<SG1>

Starting a Match. Prior to the start of each Match, the Robot must be placed such that it is:
  • Contacting at least one (1) of their Alliance’s Starting Tiles. See Figure 26.
  • Not contacting any Starting Tiles in the same Offensive Zone as their Alliance partner. One Robot must be in the red Offensive Zone, and one must be in the blue Offensive Zone. See Figure 20.
  • Not contacting any other gray foam field tiles, including the Match Load Zones.
  • Not contacting any Triballs other than a maximum of one (1) Preload. See rule <SG4>.
  • Not contacting any other Robots.
  • Not contacting any Barriers or Elevation Bars. Contact with the field perimeter and/or Match Load Bars is permitted, but not required.
  • Completely stationary (i.e., no motors or other mechanisms are in motion).
  • Note: The Triballs which start in each Match Load Zone must be contacting the Match Load Zone at the start of the Match. However, they may be repositioned during pre-Match setup by the Team whose Robot is using the Starting Tiles adjacent to that Match Load Zone. For example, in Figure 26, Red Robot 1 would be permitted to reposition the Triball in the lower-left red Match Load Zone.
    Violation Notes: The Match will not begin until the conditions in this rule are met. If a Robot cannot meet these conditions in a timely manner, the Robot will be removed from the field and rules <R3d> and <T5> will apply until the situation is corrected.



    Figure 26: The tiles in which Robots can start a Match.