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Re: Rookie Team impressions from Kettering
I do understand having the 10 point penalty near the finish line, because it would prevent a robot from continuously going back and forth trying to remove the other team’s ball, but when a robot was trying to make a turn and had to back up because they misjudged the corner, they were then assessed more penalty points than they probably earned doing laps the entire match. That made absolutely no sense, especially if no other robot or a ball was near them at the time. I think the 10 point penalty should be changed to only apply to the finish line, and not to the lines near the corners, because it was very easy for teams to accidently back up over the line while trying to free their robot from a traffic jam, or while trying to re-navigate the turn. I believe one of the teams was assessed a 20 point penalty during autonomous mode for crossing back over lines! Like I said though, this is a one-time event, so rules that don't really fulfill their function isn't a big issue.
Also, in the final match, I think, the ref made a comment about “good defense” when one robot got between a ball and the other team's robot that was trying to pick it up, thus preventing the robot from capturing the ball. I thought that was not the spirit of the game and was surprised to learn it was considered a good thing, while backing up over the end lines, even if it didn’t impede scoring or another robot in any way, was a 10 point penalty.
As a general rule, I believe in questioning rules and being a catalyst for necessary change when change is possible. That's what makes a democracy better than other forms of government.
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