Session 6: Safety and General Game Rules
The safety and general game rules are rarely modified. This helps with consistency across different seasons.
Safety Rules
<S1> If at any time your robot operation or team actions are deemed unsafe, or you have damaged a field element, scoring object, or the field, your team may receive a disablement and/or a disqualification at the discretion of the head referee. If you are disabled due to an unsafe robot, it will have to be re-inspected before taking the field again.
<S2> Students cannot attend a VRC event without a responsible adult supervising them. The adult must not violate student-centered policies and be present in case of emergencies. Violations of this rule may result in removal from the event.
<S3> A robot must stay inside the game field. If a robot is completely out of the playing field, it will be disabled for the remainder of the match. If parts of the robot inadvertently cross the perimeter during normal game play, this is fine.
<S4> All drive team members must wear safety glasses (or glasses with side shields) while in the alliance stations during matches. It is highly recommended that all team members wear safety glasses in the pit areas as well.
General Game Rules
<G1> Always treat everyone with respect. (Showing disrespect to staff, volunteers, or fellow competitors can result in a disqualification or make the team ineligible to receive judged awards.)
<G2> V5RC is a student-centered program. Adults may assist students in urgent situations, but adults may never work on or program a robot without students being present and actively participating. <G4> Students should be able to show judges and event staff their understanding of their robot’s construction and programming. Your robot needs to reflect the skill level of the team.
Your robot must:
- <G5> begin each match smaller than 18″ long by 18″ wide by 18″ tall
- <G6> stay together (cannot intentionally detach parts)
- <G7> not clamp onto any part of the field (other than the elevation bars)
<G8> Only drive team members (up to 3) can be in the alliance station. They cannot bring communication devices into the alliance station (unless communication features are turned off). They cannot stand on any sort of object during a match.
<G9> Keep your hands out of the field (cannot break the plane of the field perimeter) except to:
- turn robot on or off, plug in battery, radio, or start program during the driver controlled period (and only if robot has not moved at all during the match)
- reintroduce a ring that has exited the field (when handed to you by a referee)
<G11> During the autonomous period, drive team members cannot interact with the robots in any way, directly or indirectly. This includes activating anything with the controller or manually triggering sensors. <G12> Teams are responsible for the actions of their robots at all times… this includes during the autonomous period. Any violations committed during the autonomous period which affects the outcome of the autonomous bonus will result in it being awarded to the opposing alliance. If both alliances commit violations during the autonomous period, then no bonus will be awarded.
<G13> You cannot destroy other robots, but you should be prepared to encounter defense. Teams should never use strategies aimed on destruction, damage, tipping over, or entangling opposing robots. Defensive play that does not involve these strategies is fine. Incidental tipping, entanglement, or damage occurring as a part of normal gameplay will not be a violation. The head referee decides if an interaction is incidental or intentional. You should design your robot so that it is not easily tipped over or damaged by minor contact.
<G14> In any interaction, the offensive robot gets the “benefit of the doubt.” If forced to make a judgement call, referees will err on the side of the offensive robot.
<G15> You cannot force an opponent into a penalty. Most of the time, if a team causes their opponent to break a rule, the head referee will simply not enforce the penalty on that opponent and it will be considered a minor violation for the guilty team. If it becomes match affecting in favor of the guilty team, then it becomes a major violation and a disqualification.
<G16> Holding is the term used to include trapping, pinning, and lifting. Robots may not hold an opposing robot for more than a 5-count during the driver controlled period. The holding count is over when the robots separate by at least 2 feet for at least 5 seconds. If a robot resumes holding the same robot again before this happens, the original count will resume where it ended. Holding does not apply if the opposing robot is not trying to escape or is disabled.
<G17> Scoring objects should be used to play the game and not for actions that would be otherwise illegal if a robot mechanism completed it.
Assignment:
Go to the V5RC Drive Team Training Course and complete the Unit 3 Quiz.
If you miss any of the questions, now is the time to figure out why. Look back through the rules and the information listed in this session for clarification.