Answered: Programming Skills Competition Question

My students have been adding sensors into their programs more and more. They are using the gyro and also motor encoder counts for distance. What they are struggling with in their accuracy is the starting position of their robot. In eyeing the start position, many errors can be introduced. We were throwing around ideas and one of them was to build a starting position template to use to set the robot inside the starting position they are using. Remove it and then start the autonomous program when the 1:00 officially starts. This way the start position is more accurate every time Is this legal at the beginning of the programming skills challenge to position the robot? Could it also be legal to use when they re-position the robot back in the starting position during the competition?

I’ve read the rules many times and cannot find error with this. I would love an official answer though!
Thank you for your help!

Is this legal at the beginning of the programming skills challenge to position the robot?

Yes, this would be legal, provided that it is done in a timely fashion and does not introduce any delays.

Could it also be legal to use when they re-position the robot back in the starting position during the competition?

No, this would not be legal. Teams may not introduce new parts to the field during a Match.