Sierra Leinenbach. “We were probably one of the girl teams that did the best.”
We first met the Circuit Girls in March, fresh of their state win in Tampa and preparing for world's.
“If we could do good in states, maybe we could do good in worlds. Basically we just decided to try," said 8-year-old Charlene Liu.
“We were always practicing our driving and learning new things that could help our robot," added fourth grader, Aarushi Joshi.
So, the Circuit Girls packed up their robot and drove to Kentucky with their parents in late April for the Vex Robotics World Championship, going gear-to-gear with 400 elementary school teams from across the world.
The Circuit Girls would face some stiff competition, paired with two teams from China. Luckily, language wasn't a barrier.
“I knew how to speak Mandarin, so I could communicate with them too," said 10-year-old, Elaine Chi.
The girls marveled at the diversity of robots, too: Ones that could quickly scoop up items off the ground; others that looked like "big monsters" that gobbled up all the rings.
Nerves built up as the girls waited for judges to make their rounds, questioning teams on their designs.
“It was kind of nerve-wracking," said Chi.
When it came time to learn their fate, the girls felt proud for placing, while hoping to improve.
“We were a little disappointed because we didn’t think it was going to be that hard and because we usually won almost all our competitions," said Joshi.
Now, as they turn their attention to next year's world championship -- their directive to design a robot that can be suspended -- they're sharing their message of girl power with others.
“I felt kind of sad that girls don’t actually like to do robotics. I’m like, it’s not only a boy thing," said Joshi. “I just want to say to the girls out there, 'Vex isn’t only for boys. It’s for any gender.'”
“I looked around and it was mainly boys, not many girls there. And I think we need more," said Leinenbach. “Once we have more of them, it would change the future.”
The fourth graders are taking the summer off, but plan to return in the fall to sharpen their STEM skills and prepare for next year’s competitions.