This year, a combination of field design, game design, and robot rules has led to a notable increase in damage to both the field and robots due to what would have historically been considered normal and expected game play. Please know that I am not blaming teams for designing robots and strategies or student drivers for executing those strategies based on the game, field, and robot rules presented to them.
There will be work done by FIRST® Robotics Competition staff and groups of volunteers to look at options to implement into the 2025 game and future years to mitigate damage. These groups will look at all three aspects: field design, game design, and robot rules (including motor power). I’ll share more details about that work and how community members can contribute after the FIRST® Championship.
We have fewer options for mid-season adjustments as we don’t want to meaningfully change the field or the rules on which teams designed their robots and strategies. We are investigating mechanical modifications to the field that will have minimal impact on the team experience. Another option is escalating the severity of violations in response to a robot causing damage, and I don’t think that asking Referees to give out Yellow or Red Cards every time something happens to the field is fair or desirable to either the Refs or the teams.
So, I’m writing today to ask for everyone’s help. If there are changes that can be made, such as avoiding high speed impacts when and where possible, that can help reduce or eliminate the damage occurring to the field and each other’s robots, please do. I ask our field volunteers to please continue to work with Event Support to help prevent any injuries and ensure that the field is working as designed.
Working together, we can help keep drive team members and field volunteers safe and the fields and robots functioning for the rest of the season.