[DonRotolo]

Not being able to hurdle is not an insurmountable deficiency.

IF your bot can...

Take down a ball and Cross 3 or more lines in Hybrid and Drive fast and stay in control, then you can be a contender.

If you are just 2 of those 3, then you are unlikely to be a top seed.

Taking down a ball is important, at the beginning of the match to bring balls into play, and at the end of the match to deny the opposition the bonus points. Just remember that you might end up giving the other team a hurdle...

Crossing 3 or more lines in Hybrid is important because you can start the match with a decent lead, 12 or more points.

Driving fast is OK, but staying in control is more important, to avoid penalties, Often there are traffic jams, with 3 bots and 2 balls all over one end, so being able to thread the needle and get past is a good thing to have. Ramming is penalized, whether inadvertent or not. Pushing is not a valuable characteristic this year.

IF your bot can hurdle in a reasonable time (our 15 seconds is FAR too slow), and gain control of the ball easily enough, then you can drop one of the above and still contend. If you do all four well, you're going to be in the very top.

Just some observations from the NJ Regional.

Don