RoHAWKtics
Team 3824, the HVA RoHAWKtics, was founded in 2011 at Hardin Valley Academy, a public high school in Knoxville, TN. The original workspace, where the team first applied, was in a storage closet in the school. After forming, the team had less than a week before the application deadline for our local FRC qualifier competition, Smoky Mountains Regional. The team of 13 members was awarded the Rookie All-Star award, as well as the Highest Rookie Seed award at the 2011 Qualifier, with the greatly appreciated guidance of mentors from Oak Ridge National Lab.
With the risky decision to use 3D printing for their inaugural season, the team captured the attention of the community and not only received backing and mentor assistance from ORNL, but also access to workspace in their Manufacturing Demonstration Facility. The team gratefully took advantage of the space for 6 FRC seasons, before the space was reclaimed by the lab.
This occurred between the 2017 and 2018 seasons, and for a period, the team had nowhere to work. Before the 2018 season began, Team 3140, Flagship Robotics, graciously offered to share their nearby workspace with us. We have now been using their space for nearly two years, continuing to strengthen the bond between our two teams.
In 2021, after raising $15,000, we opened the HVA RoHAWKtics Mobile Machine Shop, which finally allowed us to return to our school and build robots in Hardin Valley.
Now we’ve grown to more than 50 members and 12 mentors, including both faculty members and community volunteers. We attend two Regional competitions each year and have qualified for Championships nine times in twelve years!
Our extensive community outreach program includes parades, STEM Nights, Fantasy of Trees, and special projects including building motorized props for the 2018 HVA Marching Band show “Broken.” We also host and run the Marble City Qualifier FIRST LEGO League tournament each December at HVA.
