The Official Definitions

Why Definitions Exist

To make judging fair and consistent, FIRST publishes an official Impact Award Definitions document (revised yearly; current revision Jan 2026) that all teams must adhere to in their submission and interview. Using these terms precisely, and not exaggerating, makes your submission credible. The current definitions cover the following key terms.

Team Support Definitions

• Started — You have Started a team if you helped it form and ensured its sustainability (organizing, training, recruiting) OR funded/sourced at least 50% of its registration fee, AND the started team agrees you started them, competes in an official FIRST event that season, and you supported them throughout their first season.
• Mentored — A consistent, ongoing relationship providing regular technical or non-technical help to another team that agrees you mentored them. Answering a single email, lending a part, or hosting a team during bad weather does not count.
• Published Resources — Creating resources to help teams with technical or non-technical issues AND publishing them publicly (website, social media, conference). The reach of those resources is what matters most.

Event Support Definitions

• Hosted — Your team is involved in the majority of planning AND on-site execution (or supervising the volunteers who execute), holds primary accountability for the event's success, and involves both mentors and students. Essentially, the event would not happen without you.
• Supported — A lesser level than hosting: multiple members help with some planning, or volunteer for the entirety of an event. One member volunteering does not qualify.

Advocacy and Audience Definitions

• Reached — The quantity of people who became aware of your team via a stated medium or event, requiring tangible interaction, not just being in the background. If 1,000,000 attend an event but only 500 see your exhibit, you Reached 500. For social media, count engaged users rather than raw impressions. FIRST warns teams to estimate conservatively and never embellish.
• Advocated — Engaging government officials, community leaders, school administration, or business leaders to promote policy changes supporting STEM/FIRST, or serving as a resource as they create such policy. Tweeting at officials, generic volunteering, or handing out flyers does not count.

Document Everything

For each claimed activity, FIRST encourages supporting documentation (letters from the teams you started/mentored, event organizers confirming you hosted, attendance figures backing your reach). Listing this evidence on the optional but strongly encouraged FIRST Impact Award Documentation Form shows judges your activities are well planned and documented. Documented evidence is far more compelling than unsupported claims.