FIRST At A Glance

FIRST  

• Founded 1989
• Headquartered in Manchester, NH
• 501(c)(3) public charity
• FIRST Financial Information 

Leadership 

• Dean Kamen, Founder
• Walt Havenstein, Chairman of the Board
• Jon Dudas, President
• Board of Directors & Senior Management

Supporters

• More than 90,000 volunteers make FIRST happen 
• FIRST is supported by a network of more than 3,500 corporations, educational and professional institutions, and individuals 

Programs 

• FIRST Robotics Competition for Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18)
• FIRST Tech Challenge for Grades 9-12 (ages 14-18) 
• FIRST LEGO League for Grades 4-8 (ages 9-16; 9-14 in the U.S. and Canada)
• Junior FIRST LEGO League for Grades K-3 (ages 6-9)
• FIRST Place for ages 6 to adult

2011 FIRST Scholarship Program 

• Nearly $15 million in college scholarships
• 925+ individual offerings
• 145+ scholarship providers 

Overall Reach - All Programs Combined (for the 2010/11 season) 

• 251,000+ students
• 22,926 teams
• 20,779 robots
• 60,000+ mentors/adult supporters
• 30,000+ event volunteers 

See breakdowns by individual program below. 

2011 FIRST Robotics Competition 

• 2,072 teams
• 51,800 high-school students (Grades 9-12)
• FIRST Robotics Competition Championship at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 27-30, 2011
• Robots are built in 6 weeks from a common kit of parts provided by FIRST, and weigh up to 120 lbs. (excluding battery and bumpers) 

2010/11 FIRST Tech Challenge 

• 1,607 teams
• 16,000 high-school students (Grades 9-12)
• FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 27-30, 2011
• Robots are built using a modular robotics platform 

2010/11 FIRST LEGO League

• 17,100 teams
• 171,000 children, ages 9 to 16* (Grades 4-8)
• From 50+ countries
• More than 450 Qualifying Events and 89 Championship Tournaments
• FIRST LEGO League World Festival at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 27-30, 2011
• Robots are built using LEGO MINDSTORMS technologies 

*Ages 9 to 14 in the U.S. and Canada 

2010/11 Junior FIRST LEGO League

• 2,147 teams
• 12,800 kids, ages 6 to 9 (Grades K-3)
• 50+ Jr.FLL Expos
• Participants design and construct a model using LEGO bricks and moving parts and present their research journey on a poster
   

Page updated 6/23/11