Qualifying Criteria for Aerial Drone Competition

Updated October 5, 2025

Introduction

Teams and events must meet the criteria outlined in this guide to qualify for an Aerial Drone Competition Regional Championship.

Events that do not follow the criteria will be considered a scrimmage and will not earn qualifying spots and results will not be included in the World Skills Ranking list. Official Qualifying Events must follow the rules and guidelines in the following documents:

• Current Competition Manual
• Current Competition Manual Q&A responses
• Guide to Judging
• Referee Guide
• Commitment to Event Excellence
• Code of Conduct
• Student-Centered Policy

If you have any questions regarding the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) Qualifying Criteria, contact

This document will have scheduled updates on or before January 19, 2026, and may have unscheduled updates during the season as needed.

Note: From time to time, the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF) may make an exception to criteria to better support a growing Region. For more information, please contact your RSM.

New this season

• Leagues are not available
• All teams must be given the opportunity to run up to three Piloting Skills (changed from two)
• Updated Regions
  • Kentucky moved to Southeast
  • Arkansas moved to South Central
  • Additional International Regions coming soon
• Updated Double Qualification Process
• The event must have adequate Wi-Fi for the following:
  • Tournament software.
  • Scoring tablets.
  • Team's computers for Autonomous Flight Mission.

Definitions

Region: Geographic area (partial state, State, Province, Country, etc.).

Event Region: One or more Regions that have a common Regional Championship.

Regional Championship: Culminating event for teams in a specified Event Region.

Event Types

Competitions (Local Qualifying Event)

Competitions are typically one- or two-day events where teams participate in four missions.

• Teamwork Mission
• Piloting Skills Mission
• Autonomous Flight Skills Mission
• Communications Mission

Scrimmages

Scrimmages are considered informal events and are not official competitions; as such, they do not qualify teams for a Regional Championship, and their results are not uploaded to RECFevents.

Regional Championship

Teams can qualify from local qualifying events to their Regional Championship.

Signature Event

REC Foundation Signature Events offer an incredible opportunity for teams to face top talent from beyond their region, travel to exciting destinations, and compete in a high-energy, professionally run event. With unique themes, top-tier production, and intense competition, these events create unforgettable experiences for teams, coaches, and event partners alike.

Other Event Types

The RECF may provide additional event options to support and grow special initiatives. Registration and qualification information for these events will be shared on the event page. Examples of these special event classes are:

• JROTC National Championship
• Showcase Event

Local Qualifying Event Criteria

For a Competition to award invitations to a Regional Championship, they must follow the criteria below. Competitions that do not meet the criteria will be considered scrimmages.

General

All Local Qualifying Events must: 

• Be listed as a Competition with online registration posted on RECFevents.org.
• Be open to any registered Aerial Drone Competition Team, unless designated and approved as an Invitational Event by your RSM.
• Have at least 12 registered teams.
• Meet the minimum organizational requirements:
  • Have at least six different organizations registered, OR
    No single organization may account for more than 33% of the total registered teams.
  • Note: Organizations are defined by the RECF Organizational Policy.

Invitational Event

An Invitational is a competition where the Event Partner (EP) selects specific teams to participate. Participation is limited and based on criteria set by the EP and must be approved by the RSM.

Examples of Invitational events include:

• Navy JROTC teams from Area 4
• Rookie team event for first-time competitors
• Teams from a specific school district

Each Event Partner may host one Invitational Competition per season, provided they have already hosted another qualifying event of equal or greater size that meets all standard registration requirements, and the Invitational is held within the same season as the qualifying event.

Note: The above restriction does not apply to JROTC-only events.

Date Requirements

• Qualifying events for the current season may begin on or after October 25, 2025.
• The deadline to host a qualifying event is four weeks before your Regional Championship.
• Qualifying events must be visible on RECFevents for at least one week prior to opening for registration.
• Qualifying events must be posted on RECFevents by December 1, 2025, and be open for registration at least eight weeks in advance of the event.

Missions

All Local Qualifying Events must: 

• Offer all four Missions.
  • Teamwork Mission
    • Each team must participate in a minimum of four Qualification Matches. The recommended number of Qualification Matches per team is 6 to 8, to provide a robust competition experience.
    • Piloting Skills Mission
      • Each team must be given the opportunity to run up to three Piloting Skills Matches.
    • Autonomous Flight Skills Mission
      • Each team must be given the opportunity to run up to three Autonomous Flight Skills Matches.
    • Communications Mission
      • Each team must be given the opportunity to be interviewed for judged awards, and all official award criteria and rubrics must be followed.

