Sarasota Robotics Team Wins Regional Contest

Sarasota's Jungle Robotics Team won the highest regional honor among 62 teams that just competed at the Orlando Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.

The Chairman's Award was presented to the team March 9 at the University of Central Florida Arena.

The team advances to the National FIRST Robotics Competition, which is April 24-27, in St. Louis, Missouri.

Jungle Robotics, also known as Team 3627, consists of 30 members from four Sarasota County public schools, Pine View School, Riverview High, Suncoast Polytechnical High and Venice High, and one private school, The Out-of-Door Academy.

According to a press release:

"Most FIRST Robotics teams are composed of students from a single school. From the start, the goal of the Sarasota team founders was to form alliances among various public and private schools, area manufacturers and associations, and other supporters. The team participates in fundraising, volunteering and educational activities throughout the county."

The Jungle Robotics team is sponsored by the Sarasota Manatee Manufacturers Association (SAMA), Sun Hydraulics, RND Automation & Engineering and the Sarasota County Technical Institute.

Other supporting companies and organizations include the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, BarCamp Sarasota (a bi-annual conference for technology entrepreneurs), Loggerhead Instruments, Star2Star Communications, ROBRADY design and TechHouse IT Consulting Solutions.