[sdcantrell56]

To be honest, I like the rough play. It encourages everyone to build robust designs, and lets face it, for people who are not involved with FIRST, the matches look much more interesting than if no contact were allowed. I know many might disagree but whenever I tell people about the competitions, the first question is always, "So is it like battle bots do you get to fight other robots?" I always have to say no but I do throw in that there is a lot of pushing. I firmly believe that it is this pushing and aggressive play that interests many people not involved with FIRST. I also believe that robots should not try to maliciously damage other robots as this is not in the spirit of FIRST but defense and pushing I feel is a crucial element of the game. As well if you can build a robot that can still place ringers efficiently even while being pushed, the accomplishment is even greater.