That is pretty much the case in any robotics competition, FRC, FTC, VEX, BEST, etc. once your are down, you are down. It's one of the reasons that we try not to build "tippy" robots. We teach roboteers :
- about having low centers of mass
- keeping the center of mass over the robot base
- that the center of mass changes as the robot moves up and down ramps
- that the center of mass changes as the robot reaches and lifts objects
and if needed, building righting mechanisms to stand the robot back up. While self righting robots receive huge cheers at events, it does take valuable time that you could put to better use scoring.
All part of the "Science" in action in building a robot!