CLAYTON – G-Force Robotics, FIRST Robotics Competition team #9008, won the Engineering Inspiration award at the 2024 UNC Pembroke District Competition held March 8-10, 2024. This award is the second-highest team award given at the FIRST Robotics Competition and automatically qualifies the team to advance to the state competition. The award celebrates outstanding success in advancing respect and appreciation for engineering within a team’s school or organization and community.

G-Force Robotics, an all-girl team based in Clayton, N.C., has served more than 3,300 volunteer service hours in the past two years with a majority focused on STEM outreach throughout the state. Their mission is to encourage and inspire girls in science, engineering, technology and math. Their three major initiatives target girls at the elementary, middle and high school levels with a book project for elementary school students, providing free technology classes at Clayton’s Hocutt-Ellington Memorial Library for middle school girls and hosting an annual Women/Girls in STEM Breakfast on the campus of Caterpillar in Clayton.

The 12 high school girls also built a highly competitive, 117-lb robot that placed 4th in the competition’s semi-finals.

The team has another district event at Heritage High School in Wake County March 22-24, 2024 before advancing to play at the FIRST North Carolina state competition at East Carolina University in early April.