2024 Tournament Rule Changes

Tournament Rules

New Tournament Format

For our 2024 events, we will use a format similar to the one we used at the 2023 World Championships.

Here are specific tweaks we are making.

• To progress to the single-elimination bracket, a bot needs to win two fights in the qualification phase over a maximum of three rounds.
• The top 25% of the bots entered will be seeded. This is the top 25% from the number of bots rounded up to the next half-bracket size. For example, if there are 83 bots entered, the next half-bracket size is 96, and there would be 24 seeds.
• All other bots will be unseeded. (Note: for the January event, all bots will be unseeded.)
• In the first round, each seeded bot will fight a random unseeded bot. Each unseeded bot will fight a random unseeded bot.
• If you are seeded, you will not fight another seeded bot in the first two rounds of the qualification phase.
• After the first round, bots that won their first fight will fight another bot that won its first round. The winner of that fight progresses to the single-elimination bracket.
• Bots that lose their first round fight will fight another bot that lost its first round fight. The loser of that fight is eliminated.
• All bots that went 1-1 in the first two rounds of the qualifying phase will then fight one more time. The winner progresses to the single-elimination bracket, and the loser is eliminated.
• A bot that went 2-0 during the qualifying phase will not face another 2-0 bot in the first round of the single elimination bracket.

Avoiding specific matchups

Bots from the same team will not fight each other in the qualification phase (assuming fewer than 1/8 of the entrants in that weight class are from the same team). Bots from the same team can fight each other in any round of the single-elimination bracket. Teams are limited to a maximum of 4 bots per weight class.

Bots that fight each other in the second round of the qualification phase will not fight each other again in the first two rounds of the single-elimination bracket.

No 3rd Place Fight

Tournaments will no longer have 3rd Place fights. The bots that lose in the semifinals can agree to fight each other, but this will be considered a Freestyle match.

New Qualification System for World Championships

The semifinalists at each Norwalk tournament will qualify for the NHRL World Championships. If a semifinalist has already qualified, the quarterfinalist with the highest pre-tournament ranking will take that qualification spot.

The qualification rules for tournaments outside out of Norwalk will be communicated before those tournaments.

Technical Knockout Result

NHRL is introducing a new fight result - Technical Knockout (TKO). TKOs differ from forfeits in that a TKO comes from the league, whereas a forfeit comes from the bot team.

TKOs will usually be issued if a bot is unable to fight at its scheduled time, although there are a few other ways that a bot can get TKO "points". Once a bot has 3 TKO points it will receive an immediate TKO. TKO points accumulate over the course of an event, but reset between events.

Forfeits & Rankings

If a bot forfeits a match or is issued a TKO, this will be counted as a Loss for bot rankings. Similarly, the bot that progresses due to a forfeit or TKO will be granted a Win for bot rankings. This will not be applied retroactively.

In the pits

Badges and wristbands

In 2024, all competitors will be given wristbands instead of bot badges. Badges will only be given to the Main Driver of the bot. Demerit points and TKO points will be tracked electronically to reduce the chance of confusion.

If competitors would like additional bot badges as a memento, NHRL can provide them on request.

Driver restrictions

NHRL will replace the Captain designation with a Main Driver designation. Each Main Driver can only drive one entry in each weight class at a single tournament. A Main Driver can still be a part of other bot teams and can also control multibot components in the same weight class, as long as they are not controlling the heaviest component of those bots.

All competitors must sign a waiver to compete

This will be a condition of entry for ALL builders, not just the Main Driver.

Bot inspections

We are renaming “safety inspections” to “bot inspections,” because this procedure now encompasses more than safety. Bot Inspections will include the following:

• Safety compliance
• Checking that sharp edges are adequately covered when not fighting.
• Weapon lock compliance (as per the updated bot design rules)
• Weight checks
• Active weapon check (if Bot Inspector believes definition is not reached, they will refer to the tournament stewards)
• Multibot component check (see below)
• Arena fouling material check (see below)
• Approving camera equipment

All powered configurations of a bot must be inspected before the event. Passive configuration changes (like unpowered forks/wedges, fireproof tape, or anti-drone poles) will be checked for weight but do not need a full bot inspection.

Active weapons

All bots competing or attempting to qualify for the NHRL World Championship must have an active weapon that is clearly designed to influence its opponent.

