FIRST® LEGO® League Challenge is for kids and teens in grades 4-8 (approximately ages 9-14).

Virginia+DC FIRST® LEGO® League uses a two division system to organize tournaments and recognize team accomplishments through an awards process. Because we are a large region, we use this system to more fairly assess and recognize teams across all levels of play.

Age Division Criteria

Please Note: The criteria for age divisions in VA+DC FIRST® LEGO® League was updated during the 2023-2024 season. Now, the criteria is primarily grade-based.

• If all students are Grade 5 and under: Division 1
• If any student is Grade 6 or over: Division 2

In the event that grades do not apply to a student, then it reverts to birthdays:

• If all students were 10 or younger on Jan. 1, 2023: Division 1
• If any students were 11 or older on January 1, 2023: Division 2

We will also use the birthdays as needed for teams that have significant concerns about the new definitions but for most teams, the change will be little or no impact. Most tournaments will still have both divisions (just as in the past).

** Students younger than 9 years old are able to participate with permission for VA+DC FIRST® LEGO® League. They will not be able to register through the FIRST dashboard to complete their FIRST Consent and Release , so please reach out to questions@va-dcfll.org for more instructions on how to do so.

Find Your Team’s Division

Use the Team Manager account to find out what division your team is in! New VA-DC FIRST® LEGO® League registration system will ask for grade and birthday, then calculate the team’s division.

If this update to the age division criteria causes issue/concerns, please reach out to us (e.g. schools that are K-6, etc.). We will work with teams as needed to address any concerns.

Why did we make this change?

• Brings the region much closer to a 50-50 split for divisions (last few years have been closer to 75-25)
• Aligns better with FIRST® and how they define programs
• Aligns teams better with most schools (elementary vs. middle schools)