San Diego was choc full of close/disappointing losses. We (1717) were involved in three, two of which we came out on the less favourable end.
Close loss: When allied with 1332 and 980 against 1572 2193 and 835, 1332's rails for their roll-out ramps deployed early incurring a 10-point penalty (at the time) for extending beyond the 6-foot box... Come the end of the match, we lift both robots 15" unfortunately, the aforementioned rails hung over and were incontact with the ground, negating our successful lift of 1332. The score pre-penalties was 32-23 our alliance, but then when the penalty was assessed the final score came out to be 22-23. Ouch! However we later learned that 1332 was in fact NOT in violation of the 6-foot box rule and shouldnt have been assessed the penalty, thus giving our alliance the win. Unfortunately, this was discovered after 2 more matches had been played and, according to the head ref, the ruling could not be changed (similar to challenges in pro football)... This should be the subject of another thread in its own right: Overrulings that could swing the match even after more matches have been played.
Close win: In SF2-1, our blue alliance (1717 294 and 368) was against the red alliance (968 1834 and 1540). The initial final score of the match was 82-48 in favor of the red alliance. Both us (1717) and 968 had lifted two robots over 12" for 60 points apiece, however it was revealed that 1834 on the red alliance was in contact with the wall and therefore deducted 30 points from the ted alliances score giving them a 52-48 win. We were initially awarded only 30 points because the refs ruled that 368 had a ringer in their gripper that extended beyond the home zone and was therefore out of the home zone and didn't count as lifted. However, thanks to the keen intuition of one of our students, we called a time out and I ran back to the pits for a rulebook. We were able to overturn the ruling as the rules stated that the ringer only counted as part of the robot if it was in contact with the ground. The final score: 78-52 blue alliance, giving us a close and overjoyed win. Lots of jumping and hugging took place
Close loss: In finals match 2, our aforementioned elimination round alliance already had one win on our opponents, the red alliance, of 330 696 and 835 and had to win this match to win the championship. Red got a row of 6 for 64 points and we had 12 points of ringers on the rack. With time running out, our alliance partners broke through red's defense and the last of whom was driving onto out panels with about 1 second left. We pressed the button to release the gas springs just as time ended... Well, only 3 springs deployed, the cables that released these springs were hand-tuned to be simultaneous so if 3 deployed and not 4 that means the time differential between the end of the match when the robots were deactivated and that last cable being pulled was minimal - a tenth-second max. We have a "buzzer" system so all that had to occur was that last cable releasing the spring and we would have won... Needless to say, we lost and proceeded to lose the next match thanks in large part to superb defense played by te entire red alliance. It's just heartbreaking to know that you were but a split-second from winning the championship. Grr... lol.
Good luck to the champs 330 696 and 835 in Atlanta, represent Southern California well