What is a hurdle?

FIRST General Forum
#1

::The Game, RevA::

HURDLE: When a TRACKBALL CROSSES a FINISH LINE while passing above the OVERPASS
and then contacts either the floor or another ROBOT before re-contacting the originating ROBOT.

So, does this mean that after you get the ball over the overpass, your bot has to touch it again before it counts? Is there a time limit here? What if you throw the ball over the overpass and then your robot is blocked, or the match ends, so you can’t touch the thrown ball right away… Does this mean your hurdle doesn’t count??

#2

Seems to just mean you can’t touch the ball again after it crosses the finish line, until it hits the floor or another robot. The score counts, as far as that reads.

#3

What it means is it doesn’t count if your bot throws the ball and catches it before it hits the ground or another bot.

#4

I’m pretty sure that the intent of this definition is that “re-contacting the originating ROBOT” simply refers to the case where the originating robot does in fact come into contact with the Trackball again, rather than mandating it. You don’t have to touch it again… it just says what needs to happen first if you do.

#5

To me this rule is intended to prevent teams from creating a robot that will just spit the ball up and back down into the bot on the other side of the overpass. I know my former team in 2006 was able to get the robot to simply pop the ball out of the flywheel and back into the hopper at low enough of a speed. This rule is intended to prevent such an action from allowing a team to score an astronomical amount of points in such a manner.

#6

can we catapult launch the ball?

#7

I don’t know can you?? :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

#8

A question we had regarding this is if the TRACKBALL is allowed to come in contact with the bridge during the act of Hurdling? Does it in fact need to pass completely over without touching the bridge.

I know, this is really a question for the GDC.

#9

HURDLING: The act of completing a HURDLE. To be considered in the process of HURDLING,
the ROBOT must:
• be in its own HOME STRETCH, and
• be in POSSESSION of a TRACKBALL, and
• be moving toward the OVERPASS and/or elevating the TRACKBALL so that the top of the
TRACKBALL is higher than the LANE DIVIDER.

As long as you fulfill these requirements, so you’ll have to catapult the ball while moving.

#10

I don’t know if I’m insane or I’m just missing this. I remember someone during the kickoff say that in order for a hurdle to count that the ball had to touch the ground first, then go over the overpass, and then touch the ground/another robot.

However according to the definition of Hurdling in the Game Manual it just says it has to go over the overpass and contact the floor/another robot before re-contacting the original robot…so does this mean we don’t have to do anything special before we hurdle?

#11

Either you have to be moving forwards, or the ball has to be above the lane divider before you hurdle.

#12

But what’s that last part mean? Does the robot have to be in contact with the ball until it reaches the height of the lane divider in order to be in possession? or can we just spread appart our shooter wheels from '06 a little :ahh:

#13

I don’t feel that the definition of hurdling is relevant here.

So it seems to me that a catapult fits the requirement to score since the ball is going over the overpass and will definitely hit the ground/another robot afterwards. In the rulebook, the definition of hurdling only seems to matter for obstruction/defense related rules.

#14

I agree. HURDLING is a definition meant to protect a robot while it is scoring from aggressive play that is otherwise legal; a HURDLE is what happens when the trackball passes over the overpass and touches the ground or a non-originating robot. At least that’s how I read it.

#15