A local FIRST LEGO League (FLL) robotic team from The Frazer School recently won first place at the FLL Florida State Championship on Saturday in Tampa. 

The Turbo Gatorbots came in first out of more than 800 FLL teams in the state and now advance to the world championship, where they will compete against roughly 200 teams from 66 countries.  

Making up the Gatorbots are students from The Frazer School in Gainesville. Team members include seventh graders James Du, Dennis Chi, Jacob Li, Andrew Zhao and fifth grader Daniel Chi.  

According to an email sent to Mainstreet, the team was formed in 2024 by the students. This is only their second year participating in the FLL season. 

Earlier this year, the Gatorbots earned first place at the qualifier and went on to become regional champions before advancing to – and winning – the state championship this past weekend.  

“Their growth in teamwork, technical maturity, and presentation skills has been remarkable,” the email said.  

Aside from their success in robot design and competition performance, the Gatorbots also distinguished themselves through their Innovation Project, in which team members developed sensing and AI-based technologies directed at helping archeologists discover ancient civilizations in a more efficient and noninvasive way. Their work resulted in two patent applications.  

Team members also conducted field testing of their technology at an excavation site in Gainesville, the Potano Village, where they gained firsthand experience in applying engineering tools to historical preservation.  

The Gatorbots now turn their attention to the 2026 FIRST Championship, which will take place from April 29 to May 2 in Houston. Considered the world’s largest K-12 robotics event, the competition is expected to “bring together more than 1,000 student teams and 50,000 attendees from around the world for the ultimate STEM competition,” according to the FIRST website.