I have been the head referee at a number of central Florida events. The biggest rule violation I have seen for this game is teams accidentally touching the barrier adjacent to Elevation bar in the last 30 seconds of the match. At a competition last Saturday at Apopka HS there were a significant amount of minor violations given out for this rule alone. I believe the way the rule is written is unfairly penalizing teams attempting to play offensively and score triballs. The rule states: <SG11> Elevation is protected. During the last 30 seconds of the Match, Robots may not contact the following:
a-The opposing Alliance’s Elevation Bars b-Opponent Robots who are contacting their Elevation Bars c-Opponent Robots who meet the definition of Elevated d-The Short Barriers adjacent to the opposing Alliance's Elevation Bars.
I believe this rule needs immediate clarification. This rule is written to protect teams going for the elevation points at the end of a game, but with the way it is written in part d penalizes teams who touch the adjacent barriers to the opposing Alliance Elevation Bars with NO consideration on where the opposing alliance is on the field. In the last 30 seconds there is likely to be many triballs around those bars so teams playing offensively attempting to score these triballs are being penalized for slightly bumping into this adjacent bar, EVEN IF the opposing alliance is not attempting to elevate. The rule clearly states that robots may NOT contact the short barriers adjacent, but I am looking for clarification on if there is some leeway given out if the opposing alliance is not making any attempt to elevate.