“To inspire and prepare the next generation of STEM leaders in Philadelphia.”
RoboLancers FRC Team 2023-2024
LANCE-A-LOT FRC Team 2023-2024
Dedication, teamwork, and spirit.
We’re not just a team, but a family.
The RoboLancers are a World Championship and Hall of Fame FIRST Robotics team based at Central High School in Philadelphia. With approximately 100 members, the RoboLancers are composed of two distinct teams (FRC 321 and FRC 427) that participate in the FIRST Robotics Competitions. Established in 1999, the team has grown from a handful of students whose sole purpose was to build robots, into the school’s largest student-run organization whose main goal is to inspire students across Philadelphia to pursue careers in science and technology.
As a student-run organization, the RoboLancers learn important leadership, management and financial skills as they oversee a large and complex organization, with a budget of nearly $222,000 in the 2023-2024 school year.
Our goal is not only to build a competitive robot, but to improve the city around us. We use our experience and resources to increase the accessibility of robotics to Philadelphia. We plan to construct a new STEM Innovation Lab in our building to provide additional practice and workshop space for city teams. In a city where only 13 percent of graduating students go on to receive four-year degrees in science or engineering, we take pride in knowing that we are increasing that number — one student at a time.
Our Commitments
The RoboLancers will foster an inclusive and supportive team. We will create meaningful relationships with students who come from different backgrounds and grades. We will encourage each other to take risks and learn from our mistakes without judgment. We will appreciate the contributions and perspectives of our teammates.
The RoboLancers will offer and create outreach opportunities in Philadelphia. We will support and collaborate with Philadelphia’s other FIRST teams to make a difference in our city.
The RoboLancers will engage with the greater FIRST community by building friendships with other FIRST teams, and competing with them. Through FIRST we access events with both a competitive atmosphere and positive environment.
The RoboLancers will learn more about STEM from each other, from our mentors, and from our coaches. We will learn about how we can apply our knowledge, and about potential STEM career paths. We will turn our ideas into physical creations.
The RoboLancers will learn how to be leaders and how to work as a team.