STAMPING GROUND, Ky. (LEX 18) — A group of fifth graders at Stamping Ground Elementary School have found an outlet for fun by joining the school’s robotics team.
“To, like just be able to hang out with my friends, and like work on something that we can all contribute to, it just feels nice honestly,” said student Hudson Gray.
The program nearly met its demise last November when teacher Sarah Maggard stepped in to coach the team.
“There is a world outside of sports,” Maggard said, discussing the importance of the robotics team. “There is a place for everybody. STEM is a great opportunity for growth.”
While some teams started working on their robots in the summer, the Stamping Ground students got a late start and struggled in their first competitions. After hard work and dedication, however, the team improved weekly. Now, they are state champions.
By winning the state competition, Stamping Ground clinched a bid to the world championship in Dallas, where they will compete against 420 teams from around the globe.
Maggard said, “their first competition they were in dead last place. Now to say that they have a world bid, it just screams how much they’ve improved and dedicated their time to this program.”
Going into the state competition, the team felt like they had a shot at winning state.
“We had thought that there was a pretty good chance,” student Brynlee Wright said. "We were over there just like, okay, we got this, we got this. But at the same time, we were trying not to second-guess ourselves.”
“As soon as we got the bid,” said KC Grant, “we were all just joyful and grateful and excited that we knew we were gonna go to worlds in Dallas, Texas.”
“It was kind of stressful for me and KC sitting with our parents and coaches on the sidelines,” Adalynn Maggard recalled, “because we were like getting up trying to count how many were in each goal and trying to add up the score.”
While the team secured a bid, they still need some help. Registration for the event costs $1,800 alone, and that doesn’t even include travel costs to and from Dallas.
The team hopes to secure sponsors and donations for the event. To help support, you can visit this link.
