[Jon Stratis]

Michael -

First off, the question of damage to the field is one of intent of the rules, not letter of the rules. The intent of R6 and G10 combined is to prevent damage through a specific set of actions, and velcro falls into that category of actions.

The LRI's are there to make sure that every team has a successful event. In part this means we make sure everyone follows the rules so no one has an unfair advantage over anyone else. In another part, this means we make sure the robots and environment are as safe as possible. In yet another part, this means we work with teams to ensure they can compete on the field as much as possible.

The way the rules are written, R6 is, in my opinion, unclear with regards to velcro. As such, it's entirely possible for a team to get different rulings at different events - one inspector may interpret it as legal, while another sees it as illegal. However, G10 is very clear - velcro treads cause you to attach yourself to the field, which is illegal. You may very well have an LRI pass you based on the robot rules, only to be disabled on the field. Personally, knowing the game rules almost as well as I know the robot rules, I see it as part of my job to help such a team fix a problem that will cause them to be disabled, even if it's not technically illegal from a robot rules standpoint, before it actually causes them to have a problem on the field.

At the end of such a discussion with a team, for any issue, there are four possible outcomes. First, the team agrees and makes a change. Second, I have to tell the team I can't pass them because of a specific robot rule and they have to make a change. Third, the team convinces me what they did is OK and we all walk away happy. And fourth (my least favorite), the team won't make a change, I don't have any robot rule to point to, and I have to go tell the head ref what to watch out for from the team (This brings back memories of robots that could extend past the legal distance from the frame perimeter, or ones that had trouble getting in the starting configuration while loaded with game pieces...).