Palmetto Regional Week 0.5

[Nuttyman54]

Originally Posted by Boltman

I concur I think teams expecting a ref to see the nuanced move of entering the courtyard and backing into "protection" are dreaming. The only way I see this working consistently is when crossing before you leave the platform (slight pause) you shoot HG because of the initial "protection" of the obvious crossing action.

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Don't count on getting calls or credit. That's a failed assumption in a game as complex as this from a reffing standpoint (and scouting standpoint)

I disagree entirely. Although the onus is on the teams to clearly have their bumpers in the OUTER WORKS, the refs should be paying attention regardless. Remember, CROSSING is only one direction (Neutral Zone to Courtyard) but TRAVERSING is either direction. The protection clause applies to TRAVERSING. Regardless of if I have a ball and intend to shoot or not, the refs should be watching for when my bumpers cross into the OUTER WORKS, because I may be intending to TRAVERSE back to the Neutral Zone, not necessarily shoot.

I agree it is a tough game to ref, and refs will miss things, but it's also their job to enforce the rules as best as possible. If I do my best to make it obvious that my robot bumpers are in the OUTER WORKS, I should expect be protected from interference, regardless of when/how/from what direction I approach the OUTER WORKS.

*Disclaimer: My team is not shooting at all, and has a mechanism to open the Sally Port from the neutral zone so as not to rely on the "tap" method.*