12 Regional Tournaments

Teams advance through the season depending on the events at which they compete: Regional or District. This section details how Regional teams advance from Regional events to FIRST Championship.

12.1 Regional Events

Regional teams are ranked throughout the season based on the points they earn at the first 2 Regional events they attend. Points are awarded to teams as follows:

Category	Points
Qualification Round Performance	Normal distribution of points from 22 to 3 across the highest ranked team to the lowest based on an equation. See section 11.1.1 Qualification Round Performance for details.
ALLIANCE CAPTAINS	Equal to 17 minus the ALLIANCE CAPTAIN number (e.g. 14 points for ALLIANCE #3 Captain.) See section 11.1.2 ALLIANCE Selection Results for details.
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	45 points for FIRST Impact Award 28 points for Engineering Inspiration Award 8 points for Rookie All Star Award 5 points each for all other team judged awards See section 12.1.1 Team Judged Awards for full details.
Team Age	10 points for 2026 rookie teams 5 points for 2025 rookie teams See section 12.1.2 Team Age for full details.

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

Order Sort	Criteria
1st	Best Playoff Points at a single event
2nd	Highest Qualification Round Seed or Draft Order Acceptance (i.e. Highest ALLIANCE Selection points at a single event)
3rd	Best Qualification Round Performance Points
4th	Highest Individual MATCH Score, regardless of whether that score occurred in a Qualification or Playoff MATCH
5th	Second highest Individual MATCH Score, regardless of whether that score occurred in a Qualification or Playoff MATCH
6th	Third highest Individual MATCH Score, regardless of whether that score occurred in a Qualification or Playoff MATCH
7th	Random Selection

12.1.1 Team Judged Awards

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

Much of what is stated in section 11.1.4 Team Judged Awards is also relevant to Regional events. Points are assigned to awards to recognize that FIRST continues to be “More than

®” and to elevate award-winning teams above non-award-winning teams in the ranking system. These points are not intended to capture the true value of these awards as that value is truly immeasurable.

Point values for some culture awards (FIRST Impact Award, Engineering Inspiration) are higher for Regional events than District events because Districts reward those teams with slots at an intermediate

of competition: their District Championship. Regional teams do not have an intermediate competition and FIRST wants those teams to have an opportunity to share their stories and celebrate their success outside of their regional event.

12.1.2 Team Age

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

Much of what is stated in section 11.1.5 Team Age is also relevant to Regional events. Points are awarded to 2025 and 2026 rookie teams. Unlike in the District events where these points are awarded once per season, for Regional events these points are awarded at each event they attend. Awarding these points at every event will assist rookies with earning one of the three per-event qualification slots starting in 2026. Rookie year is calculated based on the year in which FIRST recognizes the team as a rookie.

12.2 FIRST Championship Eligibility

Regional teams can qualify for FIRST Championship in one of two ways:

• Direct Event Qualification
• Regional Pool

12.2.1 Direct Event Qualification

At every regional event, teams earn points based on the point system. Regional teams can earn points from and qualify directly for the FIRST Championship at any Regional event they attend. The top x number of teams who earned the most points at each event and who have not already qualified for the FIRST Championship qualify for the FIRST Championship.

• Each International event will advance 4 teams.
• Each US event will advance 3 teams.

Any team who wins the FIRST Impact Award at a Regional event and does not qualify for FIRST Championship via a direct slot or from the Regional Pool will be offered a remote interview to be eligible to win at FIRST Championship. Teams who win the award and qualify for the FIRST Championship must still attend the event in order to receive an interview.

12.2.2 Regional Pool

All Regional event teams not already qualified for the FIRST Championship are ranked together in the “Regional Pool” based on the points earned from their first two regional events. The top ranked teams from this pool earn FIRST Championship qualification spots on a weekly basis beginning after week 2. This list helps ensure the top performing teams across events qualify for the FIRST Championship and allows for the consideration of performance across multiple events for teams. Awarding points at the first two events, with a projection if a team has only played one event, rewards consistent performance over the season without being punitive to single-event teams.

The global Regional Rankings webpage shows all regional teams in rank order by their assigned points. Teams are invited to the FIRST Championship from the Regional Pool on a weekly basis beginning after Week 2.

Our goal is to release enough slots each week so that the same proportion of Championship slots have been filled as events have been completed. For example, if 35 of 56 (~68%) Regional Events are completed after Week 4, we plan to have approximately the same percentage of Regional slots filled by that point.

12.2.2.1 Single-event team points calculation

If a team has only played one event at the end of the interval, they are awarded second event points using this formula:

This model is based on a regression of Event 1 vs Event 2 points in 2023 and 2024. This calculation projects how many points would be earned by the average team who earned X points at their first event. If the result is not a whole number, the value is rounded to the nearest integer.