Thank you REC and VEX for another well run World Championship. Overall the changes to the inspection process were an improvement. Larger area, more inspectors, no coaches or parents in the inspection area, fast track process for re-inspections, as well as courteous and encouraging inspectors.
One area where improvement is needed is training the inspectors on the robot sizing rules. Lack of understanding in that area led to a two hour inspection for one of our teams. Their robot was initially flagged for numerous violations which all turned out to be incorrect. What’s more when the inspectors requested help from the lead inspectors, they also did not understand the rules. The kids had show them Karthik’s rulings from this forum, and then still had to wait for a higher ruling.
That type of issue can be alleviated if the inspectors have a printed handbook that includes all the game rules regarding the robot itself, plus an appendix with all of Karthik’s rulings on the same subject. Having this will not only be handy, but helps insure that rules are applied consistently. Please consider adding an inspector’s handbook to next year’s inspection process.