Wi-Fi Access

Locations will need to have adequate Wi-Fi access for the following:

• The RECF Competition Portal. This Portal is a web application designed specifically to support and manage RECF Drone Competitions.  With Reliable Wi-Fi access, the event can run on any device with a web browser, including laptops, tablets, and even smartphones.
• Autonomous Flight Missions Coding. The CoDrone EDU leverages a web-based coding platform which requires reliable Wi-Fi access from the Team's computer.
• Optional: Public Wi-Fi is recommended for teams and spectators to be able to see Match Schedules, Rankings and Scores from their devices. 

Awards

All Local Qualifying Events must:

• Follow the judging criteria in the Guide to Judging
• Offer the following three judged awards:
  • All-Around Champion
  • Communications Mission Champion
  • Judges Award
• Events with more than 24 teams must offer all five judged awards:
  • All-Around Champion
  • Communications Mission Champion
  • Coding Award
  • Airmanship Award
  • Judges Award

Blended Events

When an event includes at least 10 teams from each grade level (registered two weeks prior to the event), it must recognize two All-Around Champions and two Skills Missions Champions—one for each grade level.

Note: Only one All-Around Champion and one Skills Missions Champion may be recognized per grade level at events with fewer than 10 teams in that grade level.

Waitlist

If teams are on the waitlist and additional capacity is available, Event Partners should utilize the waitlist. Priority should be given in the following order:

• Teams with the fewest event registrations.
• Teams that offer to support the event with volunteers or equipment.
• The order in which teams joined the waitlist.

Event Registration

Event Partners are ultimately responsible for confirming that all teams have completed payment before attending their event.

• Team payments for the event must be completed before the event date.
• Event Partners may move unpaid teams to the Waitlist after the payment deadline.
• If a team has not submitted payment but is still allowed to compete, RECF will not be responsible for collecting payment on behalf of the Event Partner.
• Event Partners are welcome to require that all payments be made through RECFevents and are not obligated to accept direct payments.

Post-Event Requirements

• Once an event is completed, EPs must select the Event Finalization button in RECFevents within 6 hours of the event being completed.

Event Partner, Head Referee and Judge Advisor Requirements

• Must complete and pass the appropriate training and certification before the event.
• Head Referee and Judge Advisor must be listed as Volunteer for the competition in RECFevents listing.
• RSMs reserves the right to remove an event’s qualification status if Head Referee and Judge Advisor are not completed with verified individuals three weeks prior to the event.

Spot Allocations to Regional Championship

Spot Allocations determine how many teams from a qualifying event advance to a Regional Championship. Allocations are based on:

• Regional Championship capacity
• Number and size of qualifying events in the region

The RECF RSM assigns allocations per event, with larger events typically receiving more spots. Events of similar size should expect equal allocations.

If an event receives more spots than listed on the standard chart, the RSM will work with the region to decide how those spots are awarded.

Spots are awarded based on the order in the chart below
 

Aerial Drone Competition Spot Levels

*Aerial Drone Competition Spot Levels - If the event has more than 10 Middle School teams and 10 High School teams registered, the event will recognize two All-Around Champions and two Skills Missions Champion winners (one Middle and one High School).

Note: On or before January 17, 2026, the RECF Aerial Drone Competition RSM may allocate additional and finalize Regional Championship spot allocations based on the total number of registered teams and qualifying events in each region.

Local Qualifying Event Double Qualification Process

If a team earns multiple qualifying awards at a local qualifying event (i.e., double qualifies), their additional qualification spot will be passed down to the next eligible team who has not already earned a qualifying spot at that event.
The order of replacement is as follows:

• Skills Missions Champion
• Communications Mission Champion
• Coding Award
• Airmanship Award
• Judges Award
• Next highest-ranked team on the Skills Challenge Ranking from that event that has not received a qualification spot from the event.

There are no lookbacks to previous events to see if a team has previously qualified for the Regional Championship.
If all eligible teams at the event have won a qualifying award at the event, the spot will be saved and awarded at the end of the season to the next highest-ranked non-qualified team from the World Skills List in that Event Region.
Teams from outside the Event Region can earn any performance-based or judged awards at a local qualifying event and should be treated the same as in-region teams. However, if an out-of-region team wins an award that includes a Regional Championship qualification spot, that spot will be given to the next highest-ranked, non-qualified in-region team.
 

