I am the drive coach for my team this year and we are a rookie team. I was looking into the rules specifically G302, I was wondering if I should be prepared to stand up for/defend the fact that we will need to have at least 2 phones and a watch with us. I know for medical reasons it is okay I was just wondering if I should be prepared for someone to ask about it since we have 2 people with CGMs who need their phone and one who needs a watch to monitor their heart and notify them of issues.
You should communicate your accessibility needs to to your PDP before your event and to your HR at the event.
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I’ll also note that HRs aren’t in the habit of going through pockets to find phones. If they’re out in hands, that’s another matter…
Definitely advise the PDP and HR.
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Keep in mind that G302 is specifically for using the devices during the match. You are allowed to have other devices with you (like phones and watches) as long as you do not use them during the match.
Also reading further, if use is needed for medical reasons just let the FTA and head ref know that that is what the potential use during the match is and I’m sure they’ll be able to accommodate.
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Okay, thank you all so much. I was just trying to keep the unneeded stress of what happens if their alarms go off mid match away from the drive team as much as I can. I will definitely find the FTA or head ref and see if there’s anything we should do
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The key words in there are “for use during the match”. I haven’t seen examples of people getting in trouble for the phone or earbuds that are in their pocket.
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Its definitely up to interpretation via the staff. I had my phone clearly visible in my shirt pocket the entire event at Blacksburg and nobody cared when I was at the driver station. But I’m sure you could get in trouble in some places for it.
Theoretically you could be receiving strategic info via haptic feedback.
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Even as a “grown responsible adult” I ignored my CGM pre match this year thinking that being at a trend to go low would be no big deal. By the time we finished the match I had crashed below 40 and the alarms were going off like crazy. Be sure that the kids are taking care of themselves before, after, and during the match. I have a bag of Skittles in our cart for emergencies and more appropriate long term carbohydrates in our pit just in case. Nobody is useful at all if they can’t think straight and their body doesn’t cooperate with their mind.
My experience was a good reminder to play it safe and check my sugar well before I get myself into trouble and it’s too late. Help them learn to not let those alarms have a chance to go off at all early and it will help them for years to come.
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Yeah I don’t actually think you need to tell any refs ahead of time about a student’s medical info.
If a kid has to see their phone during a match for medical info, it can be explained after the fact if and when it happens and if a ref calls someone on it.
There’s not always a need to share this kind of info ahead of time, and you as not their guardian aren’t really authorized to do so anyway.
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The question of “can you explain faster than the Yellow Card?” is not one you really want to ask. In some areas, it’s possible to do that*. In others, not so much. And yes, it IS a Yellow Card to use an unauthorized device during a match!
However, there’s a few things that I think should be considered:
- Minimum required information. The HR doesn’t need to know what you have. They need to know that you need X. End it there, HR got no business asking further.
- Timing/Location. You really don’t want to be contesting a YC from the question box after it’s been issued. In this case, you could probably get it removed… probably. An ounce of prevention, in the form of the student(s) mentioning “I have a condition that may require my phone out” to the HR, is going to be helpful. It’ll at least slow down the card while someone checks.
- If the HR knows, they can–if needed–run interference on others calling for cards/delayed start. Along the lines of “It’s an allowed use under G302. My ruling is final per 6.7.”
*Refs are surprisingly attentive to the Human stations if their quadrants are quiet. Some HRs would go for the card right away; some would check G302 allowances first. It’s hard to tell which you get until you have to test it. Seeing a phone pop out of hiding–rather than into a pocket–is going to catch someone’s attention pretty quick.
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First chess, now FRC???
What you never heard of the tactic pipeline between chess and FIRST?
We’re not healthcare providers regulated by HIPAA. In any case, anyone responsible for a minor should have a medical consent form signed by a parent or guardian that authorizes them to take action to insure the health of the minor, which includes doing whatever is necessary to make sure that the minor isn’t deprived of or encouraged not to use medically necessary devices. Not only are we authorized to take such action, we are expected to do so by the parents/guardians that entrust their students to our care.
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The FTA and Head Ref value safety above everything. They will not penalize you for something like this.
You might want to ask in the Q&A if a medical incident occurs during a match that the match can be stopped at any time. I would be surprised if this isn’t in the rules already bc it’s pretty sensible.
opening = autonomous
mid game = teleop
end game = end game
Elo = Elo
touch it, move it = touch it, own it
…
I see
I worried about this with my bone conduction headphones. I can feel them vibrate sometimes, even off my head just in my hand. I sometimes forget I’m wearing them so I’m making it a habit of leaving them in our pit, instead of stowing them in my back pocket, when we go out to a match. I don’t want to even be questionable.
I want to say there’s some precedent for a match stop and replay, after some incidents last year.
But it’s worth asking the question.
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If you need to have a phone, headbuds, earphones, or other potentially-problematic device on you for some reason, talk to the head ref before matches start. They will probably have you show that it’s in airplane mode. (I’ve even seen this allowed for a driver who needed to listen to music on headphones in order to concentrate.)