VRC Event Meeting Announcements – REC Library

Introduction

The Event Meeting allows the Emcee, Event Partner, and/or Head Referee to share important information about the event and the venue. Everyone—including teams, coaches, referees, judges, and parents—should attend the Event Meeting.

General Event Information

Welcome and Introduction of key volunteers, including the Event Partner and Head Referee
Share location of restrooms, concessions, and venue-specific rules and safety information
Event emergency and evacuation plan
Adult team leaders are responsible for student safety and conduct at all times
Keep the pit area clean and organized for safety and easy repacking after the event
Teams are responsible for their equipment and materials
Practice fields – Teams should reset fields after use, share fields so all teams can practice, and limit time
Skills Challenges – Location(s) of Skills field(s); also, reminder of number of skills runs allowed and start/stop times
Engineering Notebooks – Submit labeled Engineering Notebooks to the check-in table before Match play
Agenda for the day – Start/stop times, breaks, special activities and their locations
Judges will recognize student-centered work – Judges will consider compliance with the REC Foundation Student-Centered policy for judged awards
Alliance Selection – After all Qualifying Matches are complete, the Alliance Selection process will consist of one round of selection, and ___ [the number of Teams divided by two, less any remainder; up to 16] Alliances of two Teams will compete in the Elimination Matches.
Timeouts – There are no timeouts during qualifying matches. Each Alliance may request one Time Out no greater than three minutes between matches during the elimination bracket.
Qualifications to the state/regional championship – This event will qualify ___ [insert number of teams] teams to advance to the ___ [insert name] championship event, including these award recipients: ___ [insert qualifying award names].

Rules Reminders for VRC Over Under

Rule <G1> and the Code of Conduct

Please keep the REC Foundation Code of Conduct in mind while competing today. Be respectful, stay professional, follow the rules, and we’ll all have a great event. Coaches, if you haven’t reviewed the Code of Conduct with your students, please take a few minutes to do that after this meeting. You can find it on the REC Foundation website (and maybe an onsite banner—point it out if there’s one available).
If a team or any of its members are disrespectful or uncivil to event staff, volunteers, or fellow competitors, they may be Disqualified from a current Match, upcoming Match, or the entire event depending on the severity of the situation. Judges will also consider team conduct and ethics when determining awards. This applies to anyone associated with the team (participants and spectators). <G1>
Only the Drive Team Members may contest a referee’s ruling - Adults are not permitted to intervene. <T3>

VRC is a Student-Centered Program

VRC is a student-centered program. Adults may assist Students in urgent situations, but Adults may never work on or program a Robot without Students on that Team being present and actively participating. <G2>
The robot design, construction, and programming must represent the skill level of the team. <G4>

Before the Match

Get to the queuing table on time with a ready‐to‐drive robot and controller. If you can’t get your robot to a match, sending a drive team member will still get you points from the match. <T5><T6>
Check for safety glasses and the correct color of license plates. If the wrong color plates are easily visible on your robot, your bot may be removed from the field. <S4><R9>
Set your robot up quickly, in a legal starting position and configuration. <G5><SG1>

Autonomous Period

Touching foam tiles, triballs, or field elements on the other side of the neutral zone or in the other offensive zone will award the autonomous bonus to the other alliance. <SG8>

During the Match

Stay away from the nets. Robots that entangle with a net, or robots that force opponents into entanglement, will be disabled for the rest of the match. <SG5>
Horizontal expansion is limited to 36" in any direction. <SG4>
Possession is limited to one triball, whether it's intentionally or accidentally. If you have extra triballs, the only thing you're allowed to do is try to get rid of the extras. <SG7>
Stay out of your opponent's goal unless they are double-zoned. <SG8>
During the last 30 seconds of the match, don't contact your opponent's elevation bars, robots in contact with them, or elevated opponents. <SG11>
No holding (including trapping, pinning, and lifting) for more than a 5-count. <G16>
- It’s only holding if one robot is restricting an opponent's movements, and if the trapped/pinned/lifted robot is actively trying to escape. Holding longer than a 5-count may result in a DQ.
- If you believe you’re being held, call for a referee’s attention.
- After a holding count ends, a robot can't resume holding the same opponent again for another 5-count, or the original holding count will resume where it left off.

After the Match

Check the score and raise any concerns about the match before you leave the field. <T1>
Once you’ve left the alliance station you’ve waived your right to any appeals. <T3>
The referees will only talk to the drive team members about matches and can’t look at videos of the match. Period. <T3>

Skills Matches

Each team gets up to three driving skills matches and three autonomous coding skills matches. Be sure to make time for skills!
In a Skills match, teams can use any legal starting position for either alliance, and either set of elevation bars. Neutral triballs can be scored in the red goal and offensive zone; red triballs can be scored in either goal or the red offensive zone. <RSC4>
Drivers have to stay in the red alliance station. <RSC3>
Most game rules still apply in skills matches.

Share Feedback, and Have Fun!

Direct questions, concerns, or positive feedback to the Event Partner.

Enjoy your VEX Robotics Competition experience! Thank you for your support!