PRESS ROOM & NEWS

Students Worldwide Embark on a Robotics Season for the Ages as FIRST® Announces its Upcoming 2025-2026 Season: FIRST® AGE™ presented by Qualcomm Incorporated

Qualcomm Announced as Presenting Sponsor of Archaeology-Inspired Season, Prompting Young People to Discover How Society and Technology Progress Through the Ages 

MANCHESTER, N.H., May 14, 2025 – FIRST®, a global robotics community that prepares young people for the future, announced the upcoming youth robotics season: FIRST® AGE™ presented by Qualcomm. The 2025-2026 season’s archaeology theme challenges FIRST teams to discover artifacts and explore how society and technology progress through the ages as they collaborate and build STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) skills. 

Watch an exciting preview of what FIRST students will be digging into this season.  

The new season will kick off August 5 with the FIRST® LEGO® League challenge release, followed by FIRST® Tech Challenge in September and FIRST® Robotics Competition in January, and conclude in April with the 2026 FIRST® Championship. 

Season team registration through the FIRST Dashboard is now open.  

“We are thrilled for FIRST students around the world to uncover their futures through their participation in FIRST and the exciting, new FIRST AGE season,” said Chris Moore, chief executive officer, FIRST. “For more than three decades, FIRST has leveraged a magic formula of inspiration, hands-on learning, team-based problem solving, mentorship, and celebration to not only engage students in STEM learning, but to allow them to visualize pathways to STEM careers. FIRST is the springboard for our youth participants to discover their passions and chase their dreams. I am looking forward to watching students around the world dig into this new season!” 

Qualcomm Incorporated, a FIRST Strategic Partner and longtime supporter of FIRST, returns as Season Presenting Sponsor of the FIRST AGE season to inspire young innovators to set out to make history. 

“We’re proud to partner with FIRST to inspire students to dig into a new age as part of our commitment to fostering the next generation of innovators and technologists,” said Angela Baker, vice president of corporate responsibility and chief sustainability officer, Qualcomm Incorporated.  “Through our 20-year collaboration with FIRST, we are dedicated to nurturing young minds to explore the unknown, uncover new possibilities, and build a brighter future. Together, we are empowering students to decode the challenges of today and rebuild a world of endless opportunities." 

The FIRST AGE presented by Qualcomm season theme will be pulled through the FIRST program games and challenges, in which students build robots to complete tasks and create innovative, real-world solutions and then celebrate what they learned and build at local and regional events: 

  • FIRST LEGO League students will uncover the past to discover the future, using creative thinking and LEGO® Education technology in UNEARTHED™, launching August 5. 
  • FIRST Tech Challenge teams will investigate the power of the world’s artifacts and unlock mysteries in DECODE™ presented by RTX, launching September 6. 
  • FIRST Robotics Competition teams will use their engineering skills to reimagine the past in REBUILT™ presented by Haas, launching January 10, 2026. 

The season-culminating 2026 FIRST Championship will be held April 29 – May 2, 2026, in Houston. 

Learn more about the 2025-2026 season at firstinspires.org/first-age and receive regular updates and latest news by signing up for the FIRST Newsletter. 

 

About FIRST® 

FIRST® is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured after-school programs. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 of the Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges.

An international not-for-profit organization founded by accomplished inventor Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST has a proven impact on STEM learning, interest, and skill-building well beyond high school. Participants and alumni of FIRST programs gain access to education and career discovery opportunities, connections to exclusive scholarships and employers, and a place in the FIRST community for life. Learn more at firstinspires.org.