[Caleb Sykes]

I feel like a spinning tall blocker that is hit by an incoming ball would not be considered "launching" the ball because "launching" requires "impelling a ball to a desired location or direction". I don't think that a freely spinning blocker that is hit by a ball meets this requirement.

Let's say that I am a goalie in a soccer game. I run around in a circle in front of the goal at a constant speed with my eyes closed. An opponent shoots the ball at the goal and the ball bounces off of me at some arbitrary angle. Would anyone say that I had "impelled the ball to a desired location or direction"? I certainly wouldn't.

Back to Aerial Assist. A tall blocker is spinning on top of a robot. An opponent shoots the ball at the goal and the ball bounces off of the blocker at some arbitrary angle. The tall blocker is certainly in motion relative to the robot, but the goalie robot has not impelled the ball to a desired location or direction. Hence, this robot does not "launch" the ball and should not receive a penalty.