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Unread 20-03-2007, 11:58
Logan Byers Logan Byers is offline
Roaming Mentor & Referee
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Join Date: Jan 2005
Rookie Year: 2003
Location: Indianapolis, IN
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Re: Ramps extending outside of the home zone

Quote:
Originally Posted by ALIBI View Post
At the Boilermaker, I must say the refs were some of the best I have ever seen. They were fair and consistent throughout the weekend. Taking the time to warn teams before giving out penalties for all but the most flagrant violations. It seemed as though they gave penalties for ramps that totally deployed outside the HZ and if at the end of the match either your ramp or arm were outside they gave you a penalty then. Having your arm or ramp just outside the HZ while trying to position was not given a penalty as long as you were making an effort to get back in the HZ. A small corner of our ramps went outside the HZ a couple times without penalties. One time we forgot to put our arm down and after resting it on top of the alliance station wall and not taking corrective action fast enough we were penalized and I believe we were also disabled. The refs seemed to want to let the teams play by not calling penalties that did not harm other robots or have a huge affect on the game. A real common sense approach that was very much appreciated. Total deployment of ramps in the middle of the field, penalty every time. A couple inches out while trying to allign the ramps in the HZ during the end game and making sure that at the end you are completely within the HZ, no penalty.
As one of the refs at boilermaker, I thank you for your compliments.

During our training, the Head Ref briefed us on the rules. When we got to the home zone rules, staying within the alliance zone, breaking the driver station plane, and 72"x72" rules, he didn't want us to flag a robot or human player for the smallest infractions. If you're clearly out of the home zone / alliance zone or over the driver station, we called it. If you were really close (<1 inch) to breaking the home zone, driver station, or 72"x72" rule, we gave you the benefit of the doubt on the first offense, but warned you to be careful and probably penalized you the next time it happened.
Now, if your robot deployed the ramps because of a hit from another robot or somehow pulled them out because of entanglement with the rack, we didn't penalize you IF you made an effort to get into your home zone.
As for other penalties, specifically the rough play and yellow cards, I received plenty of complaints about it, but that's a completely different subject.

As for the other regionals, it stinks that it can't be consistent across the board, but each head ref has a different interpretation of the rules. As a former driver, I'd advise the drivers/operators to ask the refs and make sure you get a clear definition and understanding of how they're going to call the penalties and follow them. Also, remember that just because the last regional's refs called the game one way doesn't mean the refs at your next regional or even the Championships are going to call it the same way.