[DarkJedi613]

Originally Posted by Carlo

First, I'd just like to state that it is a rare occasion I login to post, however I'm always reading the boards. There are few times I feel my input would be of benefit, but being a driver for team 365, as well as a member often found in the pit, I'd like to put my input in on team 358.

I could sit here and tell you all the wonderful aspects of team 358, but I'd prefer to sum it up in one line. Simply put, Team 358 is awesome.

I know all too well what it feels like to lose the finals due to a disqualification. But team 358 has nothing to be ashamed of. Your group is an awesome bunch, and have nothing to be ashamed of or upset about. You had a great robot, and second place is an awesome feat.

When our teammate was called for tipping, which was on a low shot, without lifting the robot (This was were the discrepency between our call and your call differed. While yours was unintentional, it was a high hit. None of us believed your hit was intentional, but according to the rules, a high hit which results in a tipped robot is grounds for DQ'ing the alliance), it was hard to swallow the loss without getting upset with the refs. I was the alliance captain, and when they came over for an explanation I simply told them, ''It was your call to make, and I can't dispute it as I did not see it from your viewpoint." It's not easy being a ref, and they're never sure what was intentional and what wasn't.

So thanks to all the teams there... we had a blast.

Thanks for the compliments. We're happy with how well we did, just disappointed in the way we lost.

I don't want a big discussion on this, but your information is slightly wrong, we hit 56 with the back of our robot, we hit them with our frame, not our arm. It was a low hit, not a high one. I just want to clarify that. The penalty was on "rough play", not tipping them over or hitting up high.

I realize how hard it is to be a referee - I ref soccer games every weekend during the spring and fall - and I understand why they made the call, but what really bothered me and the other drivers was how long it took to make the call and the actual rule saying that the officials look at our intention - it should be a concrete rule (like the loading zone one - no matter what if you hit them in the loading zone its a 30 point penalty - whether you meant to or not). The volunteers do a great job and try to make it as fair as possible, good job guys.