Page 5 of the game manual says “Teams may elect to start the Bridge tipped in either direction or to leave it Balanced. If the Teams don’t make a decision, it will start the Match Balanced.”
Page 20 says “The Robot Skills Challenge field is setup as described in “The Game” section of this manual.”
The way I read it, the bridge starting position rule applies not only to Teamwork Matches but also to Programming Skills Matches and Drivers Skills Matches. Can you confirm? Thanks!