[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Dave Flowerday

I understood your suggestion the first time, and my response stands. Incidentally, I believe you have misrepresented R112. R112, as I read it, says that IF a robot is inspected and fails, THEN the lead inspector, at his or her discretion, can allow/disallow the robot from practicing (presumably with a reason such as safety, not just because they felt like it). It does not say that the lead inspector can dictate that teams must be inspected before practicing.

We may have to agree to disagree about R112. I think your reading above relies on assumptions not supported by the text of the rule:

Originally Posted by 2007 FRC Manual, 8 The Robot, Rev G

<R112> At inspection, noncompliance with any robot construction rule may result in disqualification of the ROBOT from the FIRST competition event. The team must bring the ROBOT into compliance before they will be allowed to compete in qualification matches. At the discretion of the lead Inspector, the ROBOT may be allowed to participate in practice matches before passing inspection.

(emphasis mine)
The lead inspector's discretionary authority (to prevent a team from practicing before their robot is inspected) is stated in a postive way that I support -- the language is biased in favor of practice time, and that implies to me that the lead inspector should only exercise the stated discretionary authority when there is a clear reason to do so. Like safety.

In fact, there is another rule (3.5.2) stating the opposite: "Teams may practice on the first day of the event without completing the inspection process, however, if field personnel deem a robot unsafe, it will not be allowed to practice until the unsafe condition is fixed." So, an un-inspected robot can be prohibited from practicing if the field personnel consider it unsafe, which makes sense of course. Neither of these two rules give the lead inspector the right to impose a general rule require that teams be inspected before practicing (again, this is as I read it).

As I read it, 3.5.2 is not a rule, it is part of a summary of what to expect at the event:

Originally Posted by 2007 FRC Manual, 3 At The Events

3 AT THE EVENTS
3.1 OVERVIEW
This section provides a general summary regarding a safety, mascots/uniforms, recommended items and equipment for teams to bring, Pit rules, generic event schedules, robot inspections, replacement parts, and competition manners. The following section provides a "feel" for competition schedules, registration procedures, practice times, and matches. Please familiarize your team with this overview so all team members know what to expect and understand the routine and the rules.

The lead robot inspector is one of a team of key volunteers that share responsibility for the smooth, safe operation of the event. Key field personnel (referenced in 3.5.2) who are responsible for identifying unsafe robots include the Field Supervisor, Head Referee, IFI representative, FIRST Technical Advisor, and Event Manager -- and any of these can be advised by other persons present on the field. At many events these key field personnel rely on the lead robot inspector and his/her team of inspectors to alert them to potential safety risks posed by a particular robot. At events where I have served as lead robot inspector or as FIRST Technical Advisor there has been very close communication between field personnel and robot inspectors regarding safety.