So I checked today and it looks like Volunteer Registration is now open! (Go sign up!)
But, one thing I noticed is that Official Scorer is back on the volunteer role list again. So it looks like in addition to “leaking” that this year’s game will include game pieces, they’ve now “leaked” that these game pieces will be scored in such a way that someone will need to count them.
Count game pieces as they are scored to help provide real time scoring during the match
Once each match is complete, the Official Scorer must do a final count of game pieces
This implies (to me at least) that game pieces won’t be “cycled” as in Rapid React or Infinite Recharge, but will be left in their scoring positions (though perhaps can be de-scored) with the final score determined at the end of the match, as in Destination Deep Space or (dare I say it) Recycle Rush (which were the last 2 games to use Official Scorers).
I would say that this doesn’t exclude automatic scoring just partially manual scoring at least.
One thing that I’m not familiar with is why weren’t the refs responsible for counting points Deep Space or Recycle Rush as they were static scoring and were either counted or not. This sounds more active scoring where it’s not just where it lies if it counts.
Oh yes, I expect that there would be more than one type of scoring task. This is just sounding like at least one scoring task will be of the count-up-scored-pieces-at-end type.
At Boiler Bot Battle, this past weekend, they had to replay 3-4 matches over because the sensors were scoring the balls incorrectly. These matches some balls were score as three or four.
Towards the end, they had scorers, on the sideline, keeping count. One person per ball exit.
It was actually low and high for red and blue. We were still running the scoring sensors, but verifying with the scorers. Towards the end of the day the sensors were correct most of the time.
Very thankful for non-automated scoring next year though.
Shades of Lunacy. Scorer thinks, “Did that robot just belch out 17 game pieces? Or was it 23? And how many missed the trailer? Oh well, I’ll just click a few times and we’ll count them after the match.”
As someone who has been Scorekeeper from 2019 onwards, I’m going to be rather persnickety and point out that “Scorekeeper” and “Official Scorer” are two completely separate volunteer roles.
Let me take you back to 2014 the last time refs were in charge of all scoring. The number 1 complaint from that year were refs missing possessions (scoring that year increased based on unique teams possessing the ball in unique zones) or missing fouls while counting possessions.
They then made refs count defense crossings in 2016 and missed crossings was a big complaint that year.
I feel like any year where the field doesn’t handle scoring itself we will have “official scorers” to take away this issue.
I am fairly certain that role has been on the list and not ultimately used at competitions for multiple years in the past. That being said, it might mean something if it was removed and put back… Or maybe someone just used an old list of possible roles.
FRC students aren’t as well versed in sports references as the general population. I’m sure some watch an NFL game for the first time and wonder where the Yellow Shirt is (Probably in the question box talking to a team captain… is that in the blue tent?)
After a few years with mostly automated scoring of game pieces, I like the idea of something that might be chaotic, or voluminous, enough to require people trying to make sense of the mayhem.
I suspect even many who regularly watch NFL games don’t really know the difference between football’s Referee, Umpire, and various Judges, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they get called the wrong term at least as much as FRC volunteers get called the wrong term.
