SPARC Judging Guidelines

The SPARC Judging Guidelines explain how judges score a match that ends without a knock-out, tap-out or other elimination. It is one of the SPARC documents.

Current version: SPARC Judging Guidelines v1.3

This summary is based on v1.3 (21 September 2025). It is an overview only – always check the current document and your event's own rules.

Overview

When a match isn't decided in the arena, each judge awards points and the robot with the most points in total wins. Judges' decisions are final. The guidelines offer two scoring systems, and each event chooses which one to use.

Damage and Engagement criteria

Damage (4 points) is about the state of each robot at the end of the match. Judges grade each robot from tier A (no damage, cosmetic damage, or minor damage to purely ablative armor) to tier E (significant impairment of both drive and weapon systems), ignoring damage it arrived with. The difference between the two grades sets the split:

• 0–1 tiers apart: 2–2
• 2 tiers apart: 3–1
• 3 or more tiers apart: 4–0

Engagement (5 points) is about which robot controlled the flow of the fight by bringing the fight to its opponent. Attacking, chasing, pinning and getting the opponent stuck count for a robot; sitting and waiting or running away count against it. Brief resets, self-righting and missed attacks are neutral, and a slower robot isn't marked down just for being slow. Splits are 3–2, 4–1 or 5–0.

Damage, Control, and Aggression criteria

The alternative system (previously called the "Standard Judging Criteria") awards 17 points per judge:

• Aggression (5 points) – how much each robot attacks. Robots must move toward the opponent to earn points, and there are no ties in aggression. A robot that drives into a full-body spinner's weapon reach is automatically treated as the aggressor when the match would otherwise be scored 3–2.
• Control (6 points) – using the robot or arena against the opponent without relying on weapon damage, such as pushing into hazards, flipping, or stalling the opponent's weapon. A spinner getting its weapon back up to speed also counts.
• Damage (6 points) – how much each robot's function is reduced. Judges are told to look past sparks and dramatic-looking scratches, and focus on damage that actually affects how a robot works.

See also

• Judging Systems – other ways events judge matches
• SPARC Match Rules
• Strategy and Tactics – what the judging rules mean for how you drive