[Mark Hamilton]

Considering the battery is only 12 volts, I think it would be possible for a water competition, if they supplied a special water proof box for the control system, with all the wires coming in/out connected to fuses. This way at least a short would hopefully only blow the fuse. Then given the right materials to work with and sealed water pumps, you could seal your robot up pretty tight and use jet ski like water propulsion. It would be difficult and some shorts would be unavoidable, but I think the main problem would be not the robots but the logistics involved in building and maintaning a pool as a field. Can you imagine what would happen if it sprung a leak?