[Siri]

Good questions. (Once more unto the breach:)

Originally Posted by dougwilliams

Specifically, if a match is replayed or re-scored due to a field fault or foul, is there any specific criteria needed to allow that re-match or re-scoring? Or is it entirely subjective? If it is subjective, who makes that decision: the head ref, the team of refs, the field crew?

Replays are the head ref's decision, as per T16 (this rule is borne out in reality). They can and often do consult other key field personnel, particularly the FTAs and ref crew depending on the type of fault. Some are more obvious than others. Recall that T16 requires the arena fault to affect the outcome of the match, which is sometimes discussed in the question box--but again, it's the head ref's call.

Re-scoring depends on the game. Last year, they could recount the frisbees if caught before resetting for the next match. Also, they can learn to add. Sigh. This year, there's no real way to 're-score', but we can check what was entered during the match--occasionally there are obvious bugs that can be fixed. (We had a few in which a correctly ended cycle simply didn't display the actual goal.)

Originally Posted by dougwilliams

Situation 1: I recall one situation where a field part fell off and "pinned" a robot for a short time. Should that have been a rematch or not? In either case, what is an appropriate response to a questioning student?

This depends on whether the head ref (with whatever input they solicit) determines it affected the outcome of the match. If the score was 5-350 and 'short' means short, probably not. If they lost by 1 and were pinned in the process of a last-second truss shot, that's different.

Originally Posted by dougwilliams

Situation 2: Pedestal light times (I know there has been a lot of conversation on this). What criteria has been used to call rematches? Is there some indicator on the field system that something didn't work right? I've heard teams say their pedestals didn't light quickly enough, and I've also heard counter arguments that the ball hadn't completely passed the plane of the goal slot, which isn't visible by the team waiting for the ball usually. What specific events would allow a ref to call a rematch based on only that much information?

Ugh. I'll let someone on the software side talk about indicators, but at least in some cases the answer is no. Everything is manual, so if a ref doesn't hit end cycle quickly, the field has no way of knowing that the pedestal even should be lit up. Other root causes may have different indicators. Again, it's an 'outcome of the match' situation. These were particularly bad in early weeks, and 'delay length for replay', even in similar scoring matches, varies between events. (We had a 30+ sec one, lost by 4, without a replay.) Apparently some events thought 9 seconds consistently was reasonable, whereas most coaches are well into the glass-banging stage by then.

Originally Posted by dougwilliams

Situation 3: A series of fouls are noted by teams of both alliances during a game. The score is displayed with fouls (but which specific foul was not noted during announcement) and one team goes back later to question it. The score was changed at some even later time (after a few matches) but with no announcement to that fact. The team is only informed via FRCSpyder and then goes to question it, where they are informed that they missed the allotted time to question the ruling.
I would have expected the team could see a copy of a scoring sheet with a determination of what specific foul was called, and what was contested and why it was changed (but were only provided with final scores).
Further, in talking to the teams on both alliances, each team had a different specific foul that they thought was scored and then retracted. In this situation we certainly left confused, with 3 different possibilities but no one knew for certain.

This is abnormal. Events usually seem good about announcing score changes, and most tech fouls at least come with rule number announcements. Were it me, I'd have my calmest student in the question box just ask what the final decision was (extrapolate backwards), rather than opening with questioning the ruling itself. Honestly though, sometimes you just have to pick your battles. If it's an important match--e.g. 1st seed's on the line--be kind but diligent. If not, I personally try not to over-question box before elims. Coaches are human, but so are refs. (Which leaves folks like me with sometimes head-spinning split personas.)

Actually, there is no 'scoring sheet', and the scoring software doesn't note [EDIT: regular (as mentioned, techs are better tracked and typically announced)] foul rule numbers, just foul points. It's [regular fouls] all in the referees' heads, which is why there's a practical time limit. Match situations, especially for common fouls, tend to blur together quickly.