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Rules Clarifications
Click here to submit a question or request a clarification

The cutoff date for clarifications that apply to the Regional Competitions will be January 23. Any clarifications that appear after January 23 will apply to the State Competition ONLY.

Sumo Bots - B & C Division (10/3/08): Question: Are DSM radios & receivers ( 2.4GHz ) which bind the transmitter to the receiver ( thus eliminating interference ) allowed in the Sumo Bots competition? Answer: The National Science Olympiad Board of Directors has expanded the allowed frequencies for robots this year to include 2.4 GHz (including Bluetooth). Sumo Bots is a trial event, and as such will conform to the frequencies designated by the National Board of Directors. Therefore, 2.4 GHz radios and receivers will be permitted this year. Competitors are reminded that while a transmitter in the 2.4 GHz range will seek out an unused channel and lock onto it (thus eliminating the need for additional crystals), the 2.4 GHz frequency is not infinite. DSSS and DSM radios and receivers are limited to 80 channels in the 2.4 GHz range, and there are many other devices that could be vying for those frequencies (Bluetooth enabled cell phones, bluetooth enabled computers, wireless computer networks) and that if no channel is available when you turn on your transmitter, it simply won't transmit until a channel becomes available. See http://www.newyorkscioly.org/SOPages/SumoFrequencies.html for more information.

Egg-O-Naut - C Division (10/2/08): Question: Are parachutes allowed in the nose-cone to increase time in the air and safety of the egg? Answer: Yes

Robo Cross - B Division (9/20/08): This year's rules state that students will design and build a robot for the event. No mention is made of using kits or modifying robots that students may purchase. Our interpretation of that rule (pending a clarification on the National web site) is as follows: students may not simply purchase a robot and use it out of the box, even if they make modifications to the robot. They must add parts that they can control to the robot (if they start with a robot they purchased). Specifically, that means that adding parts to the tread to give the tread more traction is not a significant enough change. The following are our interpretations of the "design and build" rule:

  1. Students start with a pre-built robot and then build additional parts onto the robot (that they control) to complete the task (for example, they may build an arm onto to robot to collect the items. Adding a plow to the front of the robot will not be considered building the robot).
  2. Students may design a robot to complete the task and then purchase the parts from a vendor such as VEX. This meets the "design and build" component as they decide what parts they need, then put them together to create their robot.
  3. Students may scavenge parts from various sources (for example, using the motors from electric screwdrivers) and create their own, homemade robot.

Sumo Bots - B Division Only (9/18/08): State Tournament Only: To help insure that impound can be completed on the morning of the competition, teams are required to email the State Event Supervisor with the frequencies their bot can operate on prior to the State Competition. These emails should be sent to jboyd@newyorkscioly.org, they must arrive by 4/11/09, and they should contain the following information: name of school, team number, three frequencies (in one of the two standard formats) that the bot can operate on.

Sumo Bots - B & C Division (8/27/08): Please remember that the object of the competition is to force your opponent out of the ring - NOT to avoid being pushed out yourself. As a clarification, please view the three diagrams below:

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...................Diagram A...................................................Diagram B,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.Diagram C

In Diagram A, two bots have been positioned in the ring. The red bot has sent out strings with washers on the ends after the judges started the competition (this is perfectly legal under the rules). In Diagram B, the blue bot has attacked the red bot, and forced it out of the ring, except for the three strings, which the blue bot passed over when it engaged the red bot. Diagram C shows that, even if the blue bot pushes the red bot until it, too, is completely out of the ring, some of the strings from the red bot would still be in the ring. Under these conditions, the judges would stop the bout at Diagram B and declare the blue bot the winner - at that point, the only use the red bot team can make of the strings is to avoid being pushed out of the ring. This use of the strings is a violation of the spirit of the competition. While the team may design a robot that expands in any way they want (including the design of the red bot in the diagrams), that expansion should be designed to help force their opponent out of the ring.

Sumo Bots - B & C Division (8/27/08): The areas of competition (rings) used at the State Competition at West Point will be 4' by 4' pieces of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood. The surface that the bots will run on will receive a coat of water based polyurethane finish, and the gym floor around the perimeter of the rings will be covered with the vinyl runners used as the ring surface last year (to protect the gym floor and avoid a change in surface friction when a bot is partly on the ring and partly off)

Sumo Bots - B & C Division/Car of Tomorrow - B Division (8/27/08): Students are strongly urged to impound extra batteries for their bot/vehicle. Only batteries that have been impounded will be allowed during competition - students MAY NOT obtain a different battery from any place other than the impound area. There will be NO facilities at the State competition for recharging batteries.

Sumo Bots - B & C Division (8/27/08): If you have questions about the requirement that your bot can be operated on three different frequencies, please click here for a more detailed explanation.

The box/container holding the bot that the students bring to impound for the competition should include the following information: School Name and Team Number, along with the frequencies the bot can operate under.

Competition is a double-elimination tournament. Click here for a sample double elimination grid for 9 teams.

State Tournament Schedule: Teams will be scheduled to compete in groups of 9 every hour. At 3:00 PM, the top two teams from each hour will meet to determine the top 12 places.
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