Thanks Steve,

FLL's emphasis on kids learning self-advocacy is very important and I
certainly need to do a better job coaching my team in that aspect.

-Dinesh

On Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 6:47 AM VA-DC FLL Referee Advisor <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> In Dinesh's example, if there is a significant problem with the setup of
> the Field or the position of the mat, and the table referee cannot take
> action, let your teams know to respectfully ask the table referee to bring
> in the head referee.  Know where in the Field Setup guide the correct setup
> is described. And remember GP4.  The south table wall may not be straight.
>
> I still receive many more incorrect claims about where the mat should be
> positioned than correct ones, but mistakes do happen during setup, and I
> appreciate having teams point them out early in the day.  I'll always
> correct south wall alignment, as best as I can.  I usually let minor
> east-west differences stand, since that's not exact for teams anyway.
>
> Steve Scherr
> Virginia-DC FLL Referee Advisor
>
> On Sun, Nov 11, 2018 at 1:36 AM Dinesh Bhat <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> We really appreciate that the competition is completely managed by
>> volunteers and they are all trying to do their best. We have also conducted
>> competitions and know how difficult it can be. So I always prepare my team
>> to expect some of these issues to occur. My team was also affected by this
>> interpretation of the ruling. Another issue to watch out is the alignment
>> of the mat to the South Wall. Two of our missions depended on that
>> alignment to "Wall Follow". My team knew to look out for the gap and point
>> it to the referee. Unfortunately, the table referee said that they could
>> not do anything as the mat was taped down. I am not sure what guidance to
>> give my team in terms of how much to pursue this, without risking the
>> team's chances, before moving on. Would like to hear from others.
>>
>> -Dinesh
>>
>>
>> On Sat, Nov 10, 2018 at 7:21 PM VA-DC FLL Referee Advisor <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> I regret to say that what Jennifer describes may have been an incorrect
>>> ruling on the Craters Crossing Mission.  The Crossing Equipment for M04 may
>>> be any item of team Equipment, and does not have to include the Robot.
>>>
>>> I understand that there was a lack of clarity of exactly what was
>>> included in "crossing equipment" until update U06 came out this week.
>>> Actually, there was a team last weekend whose crossing attempt I did not
>>> allow, but would have allowed this weekend after the update, and many teams
>>> at today's tournament that would have had trouble convincing me last
>>> weekend that they had an appropriate interpretation.
>>>
>>> The referee might have thought that since the Robot caused the
>>> projectile to move, and might have been over the Craters or even between
>>> the Towers when it was released, that the Robot needed to be included as
>>> part of the crossing equipment.  Depending on the position of the Robot,
>>> that's what I would have said previously.  U06 says explicitly that "It
>>> does not matter if a separate object throws, pulls, pushes, carries,
>>> places, or paves the way for the actual crossing equipment, as that would
>>> be a separate object and not considered part of the crossing equipment."
>>> For example, a Robot that throws a projectile across the Gate would not be
>>> a part of the Crossing Equipment.
>>>
>>> The best thing that your teams can do is to be able to point out the
>>> exact text in the Updates, Missions, or Rules that show why they have the
>>> interpretation that they do.  That's how they might be able to change the
>>> Referee's mind, or get Benefit of the Doubt applied.  They may not be
>>> successful, but they will have done everything that they can to support
>>> their interpretation.
>>>
>>> Steve Scherr
>>> Virginia-DC FLL Referee Advisor
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Sat, Nov 10, 2018 at 5:58 PM Jennifer Koehler <
>>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>>
>>>> I would like to get clarification on crater (i know for the thousandth
>>>> time). This won't help my team because we are done, but it might help teams
>>>> competing tomorrow or next weekend.
>>>>
>>>> It was our understanding that we could send a projectile across the
>>>> crater.  As long as the robot was not touching the projectile, and the
>>>> projectile complete crosses over the crater, this is legal.  We were told
>>>> today that the ENTIRE ROBOT had to cross the crater.  The kids made a
>>>> simple wheel thing that sat on an attachment (not attached...just
>>>> carried).  They drove to crater, dropped the wheeled system and pushed it.
>>>> It traveled independently across the crater.  No attachment is touching the
>>>> wheel system as it rides across the crater. We were told by head judge this
>>>> did not count.
>>>>
>>>> Anyone? 6 teams in our competition could not run this mission because
>>>> they had similar to above.  We still feel we are correct in our strategy.
>>>
>>> ------------------------------
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