FAHA: When your team insists on cheating

[ChrisH]

Working on robot parts after Ship is not by itself illegal. There are specified work periods with time limits known as "fix-it windows". Some of those windows can only be used for making identical spare parts. Other windows can be used for making upgrade parts, that is parts with more functionality than those they replace. The availability of these windows depends on just when your regional is. Week 5 Regionals have more pre-event time than those in Week 2.

If your team works during the specified time periods, for no longer than the specified time and the total weight of fabricated parts brought into your venue is less than 25 lbs then the parts might in fact be legal.

The rules governing this <R29-R32> are almost a page long, not counting <R40 and R41> which cover the amount of material that you may bring into the arena. They are too long to reproduce here in their entirety.

So it might be that your mentors and team mates did not take the time to explain to you in detail why their actions are in fact legal. This is a problem because it troubles your conscience un-necessarily, but not a major violation of the rules. If you were asking about this as they are struggling to get the crate closed up for the truck that is due any minute, than I can somewhat understand a blow-off type answer. But they should have gotten back to you after the crate was safely on its way and explained what was up.

On the other hand if they did this intending to violate the established windows or in ignorance that fix-it windws do exist, then it is a different sort of problem and much more serious.

Read up on the rules mentiond above. Ask your teammates how thier actions are in compliance with those rules. If you are not satisfied with the answers then you might discuss the situation with the Head Inspector at your Regional. The Regional Committee Chair will know who that is and can refer you. If you still think there is a rule violation then you might have some hard choices to make, but I hope it doesn't come to that.