**I posted this question (below) in the regular Q&A on Oct 30th and it is still marked as "Pending Review" under my log in, but is not showing up as a "new question" for everyone else. Another Event Partner apparently asked a similar question on the same date and it is showing as "new-unanswered" (also below) yet he said the Game Manual is showing a change on "T11" that was not there when I asked the question, but still does not answer my question since putting the same school initials on all the balls would not make them "easier to distinguish" in terms of scoring.
Any ideas why mine is not showing or answered?
Karen Ash (Event Partner) 30-Oct-2024 titled "Marking of Balls" https://www.robotevents.com/VIQRC/2024-2025/QA/2242 on May 17 2024, the Q&A had a question posed titled "Marking of Balls to Help with Pass Scoring" that was answered by committee. The answer specifically said ..."marking/decorating the balls is not an approved modification"...."we may re-evaluate this topic". EVENT PARTNER PROBLEM: for as long as I can remember, we receive our Field Elements and immediately use a permanent marker to add our school initials. The few years that we did not do this, we lost elements at competitions. Has this Q&A Ruling been re-evaluated since this type of marking has never affected a color sensor in the past? AND I see <T11> "Minor aesthetic customizations...are permitted" as allowing this (the adding of school initials to each ball) which conflicts with the Q&A May 17th Ruling .<T11>
Jon Kitagawa (Event Partner) 30-Oct-2024 titled "Marking of Balls (revisited)" https://www.robotevents.com/VIQRC/2024-2025/QA/2241 On May 17th a QA post was made about marking balls for identification for the scoring referees. On June 6th the GDC replied and stated that marking/decorating balls is not an approved modification but would later revisit the topic if needed.
<T11> now specifically mentions this QA post and outlines that ball decorations making them easier to distinguish are not permitted. https://www.robotevents.com/VIQRC/2024-2025/QA/2019
Has the GDC reconsidered/revisited this stance since the posting? The volunteers at my events are older/retired individuals and have specifically asked if we could mark the balls so tracking them during passes would be easier for them. I unfortunately had to decline and say that under the current rules, this modification was not allowed.
Some teams also loan/borrow field elements to various events. In the past, these field elements sometimes have initials on the field elements written in permanent pen so that they can be returned to the correct school at the end of the event. Should these writings also not be allowed?