Tournaments are the key to advancing to greater heights in FTC. They are composed of matches and judging. Depending on how many teams compete, the number of matches varies. Each team will have an average of at least 5–6 qualification matches. These matches determine your advancement to the next level.
Teams compete in tournaments to advance to a higher level competitions (regionals -> state -> Nationals -> World). Apart from robot playoff performance in tournaments, teams are also assessed on several criteria according to the season's manual. Here is an example game manual from 2025-2026 season.
In addition to points from winning games, teams are judged for robot design, building, coding, team coordination, team sustainability, STEM outreach, etc. This means that even if you don't have a perfect robot, you have chances to showcase your team's performance in diverse areas. FTC robotics is, therefore, a multi-faceted learning platform along with lots of fun.
No single role on the team is better than any other. If each team member performs their assigned roles responsibly, the team succeeds; that is teamwork. The team's goal is not winning games or awards all the time. There can be losses, but what we learn and how we move forward despite losses is more important.