First Lego League is for young people aged 9 to 16 years, working in teams of up to 10 with a supporting mentor. Each year FLL releases a new challenge for teams. 2013 was the "Nature's Fury" Challenge.. In 2014 the challenge is called "World Class".
FLL teams build a robot using a LEGO® Mindstorms® kit that they program to autonomously complete a series of missions on a specialised arena and to score as many points as possible. Judges assess technical aspects of the robot, which include programming and robustness of the robot.
Teams learn more about the science behind the challenge theme through their project. The teams have to identify a problem related to the challenge theme, research the issues and propose a solution.
Whilst competing, teams have to demonstrate "core FLL values" which include "Gracious Professionalism® and Coopertition®", encouraging high quality work, unqualified kindness and respect and learning.