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Re: Different levels of passing inspection
Rich, you seem to be making it harder than it is. A team is either compliant or they aren't... and when they aren't it becomes your job, as an inspector, to work with them to get them compliant, or to bring the issue up with the LRI. The manual specifically states "At each event, the Lead ROBOT Inspector (LRI) has final authority on the legality of any COMPONENT, MECHANISM, or ROBOT." This is done, not so the LRI can loosen the rules and ignore them, but so the LRI can utilize his/her experience and training to interpret the rules given the context provided by the team's robot.
In your example with pneumatics, the generally accepted clear choice for non-compliant pneumatics is to pull the breaker and dump the air. A team can go out there and drive around to play defense without air, then come back and continue to work on getting the pneumatics compliant.
There is only one standard for compliance with the rules, and as inspectors we can't treat rookies different from veteran teams - with student and mentor turn over, sometimes veteran teams really should be considered rookies. Rookies do need to sweat the small stuff... the difference is that we're right there sweating with them. Teams in general bend over backwards for rookies, and by sweating the small stuff you give everyone at the competition a chance to work together, experience what FIRST is all about, and have some fun getting robots fixed. In my three years as an LRI, every rookie at my events has become fully compliant with the rules, gotten to experience gracious professionalism first hand through assistance from other teams, and had a good time doing it.
Please remember - inspectors are there to find the issues and help the teams. LRI's are there to handle the issues when they become a serious problem.
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2007 - Present: Mentor, 2177 The Robettes
LRI: North Star 2012-2016; Lake Superior 2013-2014; MN State Tournament 2013-2014, 2016; Galileo 2016; Iowa 2017
2015: North Star Regional Volunteer of the Year
2016: Lake Superior WFFA
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