Is defense necessary in practice rounds?

[MrForbes]

at AZ regional the practice rounds were much more laid back than the the action on Friday. Most practice rounds were missing a team or two or three, and many of the teams were indeed having trouble just getting the robot working. So there really isn't much opportunity to practice strong defense, and it could be quite annoying to those teams who are struggling with whatever operational problems they're having.

On the other hand, if your robot does have trouble dealing with the mild skirmishes in practice, you'll be in big trouble on Friday and especially Saturday...best to find the weaknesses early so you can have more time to figure out a way to fix them!

So perhaps the best approach is to discuss your defensive practice plans ahead of time with the other teams, and only engage in "rough play" with permission. And if you are asked about it, you might consider letting the opposing teams practice defending you, because it is a major part of the game and you need to figure out how to deal with it as soon as possible.