FIRST Tech Challenge · Team 20357
Formerly Los Toros Locos
Student-built robots. Real meets. Our first year as an independent team.
FIRST Tech Challenge is a robotics program for middle and high school students. Every season there is a new game. Teams design, build, and program a robot to compete at meets with other teams.
We document our work, collaborate with other teams, and pick up CAD, Java, and real build skills along the way. That is the program we compete in as team 20357.
Kill-A-Watt is team 20357's next chapter. Same students, same drive, and now we handle the team ourselves.
We spent five seasons as a school-sponsored team. The first couple years were a grind — we were still learning how to build something that could actually compete. In our final season as Los Toros Locos, everything clicked. We won the Design Award, made the finalist alliance, and advanced at States!
With our new ambitions, our vision started to differ heavily from the school's. Splitting off lets students stay in control and opens the door for new members, mentors, and sponsors who actually fit what we're trying to build.
This is our first season as a community team. The freedom is great, but there's no school budget behind us anymore — registration, parts, travel, all of it is on us. That's why we're looking for supporters, whether it's individual donations or sponsors.
Each season the game changes and so does our robot. What stays the same is working as a team, iterating fast, and learning by doing, not just watching.
Active team members are students in grades 9–12 who design, build, program, and compete hands-on every week. No prior experience required. We need programmers, designers, media, and drive team, but most of all we need people who actually want to help the team get better. Commitment matters.
We're local to St. Johns County, based in the World Golf Village area.
Every season follows the same arc — idea to competition field. Students run it start to finish; mentors guide, but we're the ones putting in the work.
Starts in CAD — sketches, subsystem plans, and the engineering calls we make before anything gets cut.
From there we fabricate — 3D prints, CNC parts, hands-on assembly. Prototype, test, fix, repeat.
In parallel we code it — Java, autonomous paths, teleop, and driver controls on the FTC SDK.
Before we step on the field, we scout teams, rank partners, and plan how every matchup should go.
Then we run it — league meets, playoff pressure, and a push toward States and Worlds.
Without the school's funding behind us, every dollar comes from the team and from supporters like you. We're also looking for people interested in mentoring or sponsoring the team.
Opens secure checkout in your browser. Tax-deductible receipts are emailed to you.
View public transaction ledgerSecure donations via Hack Club Bank. Tax-deductible receipts are emailed to you.
2026–27 BIOBUZZ season budget in order. Dollar amounts include estimated Florida sales tax and shipping where we buy parts. Items marked ~ shift with how far we get in competition and how much we print.
Online donations through Hack Club Bank appear here automatically when you refresh. View every transaction on our public Hack Club Bank ledger.
2026–27 season kickoff
September 12, 2026 · 12:00 PM ET
Kickoff day is here — game on!
Going independent means building our own network. We are looking for mentors, sponsors, and people in industry who can help with time, expertise, and connections, not just cash. Those roles support the team but stay separate from hands-on robot work, which stays with our student members.
Engineers, programmers, machinists, and makers who can guide students on CAD, Java, strategy, or what it takes to run a competitive team. Mentors advise and teach. Students do the building. Even a few hours a month helps.
Local businesses and organizations that want to back a student-led robotics team. See sponsorship tiers for robot, shirt, and banner recognition, then email us to get started.
Professionals willing to share real-world experience. Shop tours, career talks, design feedback, or introductions to people who build things for a living. We want to learn from people doing the work.
Interested in mentoring? Email us. Business sponsors can view sponsorship tiers or email us.
Students in grades 9–12 can join as active members. We're based in St. Johns County, in the World Golf Village area.
Application info is used only for team recruitment and is visible to authorized team leads — never posted publicly.
Grades 9–12. Design, build, code, drive, and compete. Commitment matters. We need people who show up and put in the work.
Guide and advise the team in advisory roles — not on the build floor. Email us to get involved.
Fund robot parts, registration, and outreach. View sponsorship tiers or email us to get started.
