G408       Don’t catch FUEL. A ROBOT may not do either of the following with FUEL released by the HUB unless and until that FUEL contacts anything else besides that ROBOT or FUEL CONTROLLED by that ROBOT:

A.      gain greater than MOMENTARY CONTROL of FUEL, or

B.      push or redirect FUEL to a desired location or in a preferred direction.

A ROBOT is in CONTROL of a SCORING ELEMENT if the SCORING ELEMENT is fully supported by or stuck in, on, or under the ROBOT.

Violation: MINOR FOUL. If strategic, MAJOR FOUL and VERBAL WARNING. If subsequent strategic violations during the event, MAJOR FOUL and YELLOW CARD.

Examples of interaction with a SCORING ELEMENT that are not “CONTROL” include, but are not limited to:

A.      “bulldozing” (inadvertent contact with a SCORING ELEMENT while in the path of the ROBOT moving about the FIELD),

B.      “deflecting” (being hit by a SCORING ELEMENT that bounces off a ROBOT and moves in a random direction.)

Examples of interaction which would be considered strategic include, but are not limited to:

C.      intentionally sitting under the HUB to collect a large quantity of FUEL,

D.      intentionally sitting under the HUB in order to redirect FUEL into your ALLIANCE ZONE.

Violations of this rule are per instance and not per FUEL CONTROLLED. Generally, an instance is considered for each time a ROBOT is catching or redirecting a quantity of FUEL from the HUB. Any time flow of FUEL into the robot has stopped would be considered a separate instance. Generally, any action which attempts to exploit the definition of an instance of any rule in order to gain benefit will likely be a violation of G211 and would quickly escalate to a RED CARD.

7.4.3       ROBOT