Did anyone else see it this way?

[IndySam]

Originally Posted by ALIBI

Isn't the intent of the bumpers and bumber zone to make certain that defensive contact be made within that zone? 177 does not have a ringer and should not be considered to be playing offence. IMHO, when a robot goes into a defensive mode, they must make certain, it is thier responsibility, that the first part of thier robot that touches another robot either be bumpers or a part of thier robot flush with the vertical plane where the bumpers would be if they do not have bumpers. Playing defense in such a way that a part of your robot that is outside the bumper zone makes contact with the opposing robot first is wrong. Incidental contact once in a while, OK, but driving around the field with your arm outside the bumper zone and repeatedly having it be the first part of your robot that contacts the opposing alliances robot should have been a penalty.

But if through the course of the competition no ref ever penalized them or even just warned them then they must correctly assume that they are playing within the rules. So you can’t blame them either. In their shoes I would have done the same thing.



My point of starting this thread was to show how difficult a referee’s job can be. We have the benefit of pictures and videos and we as a group can’t agree on what is correct. How can we expect a ref to decide in the heat of the moment and get it right every time?

Big thanks to the men and women who step and do this thankless job!