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Clarification of "Momentary" Possession


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13-May-2020

This question is posted based on a VEX Forum thread and on behalf of a frequent volunteer in Arizona.


According to <SG8>:

Robots may not have greater-than-momentary Possession of more than three (3) Balls of its opposing Alliance’s color at once.

Since "momentary" is not defined, would the following scenario be permitted within the rules?

Red Robot approaches a Goal containing one or more blue Balls while currently in Possession of three blue Balls. Red robot descores the Balls in the Goal, so that it is momentarily holding more than three blue Balls. Then, the Robot immediately ejects the additional blue Balls, so that the Possession of greater than 3 blue Balls is around 5 seconds long.

Is there any rule-of-thumb that referees should follow when considering similar scenarios?

Answered by Game Design Committee

The full text of SG8 reads as follows, with a portion bolded for emphasis:

<SG8> Possession is limited. Robots may not have greater-than-momentary Possession of more than three (3) Balls of its opposing Alliance’s color at once. When two Robots from the same Alliance are working in tandem and blocking Balls, those Robots may not Possess a total of more than six (6) Balls of its opposing Alliance’s color at once.

Robots that violate this rule must stop all Robot actions except for those actions that are attempting to remove the excess Ball.

Minor violations of this rule that are not Match Affecting will receive a warning. Match Affecting offenses will result in a Disqualification. Teams that receive multiple warnings may also receive a Disqualification at the Head Referee’s discretion.

Provided that the Robot in question immediately ceases all other actions (e.g. driving, scoring, lifting a mechanism, intaking, etc), and ejects the extra Balls, this scenario would be legal.

Is there any rule-of-thumb that referees should follow when considering similar scenarios?

When a VRC-specific definition is not available, a standard dictionary definition should be used. The Oxford definition of "momentary" is "lasting for a very short time; brief".

It will be at the Head Referee's discretion if a given Robot has exceeded a "momentary" violation, if the violation is Match Affecting, and/or if the Team has received multiple warnings prior to this violation.