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A Switch is Cleared once it has been struck by a Ball and is no longer parallel with the front face of the Goal Wall. Robots may not Clear Switches by contacting them directly (i.e., without it being part of the process of scoring a Ball through that Target). Please don’t over-think this rule. Sometimes a Switch gets Cleared without scoring a Ball through the Target, or a Ball is Scored through a Target but the Switch is not Cleared. That’s okay. Switches must be Cleared as part of normal gameplay, and by Balls, not Robots or humans. Beyond that, there are no restrictions on what type of Robot action, mechanism, strategy, or technique is used to Score Balls and Clear Switches.
Violation Notes:
All Violations of this rule are inherently Score Affecting, and therefore Major Violations. Violations of this rule should be rare, as Robots should never be designed to contact Switches directly. Significant Q&As 2023 - Referees should not “fix” the state of switches during a match 2033 - If a Ball becomes stuck in a Target or Switch, it should be cleared by a Robot 2081 - Scored Balls that are stuck in the Goal Wall may be cleared by a Referee 2236 - Switch tension is expected to vary based on the age of the Field Elements 2273 - A Switch must be visibly “not parallel” with the Goal Wall to count as Cleared