CAGE Match VIII

[Taylor]

Save the Date: CAGE Match 2015 will be on Saturday, October 17.
It will once again be in the historic Southport Fieldhouse
971 E Banta Road
Indianapolis IN 46227

We are planning many new things for the eighth edition, so be on the lookout for updates.
www.thecagematch.com

[Taylor]

The Planning Committee has been working hard on some innovations to this year's event. I can't tell you about them all now, but it will be pretty cool.

We've had some questions from area teams, and I thought I'd address them here.

Q1. When is registration?
A1. We plan to open team registration on Monday, August 24. We will still have Early Bird discounts for teams that register by September 18.

Q2. Do you need volunteers?
A2. Absolutely, and you can sign up now! One of the things we're piloting this year is volunteer training. So if there's a position you've wanted to try, but haven't yet, we can pair you up with a seasoned veteran in that position to see if it's a good fit for you. Simply let us know in the "Is there any other information" field if you'd like to be trained - or to be a trainer.

Q3. Indiana went to districts in 2015. Is this event for Indiana teams only?
A3. We welcome all our FIRST friends! All FRC teams are welcome to join, regardless of geography. We will have a hard cap of 32 teams, to make sure every team plays in eliminations.

Q4. Our team struggles with budget issues. We're not sure we can afford to attend the event.
A4. That's not really a question, but I'll still give advice. It is $300, but teams can get up to $50 off with the aforementioned Early Bird discount and with another initiative that is still being finalized. In addition, we host separate Student and Adult Roundtable Discussions where team members can share difficulties as well as best practices to overcome them. Finally, since the CAGE Match is set up to introduce people to coopetitive robotics, we welcome prospective team sponsors and partners. In fact, contact me and I'll make that person a judge at the event, to make sure the hook sets deep. We will also have a VIP experience for those who are not able to be there the entire day.

[Taylor]

REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!

Please visit the CAGE Match Registration Page to get your team signed up for this year's CAGE Match. We are accepting 32 teams this year.

There is a discount for teams who register by September 14th; there is another discount for teams who will loan us students to work shifts as VIP tour guides. No team game pieces are necessary this year.

There are more surprises I'm not allowed to share right now - suffice it to say we're planning for a fun, exciting, inviting atmosphere this year.

Volunteer registration is open now also. This event provides a great chance to try something you've never done before, to teach others your area of expertise, or to hone your craft.

[Logan Byers]

I have the honor and privilege of being the Head Referee for this year's CAGE Match and am happy to share the rules changes that we've made for Recycle Rush. We've been inspired by many of the other off-season events and the changes they've made and also have had the benefit of seeing how those changes have played out. Without further ado:

• Transport Configuration will NOT be enforced.

• Yellow totes may be scored as if they were gray totes on scoring platforms. Recycling Containers will score on stacks that have yellow totes.

• Teams may re-arrange elements within the staging zones, as long as elements are completely contained within the staging zone at the start of the match.

G6-1

DRIVE TEAMS may not use any object to prop the CHUTE DOOR open.
VIOLATION: FOUL. If extended or repeated, YELLOW CARD. If egregious or strategic, RED CARD.

G14

Teams may tether to the ROBOT before or after the match if needed to help with setup and/or removal of the robot from the FIELD. However, tethering must be done so safely.
VIOLATION: if unsafe operation occurs, RED CARD.

G24

ROBOTS should not cause TOTES, RECYCLING CONTAINERS, and/or LITTER to completely transfer from their side of the FIELD, or from the STEP, onto the opposite side of the FIELD.
VIOLATION: If repeated, YELLOW CARD. If egregious or strategic, RED CARD and offending ROBOT will be DISABLED.

G27

ROBOTS may not contact anything outside the FIELD.
VIOLATION: Offending ROBOT will be DISABLED.

