Grades 4–8 | Competitive

FIRST LEGO League Challenge (FLLC) is a project-based robotics program where students apply research, coding, and engineering skills to real-world problems. Teams, guided by adult coaches and grounded in the FIRST Core Values, explore an annual theme, develop an innovative solution, and present their work to judges.

Using the LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime robot kit, teams also design, build, and program an autonomous robot to complete missions on a themed playing field. Teams meet weekly from August through November, culminating in a qualifying tournament where they present their Innovation Project, demonstrate their robot design, and compete in official robot game matches.

Events include judging sessions, practice rounds, robot competitions, and an awards ceremony recognizing excellence in areas such as design, programming, teamwork, and Gracious Professionalism®. Top teams from qualifiers advance to the Colorado State Championship in December, and high-performing state teams may qualify for the FIRST Championship, an international event held in April.

Through FLLC, students:

• Strengthen research, communication, and critical thinking
   
• Apply coding and engineering in real-world contexts
   
• Foster innovation and resilience
   
• Build confidence and leadership through teamwork

 In the UNEARTHED™ challenge, to be released August 5, 2025, FIRST LEGO League teams will uncover the past to discover the future.

Many FIRST LEGO League Challenge teams are based at schools with teachers or staff members serving as coaches, but teams can be started anywhere — no school affiliation required!

Contact your local school to see if a team exists or if there is interest in starting one.

Form a Team

• Each team must have two adult coaches (age 18+).

• Both Coaches register on FIRST Inspires and complete a Youth Protection Screening (even if already screened as a teacher).

• No experience needed — just a willingness to support students!

• D51 employees may be eligible for a coaching stipend. An application must be submitted to receive a stipend.

Team Details

• Teams can include students in grades 4–8.

• 10 students MAX per team, per FIRST rules.

• A D51 team, coached by staff receiving a stipend, must have 10 members.

• Schools can have multiple teams!

Registration

1. Team Registration, mid July - mid August: 
   Register your team on FIRST Inspires and order the Challenge Set.

2. Registering youth members:​​​​

   Once both coaches are registered and cleared from FIRST, they can invite parents to register their child on FIRST Inspires. 

3. Qualifying Tournament Registration, October:
   Information will come from D51 STEM or Colorado FIRST.

Team Meetings

• Teams usually meet 1–2 times per week from August to November.

• Coaches have access to these online materials and much more:

  • Team Meeting Guide

  • Student Engineering Notebooks

  • Ready-to-use slide decks

  • Lego Build Instructions

Teams are responsible for the following annual fees (subject to change each season):

• $275 + $12 shipping – FIRST Team Registration (increased by $25 for the 2025–2026 season)

• $95 + $15 shipping – Challenge Set and Mat

• $150 – Qualifying Tournament Registration

• $175 – Championship Tournament Registration (only if the team advances to State)

Important Notes for D51 Teams:

• Do not purchase a Spike Prime Robot Kit.
  D51 STEM will provide one Spike Prime robot per team. Robots are reusable for multiple seasons.

• Do not purchase a Class Pack.
  Class Packs are intended for in-school instruction, not after-school competitive teams.

For Non-D51 Teams:
There is an additional one-time purchase of:

• $498 + $20 shipping – LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Robotics Kit.

*D51 does not collect or profit from FIRST LEGO League fees.

All costs are set by and paid directly to FIRST Inspires and Colorado FIRST.