Car Nack Predicts 3/06

[Jessica Boucher]

I definitely agree with Car Nack, and completely disagree with Dave. (Sorry, Dave )

Although it is a fantastic solution, I feel that the desire for low match turnaround time at a FIRST event will overpower any "checks" such as Dave proposed, or any other additional "check" than the inspection at the beginning. I can imagine that after the first time a team overturns a decision based on ball speed, teams will be more attune to the problem and thus request a check more often than if the issue was nipped in the bud even before the event begins.

Teams need to trust that every team is keeping within the rules set out by FIRST. I know they don't all the time, but I think the only way to stick to the idea of "referees calls are final" is by not allowing an overturn. Poor match calls can make-or-break the team perspective of an event, and thus referees should be chosen for their experience, so that if a situation arises it can be handled quickly and correctly. Selecting experienced referees also cuts down on the amount of issues missed, and decreases the amount of overturns.

Bottom Line? Which would you rather have, more matches while trusting your opponents are keeping within the same rules that you stuck to, or less matches and distrust of every team out there? I think we've come too far as the FIRST Community to regress to the latter decision.

Side note: If it is not addressed in the season, I think FIRST will be overwhelmed in the team forums about this particular point. And, it's not like that hasn't happened before!