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Official Q&A: VRC 2018-2019: Turning Point

Usage Guidelines All Questions

80: Minor Field Damage Clarification


6671X
16-Sep-2018

A question from one of my team members:

<G18> Replays are allowed, but rare. Replays are at the discretion of the Event Partner and Head Referee, and will only be issued in the most extreme circumstances.

<R3> The following types of mechanisms and components are NOT allowed:

a. Those that could potentially damage playing field components.

b. Those that could potentially damage other competing robots.

c. Those that pose an unnecessary risk of entanglement.

<S1> Be safe out there. If at any time the Robot operation or Team actions are deemed unsafe or have damaged any Field Elements or Game Objects, the offending Team may be Disabled and/or Disqualified at the discretion of the Head Referee. The Robot will require re-inspection before it may again take the field.

In the quarterfinals of a local tournament yesterday, the red alliance ran into a low flag in autonomous in such a way that it pivoted past 90 degrees (which isn't supposed to happen). Red also passed the center line in autonomous and blue scored more points. Here is a recording of the incident.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/12NUL5WUIM0Lj3L41kPdXv0H2qCM06qZx/view?usp=sharing

After some discussion, the head referee ruled that the damage to the field was too severe to continue playing the match. So, they reset the flag, told the four teams to reset their robots, and restarted the match. This time, red won the autonomous period, and then they ended up winning the match by 3 points (the winner of autonomous was match affecting).

I understand that the head referee's decision is final and that the calls for replays are made at their discretion. But in the same situation in the future, what is the correct call? Is the match replayed? Is the match continued with blue winning autonomous? Is the red robot disqualified or disabled?

Thank you!

Answered by Game Design Committee

First - as you noted, replays are always an option at the discretion of the Head Referee and Event Partner. Once a decision to replay has been made, the previous match is no longer relevant in any Match Affecting determinations, should they arise. Decisions made at an event by a Head Referee are final, and cannot be overturned by Q&A post after the event.

In this specific instance, for crossing the Autonomous Line, the Red Alliance would have been assessed an <SG3> violation and the Autonomous Bonus would have gone to the Blue Alliance.

In the future, over-rotating a Flag does not need to be cause for a replay. However, if done intentionally or repeatedly, it could be considered a violation of <S1>. Thus, <G10> may apply:

<G10> Rules still apply in the Autonomous Period. Any infractions committed during the Autonomous Period that are not Match Affecting, but do affect the outcome of the Autonomous Bonus, will result in the Autonomous Bonus being automatically awarded to the opposing Alliance.

a. Teams are responsible for the actions of their Robots at all times, including during the Autonomous Period. Any infractions committed during the Autonomous Period that are Match Affecting can result in a Disqualification, if warranted by the rule.

If the match had not been replayed, then the over-rotated Flag would have been considered in any Match Affecting determinations (i.e. if the Match ended up being within the point value of one over-rotated Flag).