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Unread 19-03-2014, 12:10
Steven Smith Steven Smith is offline
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Re: 2014 - Dallas Regional

As far as I know, this was the period in which it was called (2:08-2:20). I cannot claim to be an impartial observer (3005 coach), but our team also didn't initiate any sort of request to the refs for review.

I believe the call would have been a G12, with the specific penalty being "trapping".

Quote:
An ALLIANCE may not POSSESS their opponent’s BALLS. The following criteria define POSSESSION :
Quote:
“trapping” (overt isolation or holding one or more BALLS against a FIELD element or ROBOT in an attempt to shield them).
Quote:
The intent of G12 is to prevent an ALLIANCE from inhibiting an opponent’s ability to interact with their BALL, but accommodate accidental and inconsequential actions by way of fewer FOUL points. Actions which are perceived as consequential and extended are distinct violations, as there are scenarios where POSSESSION of an opponent’s BALL could be consequential or extended but not necessarily both.
To me, it is pretty clear that the red robot recognized the ball was cornered against the low goal, and at least once, was touching the blue ball with the blue ball pinned between the player station and low goal. I would argue it was strategic, it was consequential to the match, but it wasn't extended, as red would trap, then break off the wall to push away. There isn't a "5 second rule" on possession like there is on things like pinning another robot though.

There was a previous match where something similar was done to us, but the opponent robot never directly pinned the ball. In the previous match, they maintained a 3-5 ft buffer off the ball, and essentially screened our rookie driver away from the ball for 30 seconds. We did challenge this (because I couldn't see the 3 ft. of space from 50+ feet away), and the refs said it wasn't trapping because there was sufficient space for us to maneuver around (correct call, IMO).

We did get a little better at breaking this tactic, and the driver was instructed to essentially ride the player station wall to push red away from the ball, then deal with the ball directly.

I would also go out on a limb and say this sort of "trapping" is somewhat reasonable in the context of defense, and could be considered a 20 point foul after the latest update... whereas a robot pinning the ball against the wall for 5+ seconds might be the flagrant sort of foul where a technical would be called.
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