The Official Definitions: Speak the Judges' Language

Why definitions matter

FIRST publishes a FIRST Impact Award Definitions document (revised each year; the current edition is Rev. Jan 2026) and requires that all teams adhere to these Definitions in their submission and interview. Judges are trained to check that teams use these words correctly. Claiming you "Mentored" a team when you only answered one email will undercut your credibility. Use the verbs precisely.

Team Support definitions

• Started — You have Started a team if you met one of two conditions — (1) helped the team form and ensure sustainability (organizing, managing, training students/mentors, or recruiting) or (2) funded or sourced at least 50% of its registration fee — and all three of: the Started team agrees you started them, that team competes in an official FIRST event during the season, and you provide guidance and support throughout their first season. This is a high bar.
• Mentored — Requires BOTH (1) consistent, ongoing communication helping with technical or non-technical FIRST program-specific issues, and (2) the mentored team agreeing you mentored them. The general standard is roughly weekly contact during the season (FIRST allows discretion for edge cases). Things that do not count and are merely "Assisting": answering a single email, lending a robot part, letting a team make parts on your machinery, letting them practice in your space, or sheltering them during inclement weather.
• Provided Published Resources — You created resources to help teams with FIRST issues and published them publicly (team website, social media, a conference, etc.). Crucially, report the Reach of the resource, because any team can publish resources but how much actually gets used matters more.

Event Support definitions

• Host — You are responsible for the majority of planning and on-site execution and hold primary accountability for the event's success; the event would not be possible without you. Providing the most volunteers is not the same as Hosting.
• Support — Multiple team members help plan, or volunteer for the entirety of an event. One member volunteering does not qualify.

Audience and Advocacy definitions

• Reached — The number of people who observed or interacted with your team via a stated medium, with tangible metrics. A robot used only as a background prop on a TV show reaches no one; a featured robot watched by 6,000,000 reaches 6,000,000. For social media, count engagement, not just followers (a post seen by 1,000 followers where 500 engaged = 500 reached; 700 Instagram followers = 700 reached). FIRST warns teams not to "embellish or exaggerate these numbers" and to "estimate on the low end."
• Advocated — You met with or served as a resource for government, community, school, or business leaders to promote STEM/FIRST policy. Advocating only for your own team's needs does not count.

Put the definitions to work

The Documentation Form sorts your activities into these exact buckets (Started, Mentored, Provided Published Resources, Hosted, Supported, Reached, Advocated, and related categories). Filling it out forces honesty and shows judges you know the language. When you write "we Started two FLL teams," be ready to prove every Started criterion in Q&A.