Accroding to <RSC3>, during Skills setup:
In addition to the Preload, Teams may place a second Ball anywhere in Starting Zone 1 (i.e., the one closest to the Pickup Zone) to begin the Match.
We see two possible interpretations:
- Mandatory: the team must (implicit) place the second ball and it may be placed anywhere in the Starting Zone, or
- Optional: the team may choose not to place the second ball at match start, possibly waiting until sometime after the timer starts - or even never. If so, it would be good to clarify whether the 2nd ball would start Loader-controlled: to be loaded Rapidly or not depending on whether the Loader chooses to place the ball during a Rapid Load period.
Movitation for inquiry: We have a team that wants to delay placing the second ball until after the match timer starts, and they want to confirm that it's OK for the Loader to hold onto the 2nd ball on match start in order to wait for an autonomous routine to move their robot to a desired location first.
As a side note, the Head Ref Certification Test includes a question in Unit 7 that asks, "How many Balls begin the Match on the Robot or on the Field for a Robot Skills Challenge Match?"
The accepted answer is: "2; one on the Robot, and one in Starting Zone 1"
If placing the 2nd ball at Match start is optional, then the question should be slightly updated.