(Bradenton, Fla., March 14, 2023) — The Coding Academy at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota (SCF), in partnership with the Suncoast Credit Union, sponsored the West Florida FIRST® LEGO® League Regional Robotics Championship on Feb. 18. More than 260 elementary and middle school students from Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, Charlotte, Manatee, Sarasota, Hernando, Highlands, Lee, Polk and Collier counties showcased their engineering skills as they competed using LEGO® EV3 and LEGO® Spike Prime robots. Teams also interviewed with judges and shared real world solutions using their robot design processes to solve robotic challenges in two-and-a-half-minute matches.

The winning team advanced to the FIRST® LEGO® League World Festival, which will be held in Houston in April 2023. Teams can also advance to other events, including the FIRST® LEGO® League State Championship at University of North Florida in Jacksonville, the Razorback International Invitational at the University of Arkansas and the Western Edge International Invitational in Southern California.

FIRST® LEGO® League is an international organization, with more than 50,000 teams from 95 countries participating in this year’s season. Called “the sport where everyone can go pro” by founder Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway, FIRST® is a nonprofit organization that inspires and empowers young people to be STEM leaders and innovators. Research has shown that over 75% of FIRST® alumni are now students or professionals in a STEM field.

For information about forming or joining a FIRST® LEGO® League team for next season, email WestFloridRobotics@Gmail.com or contact Desh Bagley, West Florida FIRST® program delivery partner at the SCF Coding Academy, at 941-752-5160.