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 100,000 Volunteers make FIRST happen 
• FIRST is supported by a network of more than 3,500 Sponsors, including 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., Canada, and Mexico)
• Junior FIRST LEGO League for Grades K-3 (ages 6-9)
• FIRST Place for ages 6 to adult

2012 FIRST Scholarship Program 

• Nearly $14 million in college scholarships
• 653 scholarship opportunities
  
• 142 scholarship providers 

Overall Reach - All Programs Combined (projected for the 2011/12 season) 

• 293,000+ students
• 26,800+ teams
• 24,000+ robots
• 51,000 Mentors/adult supporters
• 50,000 other Volunteers (e.g. events Volunteers, Operational and Affiliate Partners)

See breakdowns by individual program below (projections for 2011/12 season). 

2012 FIRST Robotics Competition

• 2,300+ teams
• 58,000+ high-school students (Grades 9-12)
• 52 Regional Events; 1 State Championship; 1 Region Championship; 14 District Competitions
  
• FIRST Robotics Competition Championship at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 25-28, 2012
• Robots are built in 6 weeks from a common kit of parts provided by FIRST, and typically weigh up to 150 lbs.

2011/12 FIRST Tech Challenge 

• 2,100 teams
• 21,000 high-school students (Grades 9-12)
• 100+ Qualifying and Championship Tournaments
  
• FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 25-28, 2012
• Robots are built using a re-usable, modular robotics platform 

2011/12 FIRST LEGO League

• 19,800 teams
• 198,000 children, ages 9 to 16* (Grades 4-8)
• From 50+ countries
• 560 Qualifying Tournaments; 117 Championship Tournaments; 3 Open Championships
  
• FIRST LEGO League World Festival at the FIRST Championship in St. Louis, MO, April 25-28, 2012
• Autonomous robots are built using LEGO MINDSTORMS technologies 

*Ages 9 to 14 in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico

2011/12 Junior FIRST LEGO League

• 2,600 teams
• 15,600 kids, ages 6 to 9 (Grades K-3)
• 80+ 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 1/06/12