Playoff Brackets and Championship Divisions

[Bob Steele]

I understand how this is going to be done. It is interesting that for semi finals all alliances get to play three matches and you get to average 3 scores (edited...my bad). In quarters you play 2 matches and you average the 2 to get your average score.


What I feel is difficult about the game and its format is that there is only one "winning" alliance ever. Qualification matches only result in scores...2 Alliances simply are on the field at the same time... with the possibility of Coopertition points but no other interaction. This is much the same as FLL except in FLL there are single teams and not alliances and only your BEST score gets counted towards the result.

While having no winners or losers might be a good thing for younger kids I think it is a loss for our competitions.

Many teams that participate can always look back to a particular match ...perhaps against or with a "powerhouse" team and use that "win" as an incentive. It might make a team's day or year to just be part of an alliance that beats a powerhouse. With this system it just comes down to a score.
Perhaps they won a match during qualifications or semifinals....or took another alliance to 3 matches... all of that excitement is now gone with this system.... we are reduced to just numbers.... "average scores"

Our team will approach this game with our normal vigor and GP but I think something will be missing. The dynamics of winning and losing were a special part of matches in the past. You could congratulate the winner or the loser after a match. It taught teams how to win or how to lose....

This method, simply trying to score high to increase your average match score just doesn't have the excitement of winning and losing.

As I said... in our competitions we teach students that EVERYONE is a winner. I agree with this... but now there are not even any "little" wins...

At least the competition ends up with a winning alliance for the FINALS with the possibility of a 3rd match. (edited)


A good little "defensive" robot (box on wheels) won't play much of a part in this game.... It can do some things... but its role is really diminished.

Good luck to everyone this year!! We will learn a lot and compete the best we can... students will be inspired... and life will go on.... We will make the best of what we have been tasked with...

See you on the field!!