Will this fix VEX IQ single drivers? Manual update Feb 1

VEX IQ Robotics Competition Discussion IQ Pitching In (2021-2022 Game)
1

From: Coaches confused about G8 : Robot Events

What they are changing is that the “strategic gain” part is actually part of the rule now, and not just a blue box item. The rule does say it is still up to the team.

Of course, the enforcement of this will depend on if RECF will follow up on the COC violations. I would be curious about the number of violations reported so far vs. the number of enforcement actions. I have heard anecdotally that they have not done much follow up. It’s clear from a number of posts I’ve seen across the web that teams lost state spots because of other teams violating this rule (or “the spirit of the rule…”), and REC Foundation really should have stayed on top of that. Why play at all when other teams can cheat and win?

Here is the text of the answer:

Note: This response comes directly from Grant Cox, Chairman of the GDC.

The original intent of G8-b and the referenced Q&A post, coupled with its blue box explanation, were that Teams would have the opportunity to use their discretion in alignment with the spirit of a teamwork-oriented competition. Out of respect for Team privacy and varying local health guidelines around the world, we had hoped that this level of explanation would be adequate, and that Teams would value the opportunity to teach these teamwork/fairness principles more highly than just focusing on seeking competitive advantages.

Put simply, it has come to our attention that this has not been the case. So, the February 1st Game Manual Update will include the following revisions to rule G8 to bring this “spirit” into a more black-and-white ruling.

Point “b” will state the following (portion bolded for emphasis):

b. For the 2021-2022 season, Teams restricted by local health guidelines may elect to have one Driver in the Driver Station, instead of two. If only one Driver is present in the Driver Station, they may drive for the full Match, and a controller switch is not required. If two Drivers are present in the Driver Station, the controller switch rules in would then apply. It is at the Team’s discretion whether they wish to have one Driver or two; however, taking advantage of this exception for strategic gain is considered a violation of this rule, and may be considered a violation of the RECF Code of Conduct.

The blue box explanation will state the following (portion bolded for emphasis):

The intent of point “b” in this rule is to provide flexibility for Teams who are unable to meet in a traditional capacity due to local health guidelines. As noted in the definition of “Team”, teamwork is a core tenet of the VEX IQ Challenge, and the two-Student drive team is intended to be a fundamental application of this skill. If a Team has the capacity to include multiple Students, it should also be expected that they will not take advantage of this single-Driver exception for strategic gain.

Teams that exhibit the following behaviors may be in violation of , and/or the RECF Code of Conduct, and should be prepared to share relevant health guidelines with RECF staff upon request:

Utilizing two drivers in Qualification matches, but utilizing only one Driver in Finals Matches or Robot Skills Matches.
Utilizing only one Driver in Matches, but permitting interactions in the pit area between multiple Students similar in nature to interactions that would occur between two Drivers in the Driver Station.
Meeting outside of the event setting in a manner consistent with interactions that occur between two Drivers in the Driver Station, yet only utilizing one Driver in Matches.
To answer your specific question:

is there a process to acknowledge when a Team doesn’t have the capacity to have two Drivers?

Teams who find themselves in this situation, or Event Partners who have a concern regarding a Team potentially exploiting this rule for strategic gain, should contact to their REC Foundation Team / Event Manager for further details.

2

and they skipped over 8 unanswered Q&A to make this point. This says that this is significant and serious and they want to put a stop to it immediately.

3

And here you go, strategic one teams are already asking how they can work around the new rule. Won’t go out of my way to guess which organization is already asking, lol.

https://www.robotevents.com/VIQC/2021-2022/QA/1007

4

Yup yup. The fact that RECF thought that teams would just “do the right thing” is admirable, but I knew of teams / organizations right off the bat that I knew would just use single drivers and they surely did.

I think it would have been better to have EP’s apply for the one driver rule for events that go with local guidelines, and let parents who are truly worried just let their kids do LRT. At least that would have helped keep LRT alive…

5

Agreed. If health concerns are an issue that you can only have one driver, you should be doing LRT.

And to the new question just posted, if you only let one driver drive and they can only drive the first 35 seconds, there is already video of team work matches clearing the field and low hanging in under 35 seconds, that it won’t matter.

My question, is what is going to happen at worlds. It feels like there should be a separate one team division as it feels like there are going to be a whole bunch of these one teams at world that will have an advantage. Maybe I should have the two best drivers from my school go off and create two separate home teams for “health concerns” for both of them so they can be on the same level as others.

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If you are attending in-person worlds, you are not concerned about standing in a driver station and touching a controller from a teammate… period.

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https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kWI50yrYTs2c_llc0GvVUw

Looks like it will be addressed in the upcoming Mid-Season Town Hall…

8

This makes me very sad. I remember the days of when the how to score rules were longer than the robot rules. And now we need to explain in a pandemic how you should not cheat. FFS people really? Is there a limit to how much you can game a system.

I wondered why Dan put two creams in his breakfast coffee …

9

If I had more hearts to give I would. FFS may as well be my catch phrase.

10

So based on the webinar last night, it still feels like the same blurred line, does it not? It still felt like “we trust you will follow the rules now that we added some more fine print” but you can keep doing it if you have been or need to, as long as you think it’s justifiable.

It felt like there needed to be a clear line in the sand to settle this, and there wasn’t. Like After Feb 1st, only one member teams are only allowed if you have a bunch of documentation (aka put the burden of proof on the team to apply for an exception and get approved by regional managers) or you are doing LRT only events. And yet as far as it seemed to me, there wasn’t. No clarify about existing one member teams or if it’s really going to be policed/enforced any more than it already has.

Seriously, FFS. :person_facepalming:

11

I only caught the Q&A at the end. The trouble will be if they follow up with the COC violations.

Do they have the EP’s the will write the emails and the staff at the REC Foundation to handle the load if we all do? If they get 100 COC violations the first weekend in February do they have a mechanism to handle that level?

And how do I know what they need in a COC violation to make it stick?

This will be over soon regardless. Next year they aren’t playing with this anymore.

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So not at the webinar, but I did talk to my RSM. I was under the impression that Grant had spoken “eloquently” about this. The words said we trust you to follow the rule. If we find you cheating then we will disqualify you. The under message was “Don’t be a jerk”.

I’m good with that. I trust my fellow mentors to not do motor mods, make sure that the really tall roboteer is actually an elementary student, etc. So the honor system is fine.

Edited to add to repeat: So if a team is caught cheating, the RECF does need to enforce this. I’ve never been to IQ Worlds so I don’t know how access works to the pits. I’m going to assume that if there are multiple roboteers are in the pits at your team table they can drive.

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@Foster You did make a shout-out at the webinar from Dan as he answered your student advisor question

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New update is out.

I’d like to think the GDC was reading this thread…

15

I wanted to circle back on this one last (for me) time. I got a chance to watch the town hall video.

At the 47 min mark, Grant Cox from the GDC starts in on a discussion of this rule. I think he covered the history and the decision on the 2021-22 rule for only one driver. He had the 1 Feb text up on the screen, so it would be clear about the guidelines. He talked for about 10 minutes.

So I’m pretty satisfied that if it’s a team of 1 there will be only 1 driver, but if there are multiple roboteers in the pits or in the stands together, they are expecting 2 drivers to appear.