Answered: Rule G9 Clarification

VEX Robotics Competition Discussion VRC > Starstruck (16/17)
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I witnessed a case where the robot was in the near zone in autonomous, launched a number of stars, which missed and left the arena, and the robot also tipped forward, supported by the wall on its front bottom edge. The referee immediately collected the stars and placed them in the near zone, as expected. However, they placed the stars directly underneath the tipped robot, making it impossible for them to right themselves once the match began the driver control portion. After having this pointed out, the team and the referee agreed to move the stars to the far zone rather than have them under the robot.

What would the proper course of action be? It seems wrong to disadvantage the team that badly. As all robots had come to a stop, i would have most likely waited until they righted themselves, then replaced the stars but counted then in the near zone for scoring, or alternatively, placed them farther from the perimeter wall, remaining in the near zone, but giving the robot space to right itself.

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Referees should try and return Scoring Objects as promptly as possible in the correct zone as per <G9>. Typically referees place returning Scoring Objects by close to the field perimeter wall to avoid having to reach too far into the field. There should be a common sense approach to this. Referees should not be trying to create obstacles for Robots while returning Scoring Objects. At the same time, it is not unexpected that a referee in a rush may return a Scoring Object to an inconvenient spot for a Robot.

/Edited because I missed a pretty important word… #MyBad

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