Aerial Drone Competition Regional Championships

An RECF RSM will determine if an event qualifies for a Regional Championship and the corresponding spot allocation. 

• A team is permitted to register for the Regional Championship in their Event Region
• A team is not permitted to register for any Regional Championships outside of their Event Region.
• A team must have posted a skills score -OR- have competed in a qualifying event in the current season to be eligible for a Regional Championship invitation.
• Regional Championship events have no team minimum. Capacity is determined by the RECF RSM in consultation with Event Partners in the Region.
• Regional Championships must be single grade level only (not blended).

Regional Championship Qualification Methods

There are several ways for teams to qualify to a Regional Championship: 

1. Qualifying Award: Winning a qualifying award at an official event in the team’s Region.
2. Worlds Skills Ranking: If the Regional Championship in an Event Region is not filled to capacity through qualifying awards, teams may qualify through the World Skills Standings sorted for the Event Region and by grade level. Teams invited through the World Skills Standings are invited in ranked order after the results of the last qualifying event in the Event Region have been posted. Scores earned after this date will not be used to qualify teams to their Regional Championship.
3. Waitlist: If there is remaining capacity due to teams not accepting a formal invitation, the Regional Championship capacity may be lowered or teams may be invited from the Waitlist. This will be decided by the RECF RSM. When inviting teams from the the waitlist, the RECF RSM will give priority to:
   1. Teams from underrepresented areas
   2. Teams offering to support the event with volunteers or equipment
   3. The order in which teams waitlisted themselves
4. Online Challenges
   Some online challenge winners may earn invitations to an Aerial Drone Championship. 

From time to time, the RSM may make an exception to one of these criteria to better support a growing State and/or Region. 

Regional Championship Dates

• Regional Championships will be scheduled between  April 10, 2026 and June 7, 2026.

Registration and Payment Deadline

• Teams that qualify for an Aerial Drone Regional Championship on or before February 28, 2026, will have four weeks to register and pay.
• Teams that qualify for an Aerial Drone Regional Championship on or after March 1, 2026, will have two weeks to register and pay.
• Teams that are invited for an Aerial Drone Regional Championship through the World Skills list or from the Waitlist will have one week to register and pay.
• Teams that are unpaid or have selected “Pay Later” by the stated deadline may be moved to the event’s waiting list at the discretion of the Event Partner.
   

JROTC

JROTC teams may compete in JROTC Invitational Events and/or Local Qualifying Events.

Invitational Events

• The event must consist exclusively of teams with a JROTC affiliation.
• Teams that earn a qualifying award will receive an invitation to the 2026 JROTC All-Service National Championship.
• Spot allocations for the 2026 JROTC All-Service National Championship are determined by the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation (RECF).
• There are no restrictions on the number of JROTC-only Invitational events that may be held.
   

Local Qualifying Event

A Local Qualifying Event is open to both JROTC and non-JROTC teams, providing JROTC teams the opportunity to qualify for both the JROTC All-Service National Championship and the Regional Championship.

Please see the section on Local Qualifying Events above for more details.

JROTC All-Service National Championship

There are several ways for a JROTC team to qualify for the JROTC All-Service National Championship. Once qualified, teams will be able to register for the event if there is capacity remaining. 

1. Qualifying Award

   Winning a qualifying award at an official qualifying JROTC Invitational Event or a Local Qualifying Event. Qualifying awards may include:

   1. All-Around Champion
   2. Teamwork Champion
   3. Skills Missions Champion
   4. Communication Mission Champion

2. Skills Ranking

   If the JROTC All-Service National Championship is not filled to capacity through qualifying awards or Skills scores teams may qualify through the World Skills Standings. Teams invited through the World Skills Standings are invited in ranked order 6 weeks before the JROTC All-Service National Championship. Scores earned after this date will not be used to qualify teams to the JROTC All-Service National Championship. 

3. Waitlist

   If there is remaining capacity due to teams not accepting a formal invitation, the JROTC All-Service National Championship capacity may be lowered or teams may be invited from the Waitlist. This will be decided by the RECF RSM. When inviting teams from the the waitlist, the RECF RSM will give priority to:
   Teams from underrepresented areas
   Teams offering to support the event with volunteers or equipment
   The order in which teams waitlisted themselves
    

NOTE: From time to time, the Robotics Education & Competition Foundation may make an exception to one of these criteria to better support a growing State and/or Region.

Questions?  Reach out to drones@recf.org