Alliances, Scoring, and Ranking Points

You never play alone

FRC is played in alliances: three robots on your side, three on the other, red versus blue by field position only. You might be red one match and blue the next. Your result depends as much on coordinating with two partners you may have just met as on your own robot, so fast, clear communication with alliance partners is a core driver skill.

How scoring works

Each game gives you ways to earn points, scoring game pieces into goals, completing field objectives, and pulling off endgame actions. Values change yearly, but two rules hold every season:

• Points are pooled across your alliance, not tracked per robot. Three robots scoring 10 each gives the alliance 30.
• The alliance with the higher total at the buzzer wins.

Because points are shared, a robot that plays strong defense (slowing or blocking opponents) or support (feeding game pieces, freeing a partner to cycle) can be worth as much as a top scorer. Not every robot has to be the one putting points on the board.

How an event is run

1. Qualification matches. The schedule randomly pairs you with different partners across your quals. The goal isn't just to win each match, it's to climb the rankings.
2. Playoffs. After quals, the top 8 ranked teams become alliance captains and take turns drafting partners. A strong ranking earns you a captain spot or makes you a team others want to pick.

Ranking Points are the real currency

FRC ranks teams by Ranking Points (RP), not just wins:

• After each qualification match, every robot on an alliance earns RP based on how the alliance did, the win/loss result plus game-specific bonus objectives.
• A typical season awards RP for winning, plus extra RP for hitting achievement thresholds (for example, scoring enough game pieces or completing the endgame as an alliance). The exact bonuses are defined in that year's manual.
• Your Ranking Score is total RP divided by matches played. Teams are ordered from highest to lowest.

The payoff of this system: it rewards consistent all-around play over one lucky blowout, and it keeps alliances chasing bonus objectives even in matches they've already locked up.

What this means at the controls

• Know which bonus RP are on the table in your match and play toward them, not just the win.
• Split the work with partners out loud: "You go for the bonus objective, we'll defend" is a normal pre-match conversation.
• Remember that one match feeds your ranking, and your ranking decides whether you captain or get picked. There are no throwaway quals.