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Unread 19-08-2014, 14:54
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Re: Pneumatic Restrictions & Improvments

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jon Stratis View Post
What if you were on the other side of this? What if you saw a team filling their air tanks with a shop compressor, then watched them wheel it out to the field... when you complained to the head ref, you'd want him taking action, right?

It's not a question of assuming teams are intentionally trying to cheat or not... it's about trying to run an event that is both safe and fair to every team involved. It's not fair to team A to allow an illegal robot to compete against them, but it's also not fair to team B to red card them if they didn't really do anything... there's no way to ensure you're always making the right decision in every situation, as the information at hand may be the same. So you have to set up the rules and guidelines so you're consistent in the rulings, warn the teams ahead of time, and ask them to help you make the event a success for everyone.
In complete honesty, speaking as a coach and inspector for many years, I'd be fine losing to a team that didn't get a redcard for illegaly precharging IF that meant the # of teams getting unwarranted redcards was reduced. I'd also always discuss with the team directly before going to a head ref.

"Let the kids play" is my philosophy. Rules like this aren't nearly as damaging to opponents if they are broken than someone running with illegal motors, or illegal batteries (which are far easier to catch).

Before someone takes my words the wrong way, we ALWAYS charge w/ the onboard, legal compressor for match play.

What I'm against is the culture of teams being expected to avoid certain things because people think it might be illegal and the head ref red cards w/o discussing with all parties involved.

The retroactive red card rules is one of the most terrifying in the book, and really doesn't give students a better experience at all.

Last edited by Aren_Hill : 19-08-2014 at 16:22. Reason: fixed adams typo