Robotics Education & Competition Foundation
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Official Q&A: VEX IQ Robotics Competition 2024-2025: Rapid Relay

Usage Guidelines All Questions

2274: 2 person team cannot play at all?


299E
9-Nov-2024

<G11>[<G4>] We just went to an Event where a Team member had an emergency, leaving the Team with only 2 members. The Refs said the team could not compete with their Alliance Partner at all (meaning the Alliance Partner Loader could not be shared - do the job of 2 Loaders). Just confirming, this is correct? A 2 member Team is not allowed to field a robot at all? And yes, they asked all the other 40 Teams at the Event but no one was willing to take a member from their own Team and assign it to the 2-member Team for the rest of the day per the Game Manual rules. UPDATE: for the last match, they were kindly allowed to share a Loader, not ideal, but it was nice that the 2-person team could participate SUGGESTION TO CONSIDER: since this 2-person Team experienced no other student at the event being willing to be reassigned as a Loader to them, and we assume this might have happened to others, in this situation maybe allow an impartial Event Volunteer to be Loader since "Loader" has has become just a "throw - catch - drop" position at this point requiring no skill or strategy? That way the 3-person team will not be penalized for a 2-person team alliance partner

G4  
Answered by committee
14-Nov-2024

Clause C of rule <G4> provides multiple options that a Team can use to add a Loader if they only have two Students and cannot field a three-Student Drive Team.

The third subclause in that list reads,

There is no requirement for a Drive Team to have a Loader; if desired, they can play the Match with only two Drivers, and rely on their Alliance Partner’s Loader.