[MrJohnston]

OUr mentors spend so much time volunteering with the team (and away from their families) that it just does not seem right to demand that they all read the manual and know it well.

However, a working knowledge of the rules is absolutely imperative before robot design commences. Here is how we handle it:
1) We spend most of the first day after kickoff going through the rules and making sure we all understand them.
2) We encourage everybody to study the rules and require it of certain students - such as the drive team.
3) We have one mentor and one students who are the "rules experts." Their primary position in the club is to konw the rules inside-out and to study research any questions that might arise.
4) Before we design any part of the robot, we discuss both the desired functionality and any applicable rules as a group.
5) We nearly always have one of our "rules experts" on hand to clarify anything that might come up.
6) We make sure the mentor who oversees any specific aspect of the robot has a hard copy of the written rules pertaining to that aspect.

All-in-all, this seems to create a group of mentors who can spend their time doing what they love best (helping kids to design robots) who are knowledgeable enough about the rules.