For the sixth consecutive year, Sonny’s The Car Wash Factory is sponsoring and mentoring the TechTigers robotics team from Atlantic Technical Magnet High School in Coconut Creek, Fla. The accomplished group of 35 students will compete in a Florida regional competition March 11-13 at the University of Central Florida Arena in Orlando.
The Florida event is one of 43 U.S. and international regional FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics competitions to determine which winning teams will advance to the championship event April 15-17 in Atlanta.
Working with Sonny’s, the TechTigers must design, build, program and test their robot to meet the season’s engineering challenge, which this year pits two alliances of three teams competing on a large field with bumps, towers and tunnels. Points are earned by collecting soccer balls in goals, and bonus points are added for each robot suspended or elevated in the air at the end of the match.
“Our students design and build the actual robots,” said David Ellich, faculty adviser for the TechTigers. “We look to and rely on Sonny’s to help with fabrication and welding of certain parts according to the team’s specifications.”
“FIRST is about giving kids the opportunity to build skill sets like analytical thinking to develop skills to become a scientist, engineer or inventor,” said Paul Fazio, Sonny’s president. “In the years that we have sponsored the TechTigers, we have actually hired one student as an employee and utilized the designs from another for two parts that we still sell today.
“Every year that they bring home a trophy, whether it is for a regional win, national finals or the many special awards the team has won, it’s always a thrill. We are so proud to sponsor these young men and women that I keep their trophies displayed right outside my office. I don't know of a better way to try and help keep manufacturing alive in America.”
More than 45,000 high school students in grades nine through 12 are expected to participate this year on more than 1,800 teams from the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Germany, Herzegovina, Israel, Mexico, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
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