[EricH]

Any time that you don't know something for sure, and you're being asked to make a decision that is somewhat based on that unknown thing, you have three choices. 1: Find out that thing. 2: Make assumptions based on what you do know, and hope that they are correct, or that they are incorrect in your favor. 3: Do nothing, which can have other implications. Hence, we made assumptions based on NI being a company offering a 1-per-customer-per-time-unit discount, which leads through another set of logical assumptions.


As for the 2009 rules being obsolete and irrelevant, at this time, we have no indication of the 2010 game and robot rules, which supersede the 2009 game and robot rules. Should FIRST decide to have a competition right now, they would go by the 2009 rules, as those are still in force for about three more weeks, except where the 2010 rules have been released (which is in very few places). The only other option is to have no rules at all. Therefore, the 2009 rules, wherever the 2010 rules have not been released, remain in full effect. There is no violation of the 2009 rules; nobody other than the GDC knows whether or not there would be one in 2010 (and if any GDC member tells before any official announcements, shame on them.)