What is FIRST®
"For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology"
The mission of FIRST® is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
Who are the Founders?
FIRST® was founded in 1989 by inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, with inspiration and assistance from physicist and MIT professor emeritus Woodie Flowers.
Kamen was disappointed with the number of kids—particularly women and minorities—who did not consider science and technology careers and decided to do something about it. As an inventor, he looked for activities that captured the enthusiasm of students and decided that combining the excitement of sports competition with science and technology had potential.
“We’re going to call it FIRST because I’ve never seen kids walking around cheering, ‘I wanna be second.’”
"They’re not going to be roboticists, but at the end of the season, these kids are going to come away saying, “I can do that. It’s fun. It’s cool.” They will walk away with self-respect. They’ll walk away with a new awareness of what’s possible." - Dean Kamen
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What is FRC?
FIRST® Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students, coaches, and mentors work during a six-week period to build robots capable of competing in that year's game that weigh up to 125 pounds.
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2022 was the 31st year of the competition. 3,225 teams, including more than 80,000 students and 25,000 mentors from 26 countries, built robots. The 2022 season included 58 Regional Competitions, 90 District Qualifying Competitions, and 11 District Championships. In 2022, over 450 teams won slots to attend the FIRST® Championship event, where they competed in a tournament.
Every year, FRC reaches over 80,000 students across 159 different competitions internationally​
2022 was the 31st year of the competition. 3,225 teams, including more than 80,000 students and 25,000 mentors from 26 countries, built robots. The 2022 season included 58 Regional Competitions, 90 District Qualifying Competitions, and 11 District Championships. In 2022, over 450 teams won slots to attend the FIRST®Championship event, where they competed in a tournament.
In addition to on-field competition, teams and team members competed for awards recognizing entrepreneurship, creativity, engineering, industrial design, safety, controls, media, quality, and exemplifying the core values of the program