Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH
If I was reffing, and a team was obviously communicating outside of the arena (i.e., to the stands or the team cheering area), I would talk to the head ref. The audience CAN affect the game.
Twice in 2008 that I know of, the audience affected gameplay/match ending. At a regional, someone was generating IR interference, intentionally or not, until an announcement came that they were interfering and would be tracked down if they didn't stop. And then there was the one red card at Championships, which was at least partially due to audience reaction.
If the audience is affecting gameplay, then you effectively have a) more people than allowed in the alliance station and b) they are in the wrong area. Both are penalties.
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Sorry, but this logic is going to miss the mark. If, as you state, someone were reffing and tried to pull this, I am pretty sure there would be a rather large crowd asking that that person be prevented from further officiating.
The definition of TEAM in Chapter 7 is clear - it is four people representing the larger FRC "team" (lower case). The rules in Chapter 7 affect the actions of the TEAM. They do not restrict the actions of the "team." The area of the ARENA is explicitly bounded and defined in Chapter 6 and the official drawings. Rule <G37> limits the number of TEAM members and additional personnel in the ARENA. Trying to make the argument that there are more than four TEAM members inside that bounded area when they are communicating from the stands is specious upon inspection.
If you want to make an argument against communicating with the TEAM from the audience, then do it based on the Tournament Rules (specifically, Rule <T23> and Rule <T23>). There at least, there is some basis for forming a logic that can hold water.
-dave
(And as always, here is the reminder that official answers are obtained solely from the FIRST Q&A system. No other source will be acknowledged by the referees. They won't even look at discussions or answers from unofficial sources such as this forum.)
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