0.5 cm gap

[MotorCityMike]

Can someone kindly provide me with a better explanation of rule 3.j.ii? It states "...and must have a physical edge that is at least 0.5cm above any surface below to earn points...". I interpret this as a vertical measurement, like the upper track must be 0.5cm above the lower track.

What is your interpretation?

Thanks
Mike

[knightmoves]

The idea is that this has to be a "real gap", and if the ball doesn't quite make the jump, it shouldn't be able to just hop back up on to the track and keep going. Yes, it's a vertical measurement.

It's not comparing the heights of the track at the launch point and land point - it's comparing the landing track with any part of the build that is underneath the gap. It's got to be a "real jump", where if it fails, the ball will fall down somewhere.

[jander14indoor]

Think of it as more of a step than a gap. The receiving end of the gap must have a 0.5 cm step DOWN to the nearest surface below it. This is for two reasons. As an ES (I was the national ES some years back, but not this year!) I can't determine exactly where your ball lands at the end of the gap so I have to have something clear to measure to. In an earlier version of the rules we didn't have this step and teams would mark a line on a flat surface and call it the end of their gap. Unless they missed by a mile, there was no way for me to determine if the ball made the gap or not. The 0.5 cm is a little arbitrary, but that's what was written into the rules. With this step if you miss your gap, its EASY to tell.

As already stated, it has nothing to do with the relative heights of the beginning and end of the gaps.

Hope that is a little clearer.

Jeff Anderson
Livonia, MI