Miscellaneous Tournament Rules - Answer Thread

[Administrator]

Answers to your questions about Tournament Rules that don't fall into the other established categories.

[JoAnn]

What is the minimum number of teams needed to hold a "valid" League Meet? Appendix B of the League Meet Guide mentions "a 10-team (minimum) League Meet", but I can't find anywhere else that directly answers this question.

For example, if a League has 10 teams, but on the day of the League Meet only 8 teams show up to the event (or only 8 teams have a robot that passes inspection), is 8 teams a sufficient "quorum" to proceed with the Meet and have those matches count towards the League Tournament?

Thanks!

Pm

Thanks for your question! Ideally, every team in a League will compete in every meet, but we realize that sometimes weather or other unexpected circumstances can cause a team to change their plans and not attend an event. When that happens, we generally allow the event to continue, and the matches to count toward the League Tournament, even if there are fewer than 10 teams participating.

If the circumstances warrant it, your local Affiliate Partner may decide to cancel or reschedule an event if they expect a low turnout. That decision would be made at the local level.

Thanks!

[Big Red Machine]

Pre-match: Using Gamepad During Init Phase to Set Up Autonomous?

During setup for a game match, teams set opmode for their autonomous program. The “Select OpMode” window easily gets cluttered with numerous autonomous OpModes. One idea the team had was to write a single autonomous OpMode that can be configured with a gamepad during the init phase of the OpMode. Assuming we don’t cause a delay of game, would this be legal for us to do?

A: Yes, you can use the gamepad to select which branch of your Autonomous OpMode you will run for a given match as long as the following remains true: 1) The setting is read in the init() phase; 2) The pressing of the gamepad is done prior to the referees randomizing the beacons; 3) It does not cause a delay in the start of a match; and 4) The only button you press at the beginning of the Autonomous period is the start button on the driver's station Android device.

[Billie Jean]

Miscellaneous Tournament Rules - Answer Thread

Just to clarify, does the ruling on the bill of materials from last year still apply? Our team was asked to provide a bill of materials at inspection at our last event even though the game manual still doesn't require a bill of materials. Thanks.

Link to previous year's post for reference: http://ftcforum.usfirst.org/showthre...ll=1#post21653

You are correct, the same rules will apply. The bill of materials is not required to be filled out by teams prior to inspection. Teams are required to conduct a self-inspection of their Robot using the Robot and Field Inspection sheets located in the Game Manual Part 1. Teams should submit the completed inspection forms at tournament check-in or at another designated place.

[Billie Jean]

Drive Team Coach

In the game manual it says that a drive team is made up of 2 drivers and 1 coach. Is the "coach" a team member who is verbally assisting the driver? or a literal adult coach of the team?

The Coach as part of the Drive Team can either be a student team member, or the actual adult coach of the team.

[Billie Jean]

Miscellaneous Tournament Rules - Answer Thread

1. Is the coach on the field with the 2 drivers able to write down notes or tally marks to keep track of the points that the other alliance is scoring while the match is going on?

2. Is the coach on the field able to have a scenario reference chart on the field with them to determine strategy as the match plays out?

A1: Yes
A2: Yes

[Billie Jean]

Miscellaneous Tournament Rules - Answer Thread

Is a bluetooth (speaker) allowed in the pit area? Rule T5 states No wireless communication is allowed. Does this apply to the pit areas, competition area or both?

This would violate rule <T16> No live bands are allowed in the audience or Pit. No loud music, audio systems, whistles, banging sticks, blow horns, etc. are allowed. They prevent Teams from hearing important announcements. Power may be shut off and/or noisemakers confiscated.

[Pierluigi Collina]

Tablet Computer in Driver Station

Is a wifi-disabled tablet allowed in the driver's station area?
It would be used for data entry and data analyses during a game.

Team #11115 - Gluten Free

Answer: No. Rule <G1> provides clear guidance that any device that may be mistaken by a casual observer to be a electronic communication device is not allowed.

[Pierluigi Collina]

If my robot loses connection in a match, and the Field Technical Advisor can prove that the problem isn't my code, my wiring, my battery, my robot controller battery, or my drivers station battery, can I ask for a replay of the match, since the lost connection is proven to not be a problem with my robot?

Answer: Per <G25> there are two conditions that must both be met for a match replay to be granted

1. A failure of a Game Element or verified Wi-Fi interference
2. An impact that is likely to have affected which Alliance won the Match

The failure described does not satisfy condition #1 and does not warrant a match replay.

[Pierluigi Collina]

Miscellaneous Tournament Rules - Answer Thread

If a match has to be replayed, based on a field failure (forgetting to start the 2-minute timer in Teleop), then:

#1. Should the teams replay autonomous (based on the fact that the robots were in different positions after autonomous and had played Tele-op for 10 seconds before the error was discovered and play stopped, and it wasn't clear exactly where they had started from).

