[fr05ty27355]

I'd have to agree that this match should have been replayed. The guard coming off doesn't fall under G10, since it specifically states that robots are allowed to push or react against elements of the field. Although 2175 caused themselves to get stuck by continuing to drive onto the fallen guard, I don't feel that's reason enough to not replay the match. From the driver's perspective, I bet it was very difficult to see the guard, and when you only have 2.5 minutes in a match, you aren't exactly thinking through things thoroughly. The field should be built so that it can't easily fall apart. 2175 made it look as though a slight breeze could have knocked that guard off. Although these guards have been the same for a long time, drivers aren't (and shouldn't have to be) thinking about knocking these off (especially if they've never seen it happen before). I think this should serve as an example that these guards need to be redesigned. As far as field faults, I think it's safe to say that if a team launched a ball that hit the high goal and caused the goal to fall down, the match would be replayed. I see this situation as being no different, since an unintentional breaking of the field impeded a team's ability to score. I could see the head ref making the call he did for a qualification match, but not in eliminations. I have always felt that if something is in question during an elimination match, a replay should always be strongly considered. Usually these kinds of calls are made in qualifications to stay on schedule, but it's not justified to make a call for the sake of staying on schedule in eliminations. I'm very sorry that 967 and 4607 did not get to continue on for the chance to make it to the world championship.