[smurfgirl]

The rules say that a robot cannot be supported by the field or a field object/gamepiece. This is a use of the transitive property to say that a robot supported by a robot supported by a gamepiece violates this aspect of the rules. But take away the tube and use the transitive property the same way: a robot is supported by a robot supported by the carpet, part of the field. This, again, would be a rules violation... but we know that it is not, so for consistency's sake the tube should not be, either. I suppose the refs can remove/deflate the tube to check the height without it, if they need to verify that aspect of it.

The reason why I don't like this call is because it's inconsistent from match to match, from regional to regional. I wouldn't mind so much if FIRST could just standardize this rule and get it in print so the refs and the drivers know how to interpret it and can act accordingly. This way there won't be any surprises or confusion at the end of any given match.