The Official Definitions

Why definitions exist

To make judging fair and consistent, FIRST publishes an official Impact Award Definitions document that every team has to follow in its submission and interview. It is revised yearly, and the current revision is Jan 2026. Using the terms precisely, and not exaggerating, is what makes a submission credible. The current definitions cover the terms below.

Team support definitions

• Started: You have Started a team if you helped it form and made it sustainable (organizing, training, recruiting), or if you funded or sourced at least 50% of its registration fee. On top of that, the started team has to agree that you started it, it has to compete in an official FIRST event that season, and you have to support it throughout its first season.
• Mentored: A consistent, ongoing relationship where you give another team regular technical or non-technical help, and that team agrees you mentored it. Answering a single email, lending a part, or hosting a team during bad weather does not count.
• Published Resources: You created resources that help teams with technical or non-technical issues, and you published them publicly, on a website, on social media, or at a conference. Their reach is what matters most.

Event support definitions

• Hosted: Your team is involved in the majority of the planning and the on-site execution, or supervises the volunteers who execute it. You hold primary accountability for the event's success, and both mentors and students are involved. Essentially, the event would not happen without you.
• Supported: A lesser level than hosting. Multiple members help with some of the 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. That requires tangible interaction, not someone just being in the background. If 1,000,000 people 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 and 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 activity you claim, FIRST encourages supporting documentation: letters from the teams you started or mentored, event organizers confirming you hosted, attendance figures backing your reach. Listing that evidence on the FIRST Impact Award Documentation Form, which is optional but strongly encouraged, shows judges your activities are well planned and documented. Documented evidence is far more compelling than unsupported claims.