#2. If they have to replay autonomous, do they have to position the robots in the same place and run the same autonomous routine, even if it caused a major penalty in the original autonomous run, or can they run whichever autonomous routine they want from whatever (legal) position they want to run?

Answer #1 if a match has been determined to be replayed, it is always replayed starting with the autonomous period.

Answer #2 The robots are not required start in the same positions. Standard robot set down order rules apply. (see <G2>).

[Pierluigi Collina]

Holding Driver Station Phone during Teleoperated Period

Is the drive team allowed to hold the driver station phone and USB hub during the teleoperated period?

Answer: Yes. There is nothing in the rules that prohibits members of the drive team from holding the driver station phone during the driver controlled period.

[Billie Jean]

Miscellaneous Tournament Rules - Answer Thread

In the league meet guide in appendix R there are recommendations from FIRST of products to use on the mat for competitions:

MOST EFFECTIVE

In climates when the humidity is less than 45%, FIRST recommends that Partners follow one of the actions
below to reduce static buildup on the Robots:
1. Use a commercial AntiStatic spray. We recommend ZERO Charge Anti-Stat or Staticide. We do not
recommend Static Guard or other products meant for clothing.
a. Tape the Fields prior to using spray.
b. Spray the Field tiles at least 1 hour prior to Field use. Please be sure the area is well ventilated.
c. Spray the Field tiles until they are damp.
d. Allow the Field tiles to dry before use.
i. Note: AntiStatic sprays will change the characteristics of the Field tiles. It is important to
communicate this in advance to Teams in your Region.
e. AntiStatic spray will need to be reapplied at every Competition.

EFFICTIVE

2. Use Water
a. Add water to a spray bottle.
b. Spray water on field tiles.
c. Field tiles must be damp for this solution to be effective.
d. Reapply every 10 to 15 minutes.



My questions are:

Will tournaments use something to mitigate static this season, such as anti-static spray, or water?
If tournaments are using spray or water to mitigate static, is there a requirement that they use it for the whole season?

The document created by FIRST provides two options (as stated above) for static mitigation. The “most effective” being staticide, and the second most effective being the water solution. The official answer from FIRST is that Affiliate Partners and Event Directors are able to decide whether or not to use either static solution. Some regions suffer more from static issues than others, and making an all or nothing ruling about static mitigation doesn’t serve the entire FIRST Tech Challenge community. There are pros and cons to both solutions, and the decision is in the hands of the Affiliate Partner or Event Director at all levels of events leading up to the State/Regional Championship Tournament.

FIRST works closely with our Super Regional Hosts to determine whether or not the Super Regionals and World Championships will use these solutions or not. The decision will be completely for, or against, the use of these options. Teams attending a Super Regional or either World Championship will be notified of the outcome.

[Pierluigi Collina]

Yellow/Red Cards During Elimination Matches

If a team - in an alliance - gets a yellow card for beacon bashing during the elimination round and then a second- alliance team member gets a yellow card for beacon bashing ...
1-is the entire alliance disqualified?
2- can they still get awards?

Answer 1: During the elimination matches, if an alliance member earns a 2nd Yellow Card, they (and the entire alliance) receive a Red Card and Match Disqualification and thereby lose the match.

Answer 2: Receiving cards during the elimination match does not affect the eligibility for awards.

[Pierluigi Collina]

Warnings for Field Damage

When it comes to beacon pushing-- does a referee only give 1 warning for the entire tournament? Ex: If the first warning was in match #1-- and then in match #50 there is a another incident of aggressive beacon pushing by the same robot- is this then a yellow card violation for escalation of aggressive play. Alternatively , Is the yellow card reserved for multiple warnings in one match.
Thanks

Answer: A team that is warned at an event for aggressive game play that is deemed to be at risk of damaging the field, should expect escalation for all subsequent aggressive game play. i.e. only one warning for the entire tournament

Play smart once you have been warned!

[Billie Jean]

Official Team Size

Game Manual Part I says, "An official FIRST Tech Challenge Team consists of no more than 15 student Team members." If a team does not conform to this definition (for example, if more than fifteen students show up at a competition, or if the Team section of the Engineering Notebook lists more than fifteen students), should judges take this into account when determining awards?

FIRST Tech Challenge has put the 15 student limit in place to ensure that each student is able to have a very active and meaningful role on the team. This does not mean that a team is disqualified from awards or competition for having more than 15. When there are more than 15 students on a team, we encourage the judges to look at the larger team with a higher expectation of what they have accomplished given the additional resources.