Chapter 4: Robot Inspection
Introduction
Chapters 1–3 built the shared foundation that every referee needs: the roles referees play, how Head-to-Head and Robot Skills Matches are scored, and how to evaluate the field consistently. With your Scorekeeper Referee Certification complete, this chapter begins the Head Referee pathway.
The remaining chapters in this course focus on the additional responsibilities that Head Referees carry. Head Referees do everything a Scorekeeper Referee does, and then apply rules, resolve disputes, and make the final rulings that decide how robot legality and matches play out.
Before any robot competes, it must be inspected. Inspection confirms that a robot meets the construction and design rules in the Game Manual so that every team competes under the same standards. This chapter explains how inspection works, how to run a robot through the inspection checklist, and how the Head Referee continues to confirm robot legality after initial inspection is complete.
At most events, dedicated inspectors run inspections, and there are usually more inspectors than Head Referees. The number of each depends on the size of the event. Regardless of who performs an inspection, the Head Referee is the final authority on robot legality (per <T1>). Inspectors handle the routine checks; questions they cannot resolve come to the Head Referee.
The time to complete this chapter is approximately 30 minutes.
In This Chapter
You will learn why a robot must pass inspection before it competes, how to take a robot through the inspection checklist and reach the correct outcome, and how the Head Referee handles robot legality once matches are underway.