Reasoning behind the changes:

• With the pits right next to the field, the transport configuration shouldn’t be an issue. Please remember that you still have to be able to bring the robot into the gym through a standard sized door and setup and teardown time restrictions will still be enforced on the field.

• Allowing yellow totes to score doesn’t make them a waste during failed coopertitions and eliminations.

• Easing staging zone setup will make field set-up easier and less confusing for teams/volunteers.

• The G6-1 change makes yellow cards only for extended/repeated offenses for propping open the chute door. We expect a lot of rookie human players and don't want to harshly punish new drive team members for not knowing the intricacy of how to avoid this penalty.

• The G14 change is for team Phyxt-Red-Cards. <3 (sorry for the inside joke, it's a entertaining/great story if anyone wants to hear it.)

• The G24 change eliminates nuisance penalties for accidentally having objects transfer sides of the field.

• The G27 change eliminates disabling for human players double-tapping noodles (which are harmless/not dangerous)

[logank013]

Originally Posted by Logan Byers

• The G14 change is for team Phyxt-Red-Cards. <3 (sorry for the inside joke, it's a great story if anyone wants to hear it.)

Nice Joke!

[IndySam]

I can't believe this is our 8th CAGE Match. It seems like only yesterday that we got together to talk about the possibility of hosting an event.

Through the 8 years AndyMark and the Indiana teams have been there supporting this event. We couldn't do it without them.

[MechEng83]

Originally Posted by Logan Byers

G14

Teams may tether to the ROBOT before or after the match if needed to help with setup and/or removal of the robot from the FIELD. However, tethering must be done so safely.
VIOLATION: if unsafe operation occurs, RED CARD.

• The G14 change is for team Phyxt-Red-Cards. <3 (sorry for the inside joke, it's a great story if anyone wants to hear it.)

We certainly appreciate the need for the rule change <3

[Wayne Doenges]

I would love to see a rule change that allows Litter to partially support a stack.

[carpedav000]

Originally Posted by Wayne Doenges

I would love to see a rule change that allows Litter to partially support a stack.

Is there a story behind this?

[Taylor]

Originally Posted by Logan Byers

[*]The G14 change is for team Phyxt-Red-Cards. <3 (sorry for the inside joke, it's a great story if anyone wants to hear it.)

It's a story, and probably an entertaining one (especially when told by Danny Blau), but I don't know that I'd call it a great one...
<3

[logank013]

Originally Posted by carpedav000

Is there a story behind this?

My guess is that it has something to do with our human player or another human player in Indiana or Worlds... but I'm not 100% sure it's that.

[Wayne Doenges]

Originally Posted by carpedav000

Is there a story behind this?

In one of our district matches a noodle rolled under our stack and we got no points for it because the Litter was partially supporting the stack

[carpedav000]

Originally Posted by Wayne Doenges

In one of our district matches a noodle rolled under our stack and we got no points for it because the Litter was partially supporting the stack

I remember now.

[Taylor]

Exciting news:
This year's version of the CAGE Match will feature a STEM Fair. We will have booths set up where guests can participate in science experiments, learn more about colleges & universities, and be introduced to area advanced manufacturing & logistics facilities.

Also, we've got our lunch lineup finalized. This year we will feature four vendors:
Emergency Munchie Truck
Far-Out Fred's
Pierogi Love Indy
Taste of the Caribbean

So far seven teams have registered:
1529 - CyberCards - Indianapolis, IN
1741 - Red Alert - Greenwood, IN
4485 - Tribe Tech - Danville, IN
3138 - Innovators - Dayton, OH
461 - Westside Boiler Invasion - West Lafayette, IN
1501 - THRUST - Huntington, IN
3494 - The Quadrangles - Bloomington, IN

Teams that register by 9/14 will get a discount!

[Logan Byers]

Originally Posted by Wayne Doenges

I would love to see a rule change that allows Litter to partially support a stack.

While I remember seeing a noodle or two negate a stack/container score, I don't recall this being a very common issue. Is this maybe more common than what I thought?