Are we supposed to memorize the rules?

[Koko Ed]

You don't have to memorize the rules but if you're part of the drives team you'd best have a decent to good knowledge of them if you want to win. It doesn't matter how many tubes your robot scores, how fast your drivetain is or how quick your minibot gets up the pole if your accumulating penalties left and right. Read the manual. Know the manual. Love the manual.

[GaryVoshol]

The referees don't memorize the rules. But they do know what they all say.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Inspectors memorize the robot rules and they will gladly prove that during your inspection. Be prepared!

[JVN]

Not all of them, just the ones you don't want to get penalized for.

[Mike Betts]

Originally Posted by Al Skierkiewicz

Inspectors memorize the robot rules and they will gladly prove that during your inspection. Be prepared!

Actually, the truly great ones still have past competitions imprinted in their gray matter and will ask you to remove your trailer hitch before putting your robot into the size box...

[Taylor]

We forgot our flagholder. Can anybody bring a PVC cap to BMR?

[EricH]

Flagholder? What's a flagholder?

You need either 4 square flashing LEDs or one big rotating light, I forget which.

[artdutra04]

And make sure your human player never moves off their spot, or your robot will be momentarily disabled.

[11douglash]

No... Don't memorize the rules... There's 133 pages of them, plus the unwritten ones the inspectors like to throw in.

What my team does is we appoint one or two people to go and know backwards and forwards the rules. They don't nessisarily have to have them all memorized, just know when to look at the rule book (ie, if there is an applicable rule). This person is also in charge of doing a mock inspection near the end of build so we don't get suprised at the real inspection at competition.

[Mike Betts]

Originally Posted by 11douglash

...plus the unwritten ones the inspectors like to throw in...

Alright... Who the heck let our secret out?

I'll bet ya it was that Assange character!

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by 11douglash

No... Don't memorize the rules... There's 133 pages of them, plus the unwritten ones the inspectors like to throw in.

I wish I could get a copy of the inspectors' unwritten rules in advance. Maybe you can start a list here?

[Mike Betts]

Originally Posted by Tristan Lall

I wish I could get a copy of the inspectors' unwritten rules in advance. Maybe you can start a list here?

Tristan,

If we write them down, they would no longer be unwritten!

We will need to keep to our present system and hand them down viva voce (after exchanging our secret handshake, of course)...

Mike

[Koko Ed]

I saw an example of a team that did not read the rules at FLR last weekend and kicked their human player out of the station at the beginning of a match and sent him back to the pits because he had nothing to do since the other two teams in the alliance sent their human players to the other side. Me and an inspector tracked him down and brought him back to the field and made him stay in the station and they were lucky that they had to restart the match or they would have goteen a penalty.
I've seen a human player on a team stand over by the judges chairs during a match and watch his team play at GTR and at DC a rookie coach darted out of his station suddenly and ran over to do something inexplicably with his cart while they were counting down to start the match and I had to drag him back to his station too.
It's one thing to not know or understand complex or obscure rules that come up every once in a while (like the extra point given to the winner of a minibot race in the case of a tie at FLR final 1) but not knowing basic and obvious rules are inexcusable. Period.

[Grim Tuesday]

I remember when we were at the stage of the season when we had to cut weight, and our team had decided to put "brakes" on the robot, which lifter the robot up, off the ground to be un-pushable. However, they were the first thing on the chopping block, since they were tertiary goals.

There were a few people against taking them off, and when it came to discussion, one of them said
"what if someone pushes us around while we are trying to score, like '07"

I facepalmed.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by 11douglash

There's 133 pages of them, plus the unwritten ones the inspectors like to throw in.

If you find any inspector 'throwing in unwritten rules' I want to know about it. Inspectors are trained to inspect to the rules. The inspection checklist has the rules listed on it. It was cross checked by at least six people before it was released.