Video Review Needs to Happen Now

[EmileH]

My take on this is that if FIRST were to make attempts to introduce a video review system, it would need to be piloted and slowly rolled out, like Districts, or webcasting. You can't just flip a switch and make it happen. After reading a lot of the comments in this thread, I will not be taking a dedicated stance on it since I share opinions from those on both sides of the fence. Yes, it is not OK to allow students to leave events disappointed and discouraged from their hard work because of a referee misstep - but as a soccer referee, I know what it's like to be on the other side. Learning to deal with disappointment and seeing what YOU can do to make YOUR robot better is a much better thing to get out of it than to get angry at the referees or get angry at FIRST.

If a system of video review were to be implemented, there would be several requirements and constraints that would need to be addressed.

1) It costs a lot of money to have the events record the matches. I don't know how many fields are circulating within FIRST, but a camera and recording system would need to be included with every field if this system were to be fully implemented. One way to solve the cost constraint is to get a camera company to sponsor FIRST, maybe GoPro, Samsung, or Sony, and they could work in collaboration with FIRST to supply, design, test and implement the system.

2) It delays matches and the flow of the event. I like the idea that was thrown out earlier of limiting the amount of video replays that one team can call. I would think that limiting it to 2 replays per elimination alliance is a fair number. Also to keep from delaying robot flow, you can limit the number of team members who may come to the question box to 1 or 2, such that the rest of the team can be removing the robot from the field. There's a reason you only have one timeout coupon in the eliminations. There's a reason that you only have one backup robot to call in - it just takes up too much time, and takes away from the appeal of the other teams and the visiting public, which at a certain point you must take into account.

3) There's not enough camera coverage. I don't think I've seen any FRC event this year that has less than 3 cameras covering the field on the webcast. If FIRST were to implement the system, it would need to have multiple camera angles aimed at the field - it is also possible to use the existing equipment that many events use to record their matches. These would be logistics that would need to be figured out in the pilot and testing period.

Not taking a stance, just providing solutions. If we decide against video review, what solutions will be provided to prevent referee mistakes?