Falls Church High School CyberPatriot Team Advances to Semifinals

February 10, 2018 – A team of students from Falls Church High School in Falls Church, VA is headed to the Semifinals of CyberPatriot – the Air Force Association’s National Youth Cyber Defense Competition.

Established by AFA in 2009, the CyberPatriot National Youth Cyber Education Program is designed to excite, educate, and motivate students toward careers in cybersecurity and other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines critical to our nation’s future.

CyberPatriot’s core program – the National Youth Cyber Defense Competition – challenges teams of students across the United States, Canada, and from DoDD schools abroad, to find and resolve cybersecurity vulnerabilities in simulated environments. Top teams from the preliminary online rounds earn all-expenses-paid trips to Baltimore, Md., for the in-person National Finals Competition, where students compete for national recognition and scholarships.

At this high school level, the CyberPatriot field is divided into two divisions – the Open Division for public, private, and home school teams, the All Service Division for JROTC, Civil Air Patrol, and Naval Sea Cadet Corps teams. Within these divisions are three skills levels – Platinum, Gold, and Silver.

Open Division Data

Number of Teams in Tier that Advanced

Platinum

628

174

Gold

807

231

Silver

442

154

In all, 5,584 teams registered to compete in CyberPatriot X. Of these teams, 442 teams competed as part of the Open Division, Silver tier. Falls Church High School is among the 154 teams to advance to the next round from this subdivision, placing 8^th out of the 32 teams in Virginia in the Silver Tier.

Led by Coach Ralph Albrecht, the team of students from Falls Church High School excelled in the CyberPatriot X Open Division qualification rounds, demonstrating teamwork, critical thinking skills, and technical knowledge key to a successful career in cybersecurity. The team’s performance earned it a spot in the Semifinal Round to be held this month.

“The team was fortunate to be led by a strong group of Seniors and Juniors, who developed their skills in identifying cybersecurity vulnerabilities, most of which are also members of the Falls Church High School’s Robotics Club (www.FallsChurchRobotics.com),” said their coach.

Following the Semifinals, the top 12 Open Division teams will advance to the CyberPatriot X National Finals Competition in Baltimore, Md.

More information is available at www.uscyberpatriot.org or from the CyberPatriot staff at info@uscyberpatriot.org.

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The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage.

Media Contact: McKinnon Pearse

MPearse@afa.org

(703) 247-5847