[EricH]

Originally Posted by rich2202

If you have mechanical tendencies, I recommend also volunteering as a Robot Inspector for the 1st day (or 2/3rds of the first day). During the first day, they can use all the RI's they can get. Not much to do as a Ref during the practice rounds when few robots show up. During that time, they can use RI's to get robots passed inspection. If you are doing multiple competitions, then you don't need the Ref practice the first day.

When I am Ref'ng, I don't call RI type faults, but I will tell an RI what I see so they can follow up.

From experience, I will NOT ref and inspect at the same event. It will wipe you out. Will I put in for both? Sure. Will I ref and inspect at different events? Sure. But if push comes to shove, I'm more likely to be on the field.

Now, that may have something to do with my having to help train refs during 2014, having previously reffed the game, but even the first event was rough (and I did both then). Refs need the practice too, particularly at your first event of the season--and robots do show up, particularly with practice starting later.


My personal tendency is that if I have >1 team I am or have been affiliated with at an event, I'll try to stick to inspecting--I only have to avoid those teams (2/40 is actually pretty easy). If I'm reffing, it's a lot easier to work around 1 team than 2, particularly at smaller events when they'll come up every 4-5 matches or so each. (1 or 2 matches out of 6-7 matches is a bit harder to deal with.) And regardless of what teams are in the match, I do my best to call it the exact same way every time. Offseason events are another story--I'll call the same, but the number of teams I'm affiliated with doesn't matter (to me at least).