Rules of Engagement

Unless noted below, BC will be played by all appropriate FIRST Ultimate Ascent Rules. While we will not hold formal inspections, we expect all robots to comply with all FIRST criteria for construction and configuration. While we realize that some teams may have modified their 'bots for other post season operations, every attempt should be made to restore the robots to inspection condition for BC. Judges and referees will have the final say on all alleged infractions.

If you are new to the game, you may want to check out this year's game animation courtesy of FIRST.

Changes for BC14

  1. Bonus Circle ("BC") End Game Opportunity: Two 12-inch circles marked as a "BC" will be placed in the center of the field, along the center line, for each match.

      • The BC does not have a designated color and is available for any robot to utilize as a scoring opportunity.  
      • The robot is considered to be completely covering a BC if no portion of the BC is visible outside the "belt line" of the robot (including its bumpers)
      • AT THE END OF THE MATCH: An alliance will be awarded points for robot(s) completely covering a BC, per the point breakdown below. BC scores will be assessed 5 seconds after the match clock goes to zero or when rolling robots comes to rest.
        • 10 points for a robot completely covering one BC.  
        • 15 points for a robot completely covering two BCs
    • Placebo Robot: The placebo robot will be, at a minimum, a driving 2013 FRC compliant robot (i.e. a kit bot).  The staff will be responsible for maintenance during the event although no guarantees on the reliability, functionality, or availability will be provided.  
        • In cases where the placebo robot is provided by a 2013 FRC team, that team will provide staff to run their robot.  
        • In the case where the placebo robot is a kit bot, an unofficial 2013 FRC robot, or a previous year’s robot, the team who calls the placebo robot into action may be required to provide a driver and human player for the placebo robot.  
        • The staff will provide a placebo robot to play for teams who:
          • Are not able to be in attendance on Friday.  While teams are expected to attend both days of the competition, we wish to be as fair as possible to alliances who may be partnered with a team who is late to arrive or unable to attend on Friday.  If a robot is missing from both alliances, the match will be played 2 v 2.  Any teams not in attendance Friday will receive the score of their alliance for that match. 
          • Become broken beyond repair or cannot be repaired within a reasonable time during the event, especially during elimination matches on Saturday.  An alliance may petition the designated event coordinator to use the placebo in place of a broken robot.  The event coordinator will review the condition of the broken robot and make the final determination on placebo robot use. 
    • Elimination Alliance Selection:  At the conclusion of the Skirmishes, the top 18 seeded challengers will pick their alliance partners for the Final Challenge rounds. Normal 2013 FRC selection rules will apply for their first picks, the second pick will be via a random draw from the remaining challengers.
    • Elimination Rounds: The 54-team elimination matches will be structured in the following way:
        • Sixteenth-Finals – the bottom four seeded alliances will participate in sixteenth finals.  These matches will be a single match format, to be played in the following order:
            • E1: Seed #15 v Seed #18
            • E2: Seed #16 v Seed #17
          • At the conclusion of the sixteenth-finals:
            • The winner of E1 will be considered the 15th seed
            • The winner of E2 will be considered the 16th seed
            • The members of the losing alliances from E1 and E2 will be designated as back-up robots, available to be called in by an alliance in the case of a broken robot (per placebo rules).  When an alliance requests a back-up, one will be randomly selected from this group.
        • Eighth-Finals - All remaining teams will participate in the eighth finals.  In these match-ups, a single match will be used to determine the winner, to be played in the following order:
            • E3: Seed #1 v Seed #16
            • E4: Seed #2 v Seed #15
            • E5: Seed #3 v Seed #14
            • E6: Seed #4 v Seed #13
            • E7: Seed #5 v Seed #12
            • E8: Seed #6 v Seed #11
            • E9: Seed #7 v Seed #10
            • E10: Seed #8 v Seed #9
        • Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals - The winners of the eighth finals will move on to participate in a 'Best-of-3' match format for the quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals, with the eighth-finals feeding into the quarterfinals as following:
            • Q1: Winner of E3 v Winner of E10
            • Q2: Winner of E6 v Winner of E7
            • Q3: Winner of E4 v Winner of E9
            • Q4: Winner of E5 v Winner of E8
      Maintained by webmaster@wpi.edu
      Last modified: April 19, 2013 19:32:45