[Al Skierkiewicz]

A scene like this was discussed by LRIs last night. At least one or two teams over the weekend had failed to stretch the fabric covering the pool noodles on their bumpers. After a few tough hits, the noodles started to sag but did not touch the floor. It was obvious to refs and observers that parts of the bumper had fallen below the bumper zone. Don't know if this was your regional, but it sounds like it might have been.
As clear and descriptive as the bumper rules are this year, teams do not fully read them or the Q&A. The rules are also written in a way that leaves nothing for the robot inspectors to wiggle on implementation. Your are either in compliance or not (or fall out of compliance). A few teams at each regional thus far have had serious bumper issues particularly the 6" minimum length of the hard back, hard parts in the corners and robot structure behind all of the bumper hard parts.