Use of Timeouts
 

Alas... in the finals in our district event, the two strongest robots on our alliance had some mechanical issues. We attempted to use a timeout four minutes before our match was supposed to begin, but were told, "It would only give you one minute beyond the scheduled starting time because it is only a five minute time out." So, we asked if we could wait three minutes to use it and were told, "No, that would be an intentional delay of game."

My question: What good, then, is a five minute time out if it does not actually give you more time to do what you have to do?

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

Section 5.5.6 of the game manual explains this with a high level of detail as well as a graphic.

Short version is that you have a 2 minute window after the field reset signal to submit your coupon that will generate a 6 minute timeout (is it 5 for districts?) from when you submit it. It doesn't get tacked onto the end of "normal field reset time" for an additional 6 minutes.

The benefit is still there, but it isn't as substantial as one may like.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

Why not just make it a two minute time out regardless of when it is submitted then. Saying it is 5 minutes feels a bit misleading to me.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

There are multiple types of timeouts- FIELD TIMEOUTS and TIMEOUTS (from an ALLIANCE).

Regardless of which type of timeout is called, the timeout is 6 minutes long.

An alliance can call a TIMEOUT. If there is no FIELD TIMEOUT happening at the time, then it is a 6 minute timeout. If a FIELD TIMEOUT is currently in progress, then you have up to two minutes to submit a TIMEOUT, which gives you 6 minutes from when you submit the timeout coupon. This means that a break in gameplay can be up to 8 minutes long depending on how the timeouts are called.

If we went with your proposal of making it a two minute timeout proposal, then an alliance calling an (ALLIANCE) TIMEOUT would only get 2 minutes instead of 6 if there is no FIELD TIMEOUT happening at the time.

Furthermore, since the clock for a TIMEOUT called by an alliance starts when you submit your coupon (see T17), it isn't a guaranteed extra 2 minutes. If you submit your coupon 1 minute into a FIELD TIMEOUT, then the total break will be 7 minutes.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

So, effectively, an alliance timeout will never buy us more than 2 extra minutes to repair damage... I did misread the rule.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

While this rule did negate the effective length of the repair period that is afforded for alliances in elimination rounds, it does prevent scenarios akin to Silicon Valley Regional from 2014 with refs allowed for an additional two minutes to sort out any faulties of communications between the two groups.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

Only if there is a FIELD TIMEOUT. FIELD TIMEOUTs are typically called when an alliance would need to play back to back matches, such as the finals. If there is no scheduled FIELD TIMEOUT, a TIMEOUT called by an alliance would give them six minutes before the match starts.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

It is generally more than just an additional 2 minutes. The time the field reset is issued (after the head ref indicates scores are tallied and people can enter the field) to the start of the next match is variable, but this year should be in the 2-4 minute range, versus ~8 minutes if you submitted a timeout request at the end of the allowable window.

The FIELD TIMEOUT is not the "normal turn around time" between matches. It is called if there is a field issue that needs to be resolved, or if teams would have to play back to back matches in < 5-6 minutes (can't find the reference), such as during a finals match.

I'm not 100% sure of the rationale behind the rule, but I see at least one advantage of doing it this way. If you just tacked on 6 minutes to the end of the "field reset", from the second you notify the field staff to the second they are complete with their reset, they are knowingly providing a team an advantage. This isn't to say it WOULD occur, but doing it this way removes any suspicion of a slower than average field reset to benefit a team that has called a time-out. As to why it won't stack with a FIELD TIMEOUT, I could just guess that it is a value argument over affording a team an extra 6 minutes, versus having potentially ~13-15 minutes of dead time between finals matches, which is tough on a crowd.

It sounds like in your situation, you were already in a FIELD TIMEOUT situation from a finals level match turn-around, and either the district rules are for a 5 minute timeout, or the referee incorrectly thought it was a 5 minute timeout versus a 6 minute. Your best best would have been to use it at the end of the 2 minute field reset window for a net gain of 2 minutes versus losing it altogether. In many other situations it would be worth between 4 to 6 minutes to your team.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

In the finals, yes. In the semi or quarterfinals, since there isn't a FIELD TIMEOUT, it buys you a lot more.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

There was no field time out.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

If you were between finals matches, there was a FIELD TIMEOUT. If it was before the first finals match and none of the finals teams were in the previous match, there may not have been one, in which case you have to use your TIMEOUT within 2 minutes of the field reset signal of the last semifinal.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

In between back to back matches, is there not supposed to be a 5 minute break? Did you guys not have that?

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

Between SF2 and SF3, Q3 plays back to back, so there is an automatic field timeout.
Similarly, between SF4 and SF5, Q4 plays back to back, so there is another automatic field timeout.

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

This year. These rules are much older than the 2014 game and will almost certainly outlive it significantly.

Field timeouts occur between all back-to-backs matches (for one or both alliances). Alliance timeouts do not cascade, which enables the coupon to create the same situation for each alliance regardless of when it is used during the elim/playoff tournament (7:59 minutes if you call it at the 1:59 mark after the preceding field reset).

Re: Use of Timeouts
 

This may vary by region, volunteer crew, or competition, but are FIELD TIMEOUTS displayed on the screen or alliance wall timers? Or a count from the field reset signal? Do head refs start a stopwatch after each field reset signal in elims?

It would be to an alliance's benefit to wait until 1:59, much like coaches and players in other sports can watch clocks and call timeouts at specific/final points. Heck, sometimes you see people standing right in front of refs for a while, but making the "T" at the last second!