[Al Skierkiewicz]

In my mind, the withholding allowance is meant to give teams a chance to assemble spare mechanisms after stop build, a chance to program for specialty sensors and assemblies (e.g. camera aimed shooters) or simply to modify/improve an existing robot mechanism that proved unreliable during practice/testing. While a rarity in the past, teams who build a second robot or "prototype" are becoming common place. The level of design is a testament to this. We can have a long discussion on whether this improves the competition overall but this is not the place for that. I do not believe it is in the spirit of the rule to construct robot parts that were not built/designed/conceived prior to stop build. In other words, I do not believe it is in the spirit to build a drive base prior to stop build with the expectation you will build the rest of the robot later and bring it along as withholding. Yes, as an LRI I have seen 29 lb+ mechanisms come in the door.