Since 2018 the Small Size League is divided into two divisions with separate tournaments: Division A and division B. Division A is aimed at advanced teams whereas new and/or less competitive teams can play in division B. Each team will only play in one of those two divisions.
Division Assignments
When submitting the qualification material, each team chooses a preferred division and includes a short rationale.
The Organizing Committee makes division assignments based on available spots at competition, previous performance, qualification materials, and team preference.
Motivation for Implementation
There are multiple benefits of having two divisions.
- The SSL has a rather high entry barrier. Our goal is to further advance the league while keeping the entry barrier at a reasonable level. With splitting the league, we can challenge seasoned teams while still being attractive for newcomers. The qualification criteria for the division B can even be lowered a bit without hurting the competition.
- Feedback from RoboCup 2017 has shown that it is very important for teams to face off against opponents of similar skill. Dividing the league into two divisions rids a lot of the one sided games in exchange for more interesting match-ups.