So my team and I are wondering if it is against the rules to push multiple skystones without supporting their weight to the building zone. It does say that you can only carry one stone at a time but I’m talking about basically just shoving multiple stones.
A similar question was asked on the FTC Forum. According to post #2 in this rules Q&A thread, what you are describing is legal.
Please review that ruling and make sure you agree. If you do not think that ruling covers your case, review the other Q&A answers to see if someone else asked a question that covers your situation. If not, you can ask for yourself.
Edit; I may have mis-understood your question. Are you planning to shove multiple stones in an attempt to move them into a position to make them easier to score, or are you simply talking about shoving them out of your way? If you gain a strategic advantage from the shoving (i.e. moving them into a position where you can score them) then this falls clearly into the “herding” rule GS3.a which is not allowed:
[GS3] Control/Possession Limits of Stones/Capstones – Once a Match begins; a Robot may Control or Possess a maximum of one (1) Stone and/or one (1) Capstone.
a) Plowing through any quantity of Stones or Capstones is allowed but herding or directing multiple Stones or Capstones to gain a strategic advantage (i.e., Scoring, accessibility, defense) is not allowed. The Penalty for Controlling or Possessing more than the allowed quantity is an immediate Minor Penalty for each Stone or Capstone above the limit plus an additional Minor Penalty per Stone or Capstone for each 5-second interval that this situation continues. A double Major Penalty will be assessed for each Stone or Capstone Scored while a Robot Controls or Possesses more than the allowed quantity. Continued violation of this rule will escalate to Yellow Cards quickly.
Herding stones is definitely against the rules. Refer to GS3 (linked to above by wgorgen) and the definition of “Control / Controlling” which reads:
An object is Controlled by a Robot if the object is following the movement of the Robot. Objects that are Controlled by a Robot are part of the Robot. See Possess / Possessing to learn about a related term. Examples include, but are not limited to:
• Carrying – holding one or more Game Elements Inside or Outside of a Robot.
• Herding – pushing or impelling one or more Game Elements to a desired location or direction that gains a strategic advantage beyond moving the Robot around the Playing Field.
• Holding – Trapping one or more Scoring Elements against a Game Element, Playing Field Wall, or Robot to shield or guard them.
• Launching – see definition below.
Examples of interaction with Game Elements that are not Controlled include, but are not limited to:
• Plowing – Inadvertent contact with Game Elements while in the path of the Robot moving about the Playing Field.
• Deflecting – Inadvertent contact with a Launched Game Element as it bounces off a Robot.
Generally speaking, in both FTC and FRC, when a game only allows you to control one game piece at a time you are not allowed to herd. You are absolutely allowed to move stones out of your way, such as moving the stones surrounding the Skystone so that you can grab it better, or moving multiple stones if they are preventing you from parking in the Building Site. You are not allowed to plow all the blocks in your quarry over to the building zone at the same time.
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