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Official Q&A: VRC 2022-2023: Spin Up

Usage Guidelines All Questions

Does outside of roller bracket count as outside of the field S2


Afnan Ali (Event Partner)
14-Feb-2023

Does the outside of the roller bracket count as the outside of the field for the purposes of S2?

<S2> specifically says:

If a Robot comes in contact with anything outside of the field during the Endgame period or due to an early expansion, including the floor or the outside face of the Field Perimeter, it will automatically receive a Disqualification for that Match

Q&A1307 (https://www.robotevents.com/VRC/2022-2023/QA/1307) clarifies that endgames going through the net is also a violation of S2 even if it does not touch the outer face of the field walls or anything else. I interpreted that to mean the outer face of the string is considered something outside the field. Does a similar principle apply for touching out outside face of the roller bracket?

In this image you can see the string touches the upper face of the roller bracket on the right and the back face of the roller bracket on the left. https://drive.google.com/file/d/144FWz4hJlxsGLZCxWh_jtqL-MGyx_VFz/view?usp=share_link Currently I interpret the outside face of the roller bracket to not be considered outside the field because it is not specifically "anything outside of the field" or "the floor or outside face of the field perimeter" and does not have a Q&A that specifically clarifies it as being considered outside the field. Is that a correct interpretation?

I dont want to be pointlessly punitive but I understand safety is important and want to enforce the rules for that correctly.

Thank you, Afnan Ali

S2  
Answered by committee

In some instances, the Head Referee will have to make a judgment call as to whether they feel a Robot was, as stated in rule <S2>, "out of the field during the Endgame period or due to an early expansion" or not. Because the entire Roller structure sits within or on the Field Perimeter with no parts crossing the outside edge of the Field Perimeter, we would consider this specific example to be inside the field and not in violation of <S2>. See related Q&A 1467 for additional examples.