<SG9>
Match Loads may be introduced during the Match under certain conditions. For the purpose of this rule, “introduce” refers to the moment when a Drive Team Member has released a Block into a Loader. During this action, Drive Team Members’ hands may temporarily break the plane of the Field Perimeter. This momentary interaction is an exception to rule <GG4>. Excessive, unnecessary, or unsafe actions while introducing a Match Load may be considered a Violation of <S1> and/or <G1> at the Head Referee’s discretion. Drive Team Members may introduce Match Load Blocks by placing them into either of the Loaders adjacent to their Alliance Station.
• Blocks may only be added to Loaders during the Driver Controlled Period of a Match.
• A Match Load Block may not be contacted by a Robot prior to being placed into a Loader.
• Match Load Blocks may only be removed from a Loader by a Robot, and only through the bottom opening of the Loader.
• Blocks that incidentally bounce out through the bottom opening of a Loader while being introduced should not be considered Violations.
• A Block can only be added to a Loader if there are no Blocks partially or entirely within the orange portion of that Loader. Violation Notes:
• For the purposes of Match Affecting calculations, each illegal Match Load should be considered worth a value of 3 points. These values are not added to the actual score. If subtracting 3 points per illegal Match Load from the the offending Alliance’s final score would change the outcome of the Match, then the <SG9> Violation should be considered Match Affecting.
• For the purposes of this rule, the following guidelines should be used for escalating repeated Minor Violations to a Major Violation during Qualification Matches: Six or more illegal Match Loads in a single Qualification Match. Three or more Qualification Matches with at least one illegal Match Load (i.e., the third Match and all subsequent Matches with a Violation).
• For the purposes of this rule, only Match Affecting Violations should be considered during Elimination Matches (i.e., repeated Minor Violations in Elimination Matches do not compound to Major Violations). Point B-1 does not explicitly apply during Elimination Matches, although the risk of illegal Match Load becoming Match Affecting still inherently increases as the quantity of Match Loads increases. Point B-2 does not apply during Elimination Matches.
The primary intent of clauses A & E are to prevent Match Load Blocks from being introduced in a way that overfills the Loaders (e.g., Blocks extending well above the top of the Loader), thereby reducing potential <SG4> and <SG9> Violations resulting from Blocks being removed/ejected from the top of the Loader. If a Head Referee is not certain whether or not a Violation of clause E occurred, they should give the Team the benefit of the doubt and not record it as a Violation. This benefit of the doubt must be applied equally to all Teams and Matches at that event. We don’t intend this to be a rule that requires referees to closely watch every Loader. If there’s brief overlap in the orange portion of a Goal as Blocks are rapidly added to a Loader, it probably shouldn’t be considered a Violation.
This rule is applied differently for VEX U. See Rule <VUG3>.
Significant Q&As:
• Q&A 2949 - Drive Team Members can hold as many Blocks as they like, and there’s no limit to the number of hands that can break the plane of the Field while introducing Blocks to a Loader
Figure SG9-1: A Block is partially within the orange portion of the Loader, so it would not be legal to add a Block to this Loader.
Figure SG9-2: There are no Blocks within the orange portion of the Loader, so it is legal to add a Block to this Loader.
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