What is considered a catch

[JamesCH95]

Originally Posted by pntbll1313

Do not apply the 'grandmother' rule to this. There is a clear definition in the manual.

A CATCH occurs when a BALL SCORED over the TRUSS by a ROBOT’S ALLIANCE partner is POSSESSED by that ROBOT before contacting the carpet, the ROBOT which SCORED the TRUSS, or HUMAN PLAYER.

You just need to POSSESS the ball. DjScribbles has quoted the places in the manual and QA relevant to the definition of POSSESSION.

CATCH != catch as your grandmother may think.

If you're willing to risk a non-reversible ref's call on it, go ahead.

I see a few ways to interpret what's in the manual:

"carrying" - passes the grandmother check

"herding" - if you can repeatedly bump/push the ball before it hits the ground, you deserve a medal

"launching" - Very high-risk IMO, relies on ref's non-reversible call/judgement being the same as yours with regards to a mechanism being in motion relative to the robot; you must also hit the ball mid-air with a moving mechanism which doesn't strike me as practical and would likely result in hunting down the ball, costing you and your alliance precious time. While possibly within the letter of the rule, it is not within the spirit or intent of the rule IMO.

"trapping" - if you can pin a ball between your robot and a field element mid-air, you deserve a medal, and i think that would also pass the grandmother rule too

So, I suppose you're right in a sense: there are a few cases where a by-the-letter interpretation of the rules results in a CATCH the grandmother rule does not. Though IMO one better think long and hard about the practicality and reliability of making a 'non-grandma-approved' CATCH. I suggest following the grandmother rule from a practicality and reliability standpoint.