About Us

FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) Team 8808, the Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) Tech Pirates, was originally formed in 2021 by Stephen Vidrine, Ellen Bradley, and students at Alfred M. Barbe High School. The team called themselves the “Barbe Tech Pirates”. The high school team began with 11 members who turned the upstairs gymnasium space into the robotics lab. After one season, Team 8808 has expanded to proudly welcome the Region 5 Parish area (Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, and Jeff Davis), consisting of public, private, and homeschooled students in 9th-12th grade. The team consists of 25+ members and 3 mentors. Our team’s name is unique to Southwest Louisiana. Almost three centuries ago, a pirate named "Jean Lafitte" and his band of buccaneers were fleeing enemy ships and heading west to Galveston, TX. Legend has it that Lafitte & his band of buccaneers would hide out along the waterways in Lake Charles, LA. Legend also has it that Jean Lafitte's favorite hideout was Contraband Bayou in Lake Charles where his treasure (silver & gold) was hidden and buried by Lafitte in his favorite hideaway Contraband Bayou and hence given why the bayou is named Contraband Bayou.