Did anyone else see it this way?

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Cory

However, seeing as they never attempted to score in that match, they should never have even raised their arm in the first place. The fact that their arm was raised all the way in the air, and contacting 233 outside of the bumper zone, while not attempting to score is illegal anyways.

They may not have intentionally got entangled, but it was clearly a conscious decision to use their arm to play defense.

Having watched 177 at several events this season, I can say that they always put their arm up while playing defense in order to avoid the gripper getting smashed between bumpers by being down low. The arm controller moves the arm up, then takes his hands off the controls while the base driver plays defense. It is clear to me that their intent was not to push/grab/pop tubes outside of the bumper zone, regardless of what occurred in the match.

In general, situations like this and others that occurred on the Curie and Archimedes fields are the result of what appears to be a "just let them play" approach to refereeing this year's game. It is hard to blame teams for what you might perceive as playing outside the rules when the referees are standing right there and allow them to play that way. As much as it hurts some, I say this is part of the game. If the refs are not calling something that you think should be called, you have to adjust your play style to deal with it.

Best of luck to all teams competing in offseason events!

RAZ