Answered: <S1> Stars that were broken before breaking during a match

[rothomega]

My question is concerning stars that were previously broken breaking again in competition. If the repaired star was to break during match play, would the robot who broke it the second time be disqualified based on S1? (Assuming it broke in the same place as the previous break)

<S1> If at any time the Robot operation or team actions are deemed unsafe or have damaged the Field Elements or Scoring Objects, by the determination of the referees, the offending team may be Disabled and/or Disqualified.

I ask this question because a tournament we were at recently was using stars in matches that had been previously repaired. I never saw one of these stars break, but I was wondering what the ruling would be if one broke.

Also, the stars in question were zip tied together, which made the repairs easily visible. A repair by hot glue, which is the recommended method of repair, would only be evident after the damage has been done. A further question I have is, would the ruling on the above question vary based on the method of repair, or would it apply for all repair methods? For example, if a hot glued star broke, would it carry a more serious punishment since it was the official repair method, or would all breakings be treated equally?

[Karthik]

@rothomega

My question is concerning stars that were previously broken breaking again in competition. If the repaired star was to break during match play, would the robot who broke it the second time be disqualified based on S1? (Assuming it broke in the same place as the previous break)

In general, teams should not be disqualified for breaking Stars, unless their Robot poses a specific hazard to the Stars. We understand that Stars may break from time to time during normal gameplay and teams should not be punished for this.