The official VEX IQ Robotics Competition Question & Answer system has closed for this season.
Official Q&A: VEX IQ Robotics Competition 2024-2025: Rapid Relay
2455: Robots in motion prior to the game clock starting or the timer buzzer going off
Should a team be penalized for beginning a match prior to the start of the countdown clock or starting buzzer? If so, what is the penalty?
Starting prior to the beginning of the match gives that team a competitive advantage, albeit ever so slight. If the team who started early passes and/or scores a goal during the match, then starting early becomes score affecting? Would it be appropriate, prior to the team passing or scoring a ball, to have the offending robot disabled and the team told to put their robot back into a legal starting position before continuing with the match? Should the team be disqualified if they pass or score a ball during the match? Issue a warning and, if it happens again, disqualify the team?
Thank you for your question! We plan to update the game manual based on this response, and the change is effective immediately.
Clause D of rule <SG1> will be revised to indicate that Robots must remain completely stationary (other than the current allowance for pneumatic pumps) until the Match timer starts.
Additionally, a new Violation Note for <SG1> will specify that the first Violation for a Team be recorded as a Minor Violation unless the Violation is egregious (e.g., beginning the Match more than 1-2 seconds early), and any additional Violations at that event be recorded as Major Violations and a Disqualification.