How to interpret rules on what counts as a jump

[cool hand luke]

I know this isn't a place to get an official answer, but while I'm waiting on the official answer I'll see how you guys are treating it.

in the rules it states that
"After landing the vehicle must travel at least 5 cm on the track in the direction of the jump (e.g., a gap may not end with the vehicle hitting a wall)"

how does this get applied? for instance, say the ball is launched at a 45 degree angle and lands on something the same height as the launch point. The ball will now be travelling at a 45 degree angle down. So does it have to keep both the vertical and horizontal components of its direction the same for 5 cm? or can it land there and not continue to go down?

another way to look at it, let's say you have the x, y and z (vertical) axis.

if it starts the jump going in the positive x direction, does, and when it jumps it therefore has an x and z component of it's velocity. Does it have to continue in both these directions for 5 cm?

what about if it jumps in the x direction, lands and is steered to the left in a circle. It still travels 5 cm in the x direction, but it's not in a straight line. is that ok?

I wish I could draw these up and illustrate them.

[IvanGe]

it just has to be about the same overall direction that it was launched and it doesn't change direction by hitting a wall. You can have a jump, let it go off by 45 degrees, and then catch it in a tube and have it keep on going. Atleast thats what my teamate and I did and we didn't have a problem

[vehicleguy]

I'm curious, what do you define as a tube?

[IvanGe]

I'm curious, what do you define as a tube?

What I meant was something like a pvc pipe cut in half

[IvanGe]

by vehicleguy » Wed Jan 31, 2018 12:55 pm

I'm curious, what do you define as a tube?

What I meant was something like a pvc pipe cut in half

[vehicleguy]

Ok, thank you

[ms74coach]

Hello, this is my first time on the forum. My students have a gap jump that lands on the receiving end but does a bounce forward in the direction of the jump. The bounce is about 5-7 cm but does this violate the following: "After landing the vehicle must travel at least 5 cm on the track in the direction of the jump (e.g.,a gap may not end with the vehicle hitting a wall)." Does the vehicle need to roll (stay in contact) with the track when it lands from a jump for 5cm in the direction of the jump? Doe the land + bounce forward 5cm violate the rule because its not "on" the track for the 5cm after it lands? Thanks in advance.

[shrewdPanther46]

It violates. Essentially, they found a way to ban bounces altogether (because they are meaningless for this years rules in terms of helping score), due to some extremely clever exploitation of the rules last year at nats.

[ms74coach]

Even if that bounce is not considered a gap jump but just a bounce along the track after landing?

[shrewdPanther46]

Even if that bounce is not considered a gap jump but just a bounce along the track after landing?

Sorry if my prior wording was confusing
The gap just isnt counted
I was saying that when it comes down to it, putting in effort for creating a consistent bounce is worthless because it can never help your score.