Poofs Red Card Question?

[FrankJ]

Originally Posted by martin417

The rules are never enforced literally. ... It appears to me that the refs give a break to newer or "non powerhouse" teams, and enforce the rules harshly on more established, better built, or "powerhouse" teams.

I don't disagree with that. I would use a term more tactful than harshly though. I do think that if you were to ask the GDC, they would tell you that they should be literally & uniformly enforced. Your bumper example is a great point. Which would you prefer? Strictly enforcing the rule so the robot is disabled, and not allowed back on the field until it is reinspected or a looser interpretation? Both ways have their merit. Easier to be uniform with the first way though.

While this is getting a bit off topic, I think that the conflict comes from trying to be an elite robot competition and a stem outreach program that is not about the robot at the same time.