11.1  District Events

District teams are ranked throughout the season based on the points they earn at the first 2 home District events they attend, as well as at their District Championship. Points are awarded to teams as follows:

Table 11‑1 District Point Assignment

Category	Points
Qualification Round Performance	Normal distribution of points from 22 to 4 across the highest ranked team to the lowest based on an equation. See section 11.1.1 Qualification Round Performance for details. For a typically sized District event, this will result in a minimum of 4 points being awarded for Qualification round performance. For events of all sizes, a maximum of 22 points will be awarded.
ALLIANCE CAPTAINS	Equal to 17 minus the ALLIANCE CAPTAIN number (e.g. 14 points for ALLIANCE #3 Captain)
Draft Order Acceptance	Equal to 17 minus the Draft Order Acceptance Number (e.g. 12 points for the team that accepts the fifth draft position, regardless of whether it was delayed per T605.)
Playoff Advancement	Points awarded based on team participation in individual playoff rounds, and whether or not the ALLIANCE advances. See section 11.1.3 Playoff Performance for details.
Team Judged Awards	10 points for FIRST Impact Award 8 points each for Engineering Inspiration and Rookie All Star Awards 5 points each for all other team judged awards
Team Age	10 points for 2026 rookie teams 5 points for 2025 rookie teams

Points earned at District Championships are multiplied by 3 and then added to points earned at District events, to determine the final season point total for the team.

If there is a tie in the season point total between teams, the higher ranked team will be determined using the following additional sorting criteria:

 

Table 11‑2 District Team Sort Criteria

11.1.1   Qualification Round Performance

The calculation of Qualification performance points is done using the equation below. This equation is an inverse error function which utilizes the following variables:

-        R – the qualification rank of the team at the event at the conclusion of Qualification MATCHES (as reported by FMS)

-        N – the number of FIRST Robotics Competition teams participating in the Qualification rounds at the event

-        Alpha (α) – a static value (1.07) used to standardize the distribution of points at events

This formula generates an approximately normal distribution of Qualification Round Performance points at an event, based on rank, with most teams getting a moderate number of points, and fewer teams getting the highest or lowest numbers of points available.

Table 11‑3 displays sample Qualification Round Performance points for variously ranked teams at a 40-team event. The system will automatically generate the appropriate points for each team based on their rank and the number of teams at the event.

 

Table 11‑3 Sample Qualification Round Point Assignments

Rank	1	2	3	4	…	19	20	21	…	37	38	39	40
Points	22	21	20	19	…	13	13	12	…	6	6	5	4

11.1.2   ALLIANCE Selection Results

This attribute measures both individual team qualification round seeding performance and recognition by peers.

ALLIANCE CAPTAINS are recognized based on their qualification round seeding rank. This rank is a result of the rules of the game, which typically incorporate several team performance attributes, and are designed to eliminate ties in rank. ALLIANCE partners are rewarded based on peer recognition. To be invited to join an ALLIANCE, a team’s peers have decided that the team has attributes that are desirable. Giving points for ALLIANCE selection also supports come-from-behind teams. A team taking several MATCHES to optimize their performance may be recognized as a late bloomer by a top seeded team, even if that performance isn’t reflected in the rankings because of poor performance in early MATCHES. These points also have the potential to recognize teams employing a unique strategy with their ROBOT. Teams with unique or divergent ROBOT capabilities that complement the strengths of other ALLIANCE members may be selected to fill a strategic niche.

Note also that ALLIANCE CAPTAINS are given the same number of points as the team drafted in the same sequence. For example, the team who accepts the pick from the third ALLIANCE CAPTAIN receives the same number of points as the third ALLIANCE CAPTAIN. Numerical analysis supports the idea that ALLIANCE CAPTAINS are about as strong in ROBOT performance as equivalently drafted teams. An additional minor benefit to this system is that it allows teams who would traditionally not be a top ranked team the opportunity to be an ALLIANCE CAPTAIN.

11.1.3   Playoff Performance

This attribute measures team performance as part of an ALLIANCE.

Teams that advance to at least MATCH 12 earn Double Elimination (DE) Points per the formula below, where β is defined in Table 11‑4.

Table 11‑4 Double Elimination Points, β values

In most cases, unless a BACKUP is recruited, a team plays 100% of the DE MATCHES won by their ALLIANCE, thus their DE Points simply equal β. If a team does not play 100% of the DE MATCHES won by their ALLIANCE, their DE Points equal their β value multiplied by the percentage of DE MATCHES won by their ALLIANCE in which that team participated. If the result is not a whole number, the value is rounded up to the nearest integer.

Teams on the winning ALLIANCE are awarded additional Finals Points, which are 5 points for each Finals MATCH won and in which the team participated, up to a maximum of 10 points.

The maximum number of Playoff Performance Points a team can earn is 30 (20 DE points + 10 Finals Points).

11.1.4   Team Judged Awards

This attribute measures team performance with respect to team awards judged at the event.

The points earned for team awards in this system are not intended to capture the full value of the award to the team winning the award, or to represent the full value of the award to FIRST. In many ways, the team’s experience in being selected for awards, especially the FIRST Impact Award, the Engineering Inspiration Award, and the Rookie All Star Award (which is optional for District Championship events), is beyond measure, and could not be fully captured in its entirety by any points-based system. Points are being assigned to awards in this system only to help teams recognize that FIRST continues to be “More than Robots^®,” with the emphasis on our cultural awards, and to assist in elevating award-winning teams above non-award-winning teams in the ranking system.

Teams only receive points for team awards judged at the event. If an award is not judged, is not for a team (e.g. the FIRST Leadership Award) or is not judged at the event (e.g. Safety Animation Award, sponsored by UL), no points are earned.

11.1.5   Team Age

This attribute recognizes the difficulty in being a rookie or relatively new team.

Points are awarded to 2025 and 2026 rookie teams in recognition of the unique challenges teams face in those early years, and to increase the chance that they will make it to the District Championship to compete with their ROBOTS. Like our dedicated Rookie awards, these additional points are intended to recognize and motivate newer participants in FIRST Robotics Competition. These points are awarded once at the beginning of the season. Rookie year is calculated based on the year in which FIRST recognizes the team as a rookie.

11.1.6   Regional Participation

District teams neither earn points for their actions at any Regionals, nor are eligible for any FIRST Championship qualifying benefits at that Regional (awards, etc.).