[EricH]

Originally Posted by Andrew Zeller

By saying "supporting" do you interpret the rule to mean that a part of the robot must be fastened to the bumper for at least an inch at each end, or that there must be a be a part of the frame simply present there, "backing" the bumper?

The rule says supported. What that means is that there has to be something there. Whether it's just backing or goes to fastening will depend on a number of other items, including what is in the middle of the bumper. If there was a longish gap, for instance, I would expect some fastening in that last inch. If it were solid, I would probably not expect fastening in the last inch.

If your bumper can move away from the frame with little effort, it probably isn't secure enough.