Match Scoring Roles

Any roles related to scoring matches go here.

Match Marshal

Responsible for being in the arena, saving robots and recording the end-state of matches. They may not bring in any subordinate volunteers.

You MUST read the rules before starting this role, as you will be enforcing them. Especially make sure you understand the scoring rules (i.e. what counts as 'in' a zone), and how the arena should be laid out. For convenience, we have listed the most important regulations and rules for a match scorer below, marshals should be trained on this before they start.

In this role you will work in the arena with a partner. You will be the only ones allowed in the arena during matches, however it is very important that you do not obstruct any robot or its vision, (especially by casting shadows over markers).

Your responsibilities are:

  • Recording the state of the arena at the exact end of the match (see 'Scoring').
  • Ensuring robots start in the correct corner, and are entirely within their starting zone.
  • Ensuring no team members touch a robot after it has first moved. (see 'Teams touching robots').
  • Switching off robots when a team requests that you do so, or if they do not automatically turn off after a match ends.
  • Resetting the arena by moving props (tokens, for example) back to the correct place after you and your partner have both recorded the end-state of the match. There is no mechanism for delaying the matches, so please request extra help if you are struggling to make the deadlines.

You are not responsible for:

  • Making sure a match starts with the correct number of teams -- that is down to the shepherds.

Summary of the most important rules & regulations for SR2019:

  • A token is considered to be ‘in’ a zone if either:

  • Three corners of the token are in contact with the floor area inside the zone. Corners touching tape are not in the zone, tokens on Robots, or standing on their edges are not in the zone.

  • The token is touching only other tokens (not robots, not the floor), which themselves are 'in'.

  • A robot is considered to be 'in' a zone if:

  • The exact center of the flagpole is above the zone (if it's directly above the coloured tape, it's not in the zone).

Scoring

Both marshals will be given a score sheet on a clipboard, which you must both individually fill in fully by the end of the match. Don't worry! You won't be calculating any actual scores whist doing this, we have a program to calculate the actual scores. All you need to do is record the state of the arena as it is at the exact end of the match. Anything that happens after the match has ended must not be recorded, and the arena must not be changed until both scorers have finished. Teams are not allowed to enter the arena to collect their robots until after scoring has finished.

Once you have finished scoring, you should compare your score-sheet to that of the other marshal in order to pick up any mistakes. One of you should then drop both of the completed score sheets at the score entry desk which will be near the arenas. You must return promptly to the arena in case you need to be found for further scoring questions, and begin resetting the arena for the next match.

Teams touching robots

Teams must not be allowed in the arena during a match. It is the responsibility of the team members to place their robot in the start zone before the match starts. If a robot moves off before the match starts (aside from minor servo-resetting arm movements) teams are allowed to switch off their robot, reset it and start again. However, if the mis-started robot touches any arena prop then they should be immediately disqualified (there is a checkbox on the score sheet). Once the robot start button has been pressed and the match has started, teams are not allowed to interact with their robots until after scoring has taken place.

Turning off robots

Be sure to turn off robots if they continue moving after the end of a match. Make sure you know where the off button is for all robots before the matches.

There are three situations where robots should be turned off before the end of a match:

  • If the team members indicate that they wish to do so (by "throwing in the towel"). By doing so, the team forfeits the match, which should be recorded in the score sheets as a disqualification.
  • When a robot is causing significant damage to itself or another robot, i.e. Mashing into another robot, stopping it from being able to function, or dragging it around without being able to be freed, overheating a motor by stalling against a wall. It's up to you to decide which robot should be switched off, but their match shouldn't be forfeited. If any damage seems intentional, please report it to the head judge. A checklist for robot damage is available below.
  • When a robot is causing a health and safety risk, i.e. by exposing its battery to puncture damage, or overheating a motor by stalling it against a wall. In this case their match shouldn't be forfeited.

If you have any questions you may first ask the head match scorer and secondly the judge.

Template Arena Setup Checklist

  1. Props (e.g: tokens) in the arena aren't damaged. If they are, swap them out with the spares.
  2. The tokens in the arena are intended for that arena -- this can be established by reading the grey text printed on each marker on the token. If there is more than one arena then the markers on the sides of any tokens will have the name of the arena as part of the text in the bottom left of the marker.
  3. There must be the correct number of tokens of each type in the arena. The precise configuration depends on the game, though the per-year version of this checklist should be explicit about what's needed (and not rely on volunteers remembering the rules)
  4. Each token is placed on a suitable token starting positions that are marked out on the arena floor. Where possible these should be colour-coordinated.

Arena Diagram

Robot Damage Checklist

  • If the damage is intentional, seek the judge.
  • If the damage is unintentional:
    • If a robot mashes into another robot, but only briefly, leaving both robots free to move (including situations in which, say, one robot has a fragile, flaily arm that gets snapped off in the collision) then you must leave the robots to continue -- the teams are aware that accidental bumps and scrapes are inevitable.
    • If a robot mashes into another robot, and becomes intertwined in a way that it is causing damage to the robot, then at least one of the robots must be switched off, depending on which robot caused the damage, but the scores are not necessarily forfeited in this case.

Match Score Entry

Responsible for receiving score sheets from the marshals, checking them, and entering them into the competition software.

In the role of score entry, you will be stationed at a desk near to the arena/staging area. There should always be two people responsible for match score entry, one using the keyboard and one to resolve disputes and ensure that values are entered correctly. Two score sheets per match will be given to you by the match marshals.

The steps to perform are as follows:

  1. Receive both score sheets from the marshals
  2. Check the sheets match, if they don't then one of you needs to talk to the match marshals to resolve the discrepancy (see below)
  3. Enter the scores into the computer; typically one of you would enter the scores and the other check that they match the paper sheets
  4. File the score sheet in a folder

Discrepancy in score sheets

There are two score sheets for every match. It's likely that there may be a discrepancy between the sheets. If that's the case, one match score entry volunteer should speak to the marshals to try to find the correct state.

If you have any questions, speak to the competition software co-ordinator, or the head judge if it is a judging decision. The competition software co-ordinator should be reachable by radio and the head judge is frequently in the cube.

Reporting helpdesk tickets

As of SR2023, you should also have access to the helpdesk ticketing system. This is used for requesting a volunteer to check on a team in their pits, for example if their robot crashes or an important component breaks we can ensure we get help to them. Occasionally marshals may write notes for teams to be looked at, you should input these into the ticket system.

These tickets are not as high priority as entering the actual scores though.

Attribution

This page is based on work done by Thomas Leese, originally published at https://github.com/thomasleese/sr-match-coordinator/wiki/Match-Scoring, which was under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA.