Rule R17 - the flag requirement

[EricH]

Originally Posted by mwhebert

Can the flag be mounted on a flexible pole, so for example a ball could pass by? I didn't see anything that disallows this, but want to be sure.

Thanks!

The flagpoles are flexible. According to the manual:

<R17> ROBOTS must use one of the two FLAGS provided at the event queuing location to display their ALLIANCE color (red or blue). The FLAG shall be held in a flag holder mounted on the ROBOT. [...]The flag holder must be permanently mounted to the ROBOT such that when the ROBOT is in any PLAYING CONFIGURATION and the FLAG is in the flag holder, the FLAG is approximately vertical and the top of the FLAG is 75 inches above the floor. As the flag pole is approximately 36 inches long, that means the top of the flag holder must be 51 inches above the floor. [...]

I've underlined the relevant phrases here. The pole itself is somewhat flexible, but I think the emphasized portions imply that it's a hard mount to the frame. I also am not on the GDC, so if you want to have a rotating holder, you should ask Q&A first.