[Taylor]

I would say that robots are meant to throw trackballs. In the animation, one bot looked like a catapult; a robot can't be in contact with the ball when it scores (either by land or by air); bumpers and robustness are mandatory, and trackballs that leave the playing field are reintroduced ASAP without penalty. I'd say the GDC are expecting some high-flying trackballs.
On the other hand, I don't think we'll be designing a trebuchet that fires from a distance of 20'....