• Operations Order
• The Challengers
• Rules of Engagement
• The Territory
• Tactical Updates
• BattleCry History

Rules of Engagement

Unless noted below, BC will be played by all appropriate FIRST Stronghold 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.

Changes for BC17

 

1. Bonus Circle (“BC”) End Game Opportunity: One 12" x 1/16" polycarbonate circle, painted yellow, will be designated as the “BC” and secured to the carpet at the center of the field for each match.

• AT THE END OF THE MATCH: A ROBOT will be considered SCALED on a unique face of the tower if the ROBOT is completely covering a BC. 

• 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).

• Spirited interaction around the BC is expected and encouraged.  Such interaction will not be penalized during the last twenty seconds nor will G23 apply.

2. Defenses & the Outerworks:

• For all matches, a modified Sally Port will be placed in position 3 and no audience selection will be conducted.

  • Teams may choose from Category A, B, and D defenses for the three remaining positions.  The drawbridge WILL NOT be available for selection.

  • The Sally Port will be modified to have no door and the side panels will be removed.

• Teams are expected to review the correct placement of their selected defenses prior to the start of the match and immediately report any problems to the closest referee.  Once the field light has turned green indicating all robots are connected, there will be no changes, field faults, or replays for defenses placed in the incorrect positions.

3.  If a robot becomes broken beyond repair or cannot be repaired within a reasonable time during the elimination matches on Sunday, an alliance may petition the designated event coordinator to call a back-up for the broken robot.  The event coordinator will review the condition of the broken robot and make a determination.

If the event coordinator determines the robot is broken beyond repair, the following will occur:

• Before or during the eighth-finals: A second-round selection from another alliance who voluntarily wishes to play will be designated a temporary alliance member.  If the alliance advances, the alliance may continue with the volunteer team (if they have already been eliminated) or randomly choose a new 3rd partner from the eliminated teams who initially were chosen in the same round as the broken robot.
• During Quarterfinals, Semifinals, or Finals: the alliance may randomly choose a new 3rd partner from the eliminated teams who were initially chosen in the same round as the broken team. 
• In all cases, the team selected will provide their own drivers, coach, and human player and be considered part of the alliance for any alliance awards.

4. Elimination Alliance Selection:  At the conclusion of the Skirmishes, the top 20 seeded challengers will pick their alliance partners for the Final Challenge rounds. Normal 2016 FRC selection rules will apply for the first round, but the second round will be via a random draw from the remaining challengers.

• If less than 60 teams are in attendance, one of the following will take place:

  • If there are less teams by a multiple of 3 (57, 54, etc), less alliances will be formed.  Example: There are only 57 teams in attendance.  There will only be 19 alliance captains.

  • If there are less teams but not a multiple of 3:

    • No more than two 'blank' teams will be placed in the hat and be selected at random by an alliance during the second pick round.  Teams who draw a blank will be assigned one of the following based on availability:

      • A Practice Robot brought to the event by a team, OR

      • A second-round selection from another alliance who voluntarily wishes to play

    • After the first round of playoffs, if an alliance who selected a ‘blank’ moves on, they may choose to continue for the duration of the elimination matches with:

      • The Practice Robot

      • With their volunteer team provided that team has already been eliminated, OR

      • Randomly choose a new 3rd partner from the second-round teams who are already eliminated.

• Elimination Rounds: The 60-team elimination matches will be structured in the following way:

  • Eighth-finals – Twenty (20) alliances will play two (2) matches each during the Eighth-finals.  Based on their highest score, the top 8 Eighth-final alliances will advance to the Quarterfinals.  Quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals will proceed per the 2016 FRC Playoff Rules.

  • NOTE: FRC Rule T7 and T8 apply. 

  • Eighth-finals will be structured as follows:

    • E1: Alliance #10 (A10) vs Alliance #11 (A11)

    • E2: A9 v A12

    • E3: A8 v A13

    • E4: A7 v A14

    • E5: A6 v A15

    • E6: A5 v A16

    • E7: A4 v A17

    • E8: A3 v A18

    • E9: A2 v A19

    • E10: A1 v A20

    • E11: A10 v A12

    • E12: A9 v A11

    • E13: A8 v A14

    • E14: A7 v A13

    • E15: A6 v A16

    • E16: A5 v A15

    • E17: A4 v A18

    • E18: A3 v A17

    • E19: A2 v A20

    • E20: A1 v A19

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Last modified: May 10, 2016 17:05:00