ACL RoboLoCo

Coaches: Josh Ajima, Rebecca Stone & Mike Tomlinson

Email: josh.ajima@lcps.org, rebecca.stone@lcps.org or michael.tomlinson@lcps.org

Academies of Loudoun RoboLoCo is a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team that represents our school, the Academies of Loudoun. Our team name stands for Robotics - Loudoun County because we were the first FRC team in Loudoun County. We work year-round to grow our expertise in everything from programming to CAD to machine fabrication. Our team also engages in many outreach programs, such as showcasing our robot at various community STEAM nights, advocating for STEM education at the National Advocacy Conference, promoting STEM with our podcast, Robocast, and supporting other FRC teams in the Chesapeake District! 

FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology”, is an international organization that serves to provide opportunities for students of all ages to pursue STEM and robotics. RoboLoCo is part of their FRC program, where FIRST challenges them to build a robot in six weeks that is suited to a game that they release every January. After those six weeks, teams compete at their local competitions to qualify for their state/district competitions and to win nontechnical and technical awards. Along with STEM, FIRST encourages its members to immerse themselves in their communities by sharing STEM with others and collaborating with businesses for sponsorships. In FRC, students strive not only to create a strong and competitive robot but also to earn prestigious awards that guarantee a spot to compete at the FIRST World Championships. Two of these awards are the Chairman’s Award and the Engineering Inspiration Award, which recognize teams’ efforts and passion for spreading STEM in and beyond their community.