Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber
[*]54" Cylinder rules - Seriously, does anyone even think these are enforced?
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For the cylinder rule, I can tell you the refs do their very best. Through the three events I was LRI for (Lake Superior, North Star, and MSHSL tournament) the refs did ask me to go back and double check a few robots at each event to ensure they were compliant in a certain configuration. I also know that the refs were concerned about a couple of the robots at MSHSL last weekend when they climbed. We had two robots that basically hooked on and fell over horizontal - the refs borrowed my tape measure and sharpie (the LRI vest hold just about everything imaginable) and made marks on the auto line tape so they could tell where 54" from the pyramid was. I know this penalty got called at least once after that!
But, you do bring up a very good point. There are rules like the 54" diameter cylinder that fall into a sort of "gray area" between reffing it on the field and inspecting it in the pits. That said, they are usually created very intentionally. For example, without that rule in this game, it would be possible for a single robot to grab onto the pyramid and expand out to blockade one half of the field (both inside and outside the pyramid). Now, what happens if two robots on the same alliance do this during autonomous mode? Does it count as blockading the field (20-pt technical, but completely prevents the other alliance from scoring discs)? If one of the opposing robots hits them, it's interfering with their climb, giving them a technical plus 30 points. Without the 54" rule, this could be a viable (and boring) strategy for an alliance, depending on the third robot!