Clayton all-girls robotics team takes World Championship in Houston

CLAYTON, N.C. (WNCN) — Family and friends are celebrating an all-girls robotics team out of Johnston County.

The girls flew back into RDU International Airport Sunday evening after winning big at the FIRST World Championship.

A group of friends and relatives showed up to surprise the girls of G Force Robotics at the airport Sunday, as they arrived, back from an exciting few days at the world championship.

“So they’re tired, but they’re coming home, you know, winners. So we’re very proud for them,” said Karen Nolte, whose daughter is on the team.

Nolte’s daughter is one of the 11 girls who traveled to Houston for the competition.

“These girls put in hours and hours. They do it all year long, over the summer, in the fall, off season,” Nolte said.

G Force competed against teams from over two dozen countries, battling it out with their 125-pound robot.

“It was really incredible. Everybody is just so supportive of each other, especially as an all-girls team. We had a lot of girls from other teams coming up to us and telling us how much we inspire them,” sophomore Claire Fendrick said.

For Fendrick and her teammates, that means a lot. In 2024, they also competed for the Engineering Inspiration Award, which recognizes a team for spreading appreciation of engineering in their community.

“I love encouraging younger kids, especially younger girls,” Fendrick said.

Community outreach is a big part of G Force’s mission, Fendrick explained. They focus especially on getting young girls interested in robotics, engineering and STEM.

G Force won the award.

“That’s the part that is going to leave that lasting legacy for all these young girls later,” team mentor Kendra Gregg said.

Gregg said it was exciting to see this recognition for the outreach work the girls have done over the last few years.

“We’ve got girls that come in that we’re starting to recognize because we’ve seen them, and they’re just so excited that, you know, oh, my gosh, these girls in all pink and glitter cowboy hats, like we could be that girl one day,” she said.

Winning the award also means G Force automatically qualifies for next year’s world championships, and some of the fees for the competition will be covered by NASA.

“We’re going to come back, keep doing our outreach, keep reaching more young girls all around the world and inspiring them. And we’re excited to come back next year and build a better robot than ever,” Fendrick said.