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Rule Change
FIRST changes its rules every year at regionals.
Last year, teams were not allowed to use any belting material that was not considered "timing belt." In 2000 we had used roughtop belting on our wheels (spectacular traction by the way), but it was to be considered illegal in 2001. We came to the first regional with sandpaper glued to our wheels, tore up the wood on the field, and had to find something new. We saw some other teams that had used roughtop belting laminated to timing belt, so for the second regional we managed to scour up some laminated belting and strapped it to our wheels. When we got to the second regional, we saw that teams had put the roughtop belting directly on to their wheels, without the timing belt. The moral of the story is that when FIRST makes a sketchy rule that angers a lot of teams, you can almost expect them to relax that rule in competition.
This year we had a perfectly good tether coming in to the first regional and then saw that tape measures were legal. The tape measure seems like possibly the best solution for a teathering mechanism, so after the regional we whipped one up. Could we have used our old tether? Sure. Was the tape measure better? Yes. In my opinion, you go with what works.
FIRST has given everyone an opportunity to score an extra 10 points quite easily, using a mechanism that potentially weighs under 2 pounds. FIRST may not just be about winning, but nobody builds a robot to lose. I figure if they give you a possible advantage, take it. We just go with the flow. . .
Jeff Alpert
Mentor
Team 469
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