Answered: <R19> Number plates

VEX Robotics Competition Discussion VRC > Previous Games
1

The only rule I could find about plates is <R19>:

Is there any rule that says teams with multiple robots registered need to keep the same plate number throughout the season. I know this would be nearly impossible to monitor and sometimes students leave a team and others take over that robot/Plate ID#, or a fellow team copies the design of a robot which has qualified.

But let’s say team 99999X and 99999Y go to an event and 99999X qualifies, 99999Y does not win a match. The next weekend at a different event, the same students and the same robot which at the last event had the plate number 99999X now have the plate number 99999Y on their robot and it is clear the plates got switched to try and qualify 99999Y. This is not fair to other teams and especially not fair to the students who were originally 99999Y. Those students should be helped to make their robot more competitive, not sent the message they are not good enough to qualify on their own.

It would be nice if <R19> had a

c. Team ID# Plates should not be swapped between teams.

Even if in reality this would be really hard to enforce, nonetheless, it would be great to see it just like: <G1> Common sense always applies

<R19> To participate in an official VEX Robotics Competition Tournament a team must first register on
robotevents.com. Upon registering they will receive their VEX Team Identification Number (VEX Team ID#)
and a welcome kit containing VEX Team Identification Number Plates. Every robot should have their VEX
Team ID# Plates displayed on a minimum of 2-opposing sides.
a. The VEX Team Identification Number Plates are considered a non-functional decoration, and
cannot be used as a functional part of the robot.
b. These number plates must fulfill all robot rules (i.e. they must fit within the 18” cube per <R4>,
they cannot cause entanglement, etc.)

2

There are no rules of this type, mainly for the enforceability that you spoke of above.

3

I am very disappointed in this answer. I respectfully request you and the game design committee give this some more thought, because in my opinion there is nothing right about swapping plates for qualification purposes.

4

Thank you for the feedback. The Game Design Committee will be sure to discuss this in detail, and look at potential changes to the current rules for future seasons. This was a big a point of discussion at the most recent Event Partner Summit, and we are aware of the concerns presented by yourself and others. In the mean time, if you have any suggestions for concise, clear, and enforceable changes to the rules that would eliminate this type of behaviour, please send them to me at [email protected].

5

Thank you very much for your consideration and all the work you do maintaining the GDC forum.

6

You’re welcome!

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