<SG8>
Engage with the Midfield and/or Autonomous Line during the Autonomous Period at your own risk. Any Robot that engages with the Midfield and/or Scoring Objects that begin the Match on the Autonomous Line should be aware that opponent Robots may also choose to do the same. Per <GG12> and <GG13>, Teams are responsible for the actions of their Robots at all times.
• For the purposes of this rule, “engages with” means any combination of: Contacting foam tiles within the Midfield Contacting the Goal in the Midfield Contacting Scoring Objects that begin the Match on the Autonomous Line
• If opposing Robots contact one another while both engaging with the Midfield or the Autonomous Line, and a possible <GG14> Violation occurs (e.g., damage, Entanglement, or tipping over), a judgment call will be made by the Head Referee within the context of <GG14> and <GG15> (just as it would if the interaction had occurred during the Driver Controlled Period).
• If opposing Robots contact one another while both engaging with the Midfield or Autonomous Line, and an incidental Violation of <SG4> occurs, no penalty will be assessed on either Alliance.
• Intentional, strategic, repeated, or egregious offenses, such as negatively impacting Robots that are not engaging with the Midfield or the Autonomous Line, may still be deemed a Violation of <GG13>, <GG14>, <GG15>, <SG7>, <G1>, and/or <S1> at the Head Referee’s discretion. The Midfield and the Scoring Objects that begin on the Autonomous Line are intended to be utilized by both Alliances during the Autonomous Period. This will inevitably result in Robot-on-Robot interactions, both incidental and intentional. The overarching intent of <SG8> is for the vast majority of these interactions to result in no rule Violations and / or penalties for either Alliance, just as no rules Violations occur in 99% of Driver Controlled interactions. Teams are responsible for the actions of their Robots at all times. A Robot with a small wheel base, which tips over every time they enter the Midfield and contacts an opponent, should not attempt to claim a <GG14> Violation on their opponent. With that being said, the Midfield is a neutral zone, not a “free-for-all” zone. The intent of clause D is to provide Head Referees with the leeway to still make a judgment call, if needed, when a Team has chosen to exploit this rule beyond its intent. Reckless or unsafe strategies aimed solely at the destruction, damage, tipping over, Entanglement, Trapping, or forcing of an opponent into a penalty are still prohibited in the VEX Robotics Competition.
Game Rules Index