[ZZII 527]

I never understood the COTS definition to begin with. To me, "COTS ITEMS that are no longer commercially available" is already a contradiction, since the definition states "A COTS item must be a standard (i.e. not custom order) part commonly available from the VENDOR, available from a non-team source, and available to all teams for purchase."

Here's another question. Suppose I open up a 42mm gearbox and temper the carrier plate. The rules now define this as a "custom part," explicitly not a COTS item. Does this change its legality?

And while I agree with the argument that teams depending on the 256:1 may now be at a disadvantage, what about teams that have already implemented one? If it suddenly becomes illegal, they will be at a significant disadvantage. And the fact that BaneBots is an official FIRST supplier leads me to believe that these teams were justified in assuming that the gearboxes would remain COTS items. (Sort of like ordering wheels from Skyway. If they ran out of a particular type of wheel mid-season because it happened to be perfect for the game this year, I doubt it would be made illegal.)