IRI - Dates, Info and Rule Ideas

[artdutra04]

The rules and point values this year... are actually pretty well calibrated for the effort/reward. For the first time in quite a while, I don't think anything major needs to be "fixed" by rules changes at offseason events.

So onto rule modifications enhancements:

• Extend autonomous to 20 seconds long.
• Allow each robot to preload 3 balls, for a total of 24 balls on the field.
• Pause the match between end of autonomous and beginning of teleop to allow any ball jams to be resolved.
• A triple balance on the co-op bridge during qualification matches is worth 3 CP.
• Make incidental contact with opposing bridge the same as key/lane fouls: only penalize it if an opposing robot is touching the bridge at the same time. (I'm only proposing this one because often balls that roll close to/under the opposing alliance bridge during a match are more or less dead balls for the rest of that match. It's too risky to try to get those balls under the current rules. Purposeful contact, such as tipping the opposing bridge to get the two balls on it, should still be penalized regardless of whether an opposing robot is touching the bridge).
• Add G25 as a second exception to G44 to solve the controversy surrounding getting pushed onto an opposing alliance bridge during a balance attempt.

However, here are some things that I think should NOT be changed:

• Do not give different point values for shots beyond a certain distance. Keeping track of what balls were shot from where will be a major pain if there are two, possibly three robots shooting at once. It opens up too much possibility for controversy.