Since the chance of getting penalties this year is so high and the penalties are large (30 points) it seems very logical that allot of teams will end up with a negative point total. This also means that both teams will end up with a negative ranking score for that round. I couldn’t find anything in the rules or Q&A system that addresses this. What are your thoughts?
Your ranking score is a factor of how bad your opponent screws up.
In the past the lowest score you could get was 0 but as Dave keeps telling us previous years rules dont apply so i put the question in the Q&A forum for you
1504 Section: 4.3 Status: Unanswered Date Posted: 2/5/2005 Q: Can a Team get a negative score, and if so how will it effect the winning alliance’s ranking score
Negative scoring could be a possibility, and while the rules don’t currently address it, with updates appearing on the FIRST site more than weekly, I think we can expect an answer soon.
Most penalties are 10 points. 30 points is only for messing with a robot loading a tetra in the loading zone.
But that seems like it will likely happen a lot just accidentally. A team is in a hurry and doesnt quite make their turn and nails a robot trying to get a tetra…
I seriously doubt there will be many matches with enough penalties to even get to that situation…
And if FIRST keeps tradition, the score will just stay 0
Robots will not just accidentally be bumping their opponents while in their opponent’s tetra loading zone. Being on the other side of the field makes a case for the intent of blocking. Finding your robot, “accidentally” hitting your opponent while they are in their loading zone will be a empty excuse.
Andy B.
If you say so… But in my observation robots hit just about everything on the field so chances are a few robots are going to hit other robots in the loading zone. This probably wont be much of a problem for teams with designated and well trained drive teams, but for teams (like mine) that do not have a designated drive team, and none of whose members have gotten a good chance to practice driving it might be a bit of a problem. And one has to consider that in order to hit the other teams robot in the loading zone the robot has to be on the opposite side of the field so the vision of the drivers is obstructed. Thats just my take on things.
The solution to that “problem” is obvious: practice driving.
According to FIRST Q&A there will be NO negative scores.
So before you score your first point, hit one of the opponent robots in their scoring zone. That way you won’t get penalized with 30 points 
Wayne Doenges
CAD Mentor
I don’t think that would be “gracious professionalism.” Oh well. As long as it doesn’t “seriously affect the outcome of the match.” Otherwise your robot could get disabled, and your alliance might lose.
I believe that penalties are factored into the score at the end of the match, so it would still affect your score to it’s max potential, unless you have no points at the end.
It would’ve helped if FIRST had had a penalty in its demonstration video. They demonstrated every scoring technique…except for negative scoring (penalties).
Which is exactly WHY they made it a 30 point penalty. They want you to stay far away from the human player and so a big penalty. The refs will likely have penalty flags like they had last year, and they will be added in at the end of the match.
Being in a hurry doesn’t justify an accident. Many people get speeding tickets, their “excuse” was that they were in a hurry. I’ve been at the scene of at least one ‘I was in a hurry’ where a pedestrian in a crosswalk wasn’t going to be walking again anytime soon. Attitudes in one part of life tend to carry over to others.
Wetzel
Do you see many teams going over to the other side to block and/or hassle the other team?
I can see some non-GP coming into play. Say your on the other side of the field near an opposing teams bot thats in the loading zone. What keeps a fellow opposing team bot from hitting you and forcing you into the bot in the loading zone? He could say it was an accident but you still get the 30 point penalty :ahh:
Does anyone see any goal owing from the opponents side to you side (diagonal or straight line)?
I may have to take off my shoes and socks to keep the score straight
Lets have fun this year 
Wayne Doenges
CAD Mentor
This was addressed in Update #4. reading all the examples, the robot that caused the infraction earns the penalty. It does not matter that they used an intermediary.
It is not to provide a means to gain an advantage by penalizing your opponent.
Wetzel
Oh… There went my plan .