When you Lose, You Win

Your team has spent weeks, even month, designing and building the perfect robot. Team members have all contributed great ideas and energy to the project, and you all arrive at competition psyched to show off what you've accomplished. Inspection, Judging, and Competition Matches all go well, but at the end of the day, another team wins.

Disappointment happens. Of course you will be sad you didn't win when you worked so hard! And you are naturally going to want to figure out why you didn't win – what about your robot, your team’s performance, or how the day went could have been different?

The engineering design process is about learning from failure. When you were designing, building, and programming your robot, there were ideas that didn't work, and you had to figure out why and make adjustments. Sometimes, even with modifications, an idea doesn't work and you have to scrap that robot completely and start over.

The same is true of competition. Some matches will go well for your team, and some won’t. After competition, whether you win or lose, spend time discussing what worked and what didn't and how your team can improve in the future. Just like iterative design, reflecting on your performance will yield positive results, because you will know where to focus your energy before the next competition. And don’t forget Gracious Professionalism, which is about being good competitors; always give your best and gracefully accept the end result.

Unfortunately, no matter how much your team tries and improves, sometimes there is a team the Judges deem to be a bit above yours. The Judging process is subjective and confidential, so you won’t always know why you didn't score as high as another team. That can be frustrating, but don’t give up. Keep trying and you will succeed.

 FIRST and FTC are about gaining knowledge and inspiration. Connecting to other teams, sharing ideas, and learning are all valuable life experiences. Whether you win or lose on the competition field, if you are putting energy into your team, you will see a big return.