|
Fouls that "Didn't Affect the Outcome of the Match"
I have a pet peeve in FRC, and it's about fouls that "didn't affect the outcome of the match".
The reality with real-time scoring is that every foul can affect the outcome of the match, and I think most of us know that.
In any match, looking at the score tells the drivers what they might need to do, whether that's making a last minute Hail Mary High Goal attempt or playing some serious defense on whoever has the ball on the opposing alliance.
If 30 seconds into the match, when my alliance might otherwise be ahead, and due to a foul, my team is behind, my drive team is going to take some crazy risks to try to win the match, whereas if my alliance maintains a comfortable lead, we might play it safer and make the shot when it is a sure thing.
These split-decision moments affect match outcomes, and these are affected by what fouls are in play or aren't.
So when I talk to a head referee in the question box or even another team after losing a match, and they tell me not to sweat the foul because it "didn't affect the outcome of the match", I clench up a little bit inside, because really, every foul affects the outcome of each match.
Maybe we wouldn't have risked that crazy shot and missed if we were close or gone for the low goal instead of the high goal.
I'm not sure how to fix this- it requires the real-time scoring to be much more accurate more of the time and for fouls to be decided fairly and evenly- which is currently a major problem in Aerial Assist.
My biggest suggestion would be changing the rules so that bad, poorly judged fouls were less common, but that's too little too late (except for off-seasons).
I hope in future years the game is more gentle toward referees, because this one is not, and that messes up matches by the dozens.
What do you think? Am I over-reacting or is this a real problem?
__________________
All of my posts are my opinion only and do not reflect the views of my associated teams.
College Student Mentor on Team 5254, HYPE - Helping Youth Pursue Excellence (2015-Present)
Alumni of Team 20, The Rocketeers (2011-2014)
I'm attempting a robotics blog. Check it out at RocketHypeRobotics.wordpress.com Updated 10/26/16
|