We have a few questions regarding G15-Trapping.
- G15<G15> states “A Robot may not Trap an opposing Robot for more than five seconds (0:05).” How should referees count a trap? There have been discrepancies between events, and we would like clarification.
Example one: A referee notices a trap has begun; the referee says “Trapping. 1,2,3,4,5.” <note each number is spaced out at 1 second intervals>. Example two: A referee notices a trap has begun; the referee says “1,2,3,4,5.” <note each number is spaced out at 1 second intervals>
Our concern is that in example one, it may allow teams an additional second to trap, resulting in a 6 second trap, as opposed to a 5 second trap. If both examples are allowed, at an event, should all referees count in the same way?
- Is it a violation of G15, if a referee says ‘5’ and the robot backs away? Or is it a violation if the team continues to trap after ‘5’ is stated? If the referee says “Tapping 1,2,3,4,5” would the ‘5’ be considered a ‘5’ second trap or would it be on the ‘4’ as the word ‘trapping’ would be considered the 1st second of the trap?
3.Additional Scenario: A team initiates a trap and the referee counts “1,2,3,4,5,6”; the team backs away and ends the trap on ‘6.’ When determining if this violation was match affecting, should the referees be considering the entire 6 seconds, or only the time after the 5 seconds?