Pool Noodles in Tower

[tickspe15]

At the Central Washington District event there are pool noodles taped inside the high goals of the tower. I assume this is to keep balls from getting stuck there. Are any other events doing this?
http://imgur.com/K3oWjwo.jpeg

[jvriezen]

Seems like a ball just getting to the lower edge might be rejected where it would not be without the noodles there.

[ctt956]

Seems like a ball just getting to the lower edge might be rejected where it would not be without the noodles there.

Agreed. I've seen boulders get stuck on the ledge and sit halfway in the goal.* The noodles probably prevent that, but they could also keep out a shot that would've gone in.

*This was on the practice field wooden castle, not an official competition one.

[EricH]

Agreed. I've seen boulders get stuck on the ledge and sit halfway in the goal.* The noodles probably prevent that, but they could also keep out a shot that would've gone in.

*This was on the practice field wooden castle, not an official competition one.**
**Seen it on the competition field, too. Usual response is somebody knocks it down somehow. I don't ask or watch--too much other stuff.

Good news is it's usually pretty visible. Haven't seen the noodles though (at least, not there...)

[tickspe15]

**Seen it on the competition field, too. Usual response is somebody knocks it down somehow. I don't ask or watch--too much other stuff.

Good news is it's usually pretty visible. Haven't seen the noodles though (at least, not there...)

The goal is enclosed by polycarb on all sides, I'm not sure how one would go about knocking out the ball. We had a ball get stuck in a match and the next ball we shot hit the stuck ball and bounced out

[EricH]

The goal is enclosed by polycarb on all sides, I'm not sure how one would go about knocking out the ball. We had a ball get stuck in a match and the next ball we shot hit the stuck ball and bounced out
There's slits. At least for the low goals. I've seen an FTA reach up mid-match to knock a boulder out of the high goal into the chute to the sensors. At least, that's what I thought I saw, I wasn't really paying much attention back there...

[Tmeziere]

There's slits. At least for the low goals. I've seen an FTA reach up mid-match to knock a boulder out of the high goal into the chute to the sensors. At least, that's what I thought I saw, I wasn't really paying much attention back there...
I've seen human players smack the plastic to shake the ball off of the ledge.

[ctt956]

The goal is enclosed by polycarb on all sides, I'm not sure how one would go about knocking out the ball. We had a ball get stuck in a match and the next ball we shot hit the stuck ball and bounced out

If one got stuck on the practice field, we'd just shoot another to knock it down. If there aren't any robots trying to shoot, I guess a human player or an official could knock it down with a noodle or a baguette.

[rsisk]

There's slits. At least for the low goals. I've seen an FTA reach up mid-match to knock a boulder out of the high goal into the chute to the sensors. At least, that's what I thought I saw, I wasn't really paying much attention back there...

I've seen this done several times (SD and AZN)

[billbo911]

There's slits. At least for the low goals. I've seen an FTA reach up mid-match to knock a boulder out of the high goal into the chute to the sensors. At least, that's what I thought I saw, I wasn't really paying much attention back there...

I had to manually do this multiple times at CVR. I have only seen one ball rejected by the chains in the entire tournament. I am now considering putting pool noodles in the towers at SAC.

[Gregor]

I had to manually do this multiple times at CVR. I have only seen one ball rejected by the chains in the entire tournament. I am now considering putting pool noodles in the towers at SAC.

If it's not in the official field drawings they shouldn't be there. I've seen plenty of shots limp over the lip of the goal that look like they would be stuck or rejected with pool noodles there.

Poking stuck balls out isn't a big deal (was not uncommon in 2012), but rejected balls are.

[LFrisk]

I don't know if these were around at Northern Lights, but there was a field reset person on each side with a large pole that I saw them using to knock boulders down a few times. Not sure exactly how that was achieved with the whole encased in polycarb thing.

[MrRoboSteve]

There are actually two panels that back the top of the castle. It's possible to reach between the panels with the defense tow hook and move balls into the counting chute.

[michchinn]

At SCH, there is a volunteer by both towers with a stick that they put through the slits to free any caught boulders. It looked like it was working pretty well.