Answered: No-shows, playing a match without a robot, and disqualifications

[Oliver_W]

Hi Karthik,

In the “Rankings” section of the tournament rules is the following paragraph defining no shows:

For a Qualifying Match, if no member of a team is present in the driver station at the start of a match,
that team is declared a “no show” and will receive zero (0) WP and zero (0) SP. A “no show” is treated
exactly the same as a Disqualification.

And in the definitions section:

Robot – Anything that has passed inspection that a team places on the field prior to the start of a Match.

It seems from reading these that a team doesn’t need to place a robot to avoid being considered a no show. Is this correct?

If the answer to the above question is yes, then I have a second question relating to a different rule:

<R2> Every robot will be required to pass a full inspection before being cleared to compete. This inspection
will ensure that all robot rules and regulations are met. Initial inspections will take place during team
registration/practice time.
a. If significant changes are made to a robot, it must be re-inspected before it will be allowed to
compete.
b. All robot configurations must be inspected before being used in competition.
c. Teams may be requested to submit to random spot-inspections by event personnel. Refusal to
submit will result in disqualification.
d. Referees or inspectors may decide that a robot is in violation of the rules. In this event, the
team in violation will be disqualified and the robot will be barred from the playing field until it
passes re-inspection.

and from the Referee’s Guide:

Refereeing a VRC competition is different from a traditional sporting event in that the referees actually HELP the
competitors avoid breaking the rules. You will note in this manual that we like to remind team members if they are
getting close to an infraction and warn them rather than watching passively. Please keep that in mind as you train and
perform your ref duties.

If there is no penalty for not placing a robot, and the penalty for placing an illegal robot is a disqualification, can a team who brings an illegal robot to the field avoid an <R2> disqualification by removing the robot from the field prior to the match?

What should referees do when a team brings an illegal robot to the field? Should they be disqualified under <R2>, or should they be told (in order to help them avoid breaking the rules) that they can avoid a disqualification by removing their robot from the field?

[Karthik]

It seems from reading these that a team doesn’t need to place a robot to avoid being considered a no show. Is this correct?

Yes, this is correct.

If there is no penalty for not placing a robot, and the penalty for placing an illegal robot is a disqualification, can a team who brings an illegal robot to the field avoid an <R2> disqualification by removing the robot from the field prior to the match?

This is up to the discretion of the Head Referee. In a situation where a team has accidentally violated a rule (e.g. Robot was bent due to a collision, team didn’t realize the robot was out of size.) I would advise the Head Referee to not disqualify the team, and just have them removed from the field until the situation was rectified. In a situation where they have intentionally violated a rule (e.g. adding an 11th motor to their Robot after being inspected), I would advise the referee to issue a DQ.