Hoops

[Breakaway3937]

I purchased ours from Target.com for $34.99. You can find the link here.

[sanddrag]

Is the Spalding not just functionally equivalent, but identical to the Huffy?

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by lbarger

It's not a simple plastic hoop. What FIRST has specified is a steel regulation basket ball rim. That said, you should find it cheaper at Amazon, ~$31.

The question I have is whether or not the break away feature is needed. Robot extensions are limited to 14", robots can not climb on the 'fenders' and the rims are over the finders. Can an appendage contact the rims? Would game play (ball reaction) be very different if you used a fixed solid rim?

The breakaway feature is to make it easier for the reset crew to retrieve stuck balls.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

Is the Spalding not just functionally equivalent, but identical to the Huffy?

without having compared two side by side I would hesitate to say yes, but based off of the dimensions given by FIRST it certainly is.

[martin417]

The "breakaway" feature (not related to the 20010 game of the same name) WILL make an impact on game play. They stated that the spring was replaced with a softer one. The rim will deflect when struck by a ball, thereby absorbing some energy. This will affect the way the balls bounce off the rim. Your practice hoop should be mounted the same way for consistency.

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by lbarger

The question I have is whether or not the break away feature is needed. Robot extensions are limited to 14", robots can not climb on the 'fenders' and the rims are over the finders. Can an appendage contact the rims? Would game play (ball reaction) be very different if you used a fixed solid rim?

The rules effectively prohibit robots from touching the rims, but there's nothing physically prohibiting a robot from breaking the rules. Imagine a 150-pound robot tipping over onto the end of one of the hoops.

[waialua359]

well we finally ordered 3 of them.
After searching site after site, they were either sold out or an outrageous price with shipping.
It was a whopping $243.xx!

[Aren Siekmeier]

Originally Posted by Alan Anderson

The rules effectively prohibit robots from touching the rims, but there's nothing physically prohibiting a robot from breaking the rules. Imagine a 150-pound robot tipping over onto the end of one of the hoops.

What rule is this? The fender is there to protect the rims, but there is no rule barring contact with the fender, or even climbing on top of it. Granted, it would be difficult to do, given its height, and probably not worthwhile.

[PVCMike]

Can anyone share how many springs are in each hoop? Every hoop I can remember playing on has had 2 but I wanted to make sure before I ordered springs.

Edit: Never mind. Found it in the drawings. Only one spring per hoop.

[mtnDewey]

The hoops' dimensions are the same as other regulation size basketball hoops. We just picked up a few from our local sporting equipment store, didn't have to pay for shipping, and got them right away.

[sanddrag]

After I ordered my Huffy hoops, the receipt said Huffy Spalding. So, by my logic they must be the same hoop.

[MrForbes]

I visited several likely stores in our small town (50k+ people), and came up with nothing. There are no basketball hoops in town. There are a few backboards with hoops, but that's a lot of extra money for something we don't need.

I guess it's time to order something online....

[Taylor]

http://www.competitiveedgeproducts.c...il.aspx?ID=305
Buy 4, pay $41.28 each. Free shipping to continental US. Includes net.

[Mr. Pockets]

To anyone who has actually gotten ahold of one of baskets in question: would using a standard regulation basketball net give substantially performance results?

[silverD]

Walmart has them back in stock. I ordered 4 and will be shipped to store. They are quoting arrival after the 20th.