[Matt C]

I truly don't see this as being an issue (unless penalties are going to play a bigger role than expected this year which I doubt). The ease of scoring 1 ball into any goal will prevent a score of 0. If you hold a team scoreless, you should be penalized during the next match based on the rule. It is very easy to score a few balls in your own trailer to offset some of the difference.

The reason for the rule is similar to what was insituted in earlier years, where the winning team received 3x the losing team's score. (During the 2002 competition specifically I remember a few alliances moving all robots out of scoring zones during seeding matches when they knew they were going to lose to force the other team to take 0 qualifying points because the other alliance was dominating the goal placement/scoring).

I think G14 is an attempt to "even out" the luck that teams get, and to try and take some of the cutthroat competition out of it.

Just remember, it's REALLY easy to score points for your opponent . . you always have control of their scoring zone, and if you have more than twice their score, you should have no issue throwing a few in to tighten up the match.