CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Clarksville's youngest competing robotics team, the Legolorians, qualified for the Worlds competition, but asked the community for help funding their trip to Houston, Texas for the competition.
The Worlds competition is set for April and is the pinnacle of competition for 4th through 8th-grade robotics teams.
Not every region is invited every year. Before 2023, the last time Clarksville was invited was in 2020 which they could not attend because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Legolorians formed during the summer of 2022 and began meeting after school at Hazelwood Elementary School with students in 4th, 5th, and 7th grades.
"They had to provide some kind of research project based on electricity, which is what our whole thing is about this year is electricity. And then they also had to write core values essay saying why they work well with other people and why they wanted to be a part of the team," explained Legolorians Robotics Team Coach Kelly O'Leary.
The students said they went into the year and local competitions confident but without high expectations since it was the team's rookie year. However, earlier in the season at a regional competition, the team won first place meaning they qualified to compete at Worlds.
"I was in utter shock because it's our first year all but one of us. And so none of us were thinking we wouldn't even get a chance to go to Worlds. We just thought it was gonna be a little fun side thing that we could do. And when we found out we—this was—I panicked because I was like, ‘our codes are not ready.’ I was really excited though," explained 7th Grade Legolorian Team Member Riley Rupracht.
Once they won, the team quickly realized they would need to find the funds for the trip to Houston for Worlds.
"We're the first elementary school to win in Clarksville of our area. So it's, yeah, we weren't expecting to win," O'Leary explained.
Most school districts help robotics teams fund their trips but because the Legolorians are run out of an elementary school and did not register with the school as a competing robotics team because they did not expect to be competitive, the team has to fund their Worlds trip on their own.
"These kids that have worked so hard, they wouldn't have a chance to be able to go without us reaching out to the community and asking for help," said O'Leary.
To find out how you can donate to help the Legolorians make it to Worlds, email them at legolorians@gmail.com.
