Annual Reminder--Please Read the Manual!

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Guys,
I included judges to the extent that the judged awards are part of the manual series.
As to rulings on robot design, the GDC (and the Q&A) cannot make a ruling based on a description given by the team. The description in most cases is flawed (in favor of a positive response) and thus a decision based on that description will be flawed as well. I can tell you that over the years, teams have sent me pictures of assemblies on their robot that look nothing like the picture when viewed in person and in context with the rest of the robot. Making a decision in person is often difficult until the robot is viewed from all angles. Think about the team that takes a picture of their mounted bumper and asks if it meets the robot rules. From the picture all looks fine but we cannot see that 20" of the bumper is unsupported by robot frame because we can't see behind the bumper in the picture. Just think about the daunting task faced by those who must respond to the Q&A and take a look at how many questions that you can answer actually are asked by teams.