What Is FIRST?

The organization behind the robots

FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It is a global not-for-profit organization founded in 1989 by inventor Dean Kamen (creator of the insulin pump, the iBOT, and the Segway). MIT professor emeritus Dr. Woodie Flowers joined as a key advisor and co-founder, shaping the competition’s educational philosophy. FIRST’s mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators by engaging them in mentor-based programs that build STEM skills, confidence, and life skills like communication and teamwork.

A common way to describe FIRST is ‘the hardest fun you’ll ever have’ and ‘the varsity sport for the mind.’ That phrasing is intentional: FIRST treats engineering like a competitive sport, with seasons, teams, alliances, referees, scouting, and championships — but the real product is the people it develops, not the machines.

Why FIRST is different

Unlike most competitions, FIRST is explicitly built around a culture, not just rules. Two ideas define it:

• Gracious Professionalism — competing fiercely while treating opponents with respect and empathy. You will literally help the team you are about to play against.
• Coopertition — the philosophy that teams can cooperate and compete at the same time, often even being rewarded in the rules for helping rivals.

These aren’t slogans on a poster. They are judged, awarded, and woven into the game rules (recent games include a ‘Coopertition Bonus’ for cooperating with your opponent).

The FIRST family of programs

FIRST is not one competition — it is a progression of programs spanning roughly ages 4 through 18:

• FIRST LEGO League (FLL) — Discover, Explore, and Challenge divisions for younger students (grades PreK–8 / ages 4–16)
• FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) — middle and high school (grades 7–12), smaller robots
• FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) — high school (grades 9–12), large 100+ lb robots

Each year all FIRST programs share an overarching season theme. The 2025–26 theme is FIRST AGE (archaeology); within it, the FRC game is REBUILT presented by Haas and the FLL Challenge game is UNEARTHED. The FRC game is the flagship, capstone experience of the progression. (Note: FIRST is also retiring the FLL division names beginning with the 2026-2027 season in favor of a simpler, age-based structure.)

Scale

FRC is genuinely global. The 2026 season fielded roughly 3,700 teams competing across 150+ regional and district events , culminating in the FIRST Championship. Tens of thousands of mentors and volunteers make it run.

Why it matters for you

FIRST and its partners offer tens of millions of dollars in college scholarships each year, and alumni go on to engineering, business, medicine, and the trades. But the most-cited benefit from participants is simpler: it is where they found a team, a mentor, and a reason to fall in love with building things.

Learn more

• About FIRST: https://www.firstinspires.org/about
• FIRST Robotics Competition home: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc

Key takeaways

• FIRST is a global STEM nonprofit founded in 1989 by Dean Kamen, with Dr. Woodie Flowers as a key co-founder and educational architect.
• Its mission is to inspire young people in science and technology through mentor-based, sports-like programs.
• FRC is the high-school flagship of a larger progression (FLL to FTC to FRC), and the culture (Gracious Professionalism, Coopertition) is central, not optional.

This lesson was adapted from learnfrc.com.