If there is doubt about whether a weapon qualifies as an active weapon, an NHRL Tournament Steward (see below) will make the final decision. Here are some examples of criteria the Stewards will use:

• A good-faith explanation of how the weapon is designed to influence an opponent.
• The proportion of bot weight dedicated to the weapon system.

Multibot component check

Any multibot component must be capable of influencing the fight. If a bot inspector believes this definition is not reached, they will refer to the tournament stewards for a ruling. This threshold is deliberately low to allow for multiple tactical approaches to multibots, however, overly cautious multibot component driving styles will lead to losing points in judges’ scoring.

Arena fouling material check

Competitors may not do significant and/or lasting damage to the arena. Occasionally taking bits of wood out of the side panels and floor, or leaving nicks in the polycarb walls are acceptable. However, creating a condition where part of the floor is sticky, or requiring a floor or wall swap because of specific damage your bot has done to the arena, may result in disciplinary action.

If a bot inspector finds material in a bot during inspection that could possibly foul the arena, they will warn the bot team of the potential for fouling. The bot will not fail inspection for this reason alone, but if the material does later foul the arena, the bot team may face disciplinary action.

Repair windows

Repair windows will be unchanged from the 2023 season, apart from a 15-minute extension that each bot may request once per tournament. This extension, if granted, will be considered used regardless of how much time is remaining when the team is ready. Any bot that uses the 15-minute extension will receive 1 TKO point.

A bot that is not ready to fight may lose its fight by TKO.

Configurations and checkins

When a team checks into the pit desk with a bot, they must bring it in the configuration that they intend to fight with. They may not bring extra configurations to the pit desk or beyond. Bots cannot be replaced when they get to the pit desk.

Unless a weight check is required, the bot does not need to be visible at the pit desk.

Pre-Fight Weight Checks

All competitors will be required to weigh their bots before each fight.

If a bot is overweight by up to 2.5oz it will be given 1 TKO point. If the team can quickly reduce the weight, they will be allowed to fight assuming the bot has not received 3 TKO points.

If a bot is over 2.5oz it will receive 3 TKO points and an immediate TKO.

A set of official calibrated NHRL scales will be made available in the pits for builders to use at any time to check their bot weight.

Automatic pre-fight weight checks

Any bot that has changed its configuration from its previous fight must inform the Pit Desk. The bot will then be weighed before its next fight. If it is overweight, the same sanctions apply as they would for a random pre-fight weight check.

Before the fight

Load-in

If, during load-in, a bot needs more work done to it than removing the weapon lock, powering it on, or performing a power cycle, the team will receive a TKO point and a maximum of one minute to get the bot ready to fight. If the TKO point is the bot’s third TKO point, the bot will receive an immediate TKO. If the bot is unable to fight after one minute, it will receive an immediate TKO.

Bots will be able to perform any tests inside the cage that they wish as long as the test can be completed within 1 minute. If it takes longer than one minute, this will be one TKO point. If it takes longer than three minutes, an immediate TKO will be issued.

If multibot components totalling less than 50% of the bot weight are not working, the team can fight without these components as long as the remaining components would be allowed to fight (i.e. more than 50% of the multibot has active weapons and the remaining components fall within weight rules). Otherwise, they must keep the components in the cage, but this will may impact judges’ scores. If the multibot components not working total more than 50% of a bot's weight then a TKO will be issued.

During the fight

Referee determines false starts

If a bot moves before the referee begins the phrase “Fight Robots Fight”, this is a false start. If no contact is made with the opponent bot, one TKO point will be given to the offending bot. If contact is made with the opponent bot, the offending bot will receive an automatic TKO.

The countdown will come from our production system. If our system isn’t working, then it will come from the referee.

Updated count-out rules

These are two rules that work in tandem:

• If a bot is being counted out, it may stop the count-out by showing any kind of self-propelled movement. We no longer look for the bot to meet some threshold of “controlled movement.”
• If neither competitor is engaging after their unstick attempts, then both bots will be counted out. When the count-out is complete, if the bots engaged at any point during the fight, then the judges will decide the winner. If neither bot engaged at all during the fight, the referee will determine the fight winner via a coin flip. Count-outs should always happen through the ref terminal.

Pins

Judges will now consider a pin successful after the referee has counted to 5 seconds. The pinning bot will then have an additional 5 seconds to release the pin.

If the count gets to 10, the referee will note that the pin should be disregarded from control scoring for judging. A pin that leads to an entanglement will not be considered a pin for control scoring.

Post-fight functionality checks

If a fight is going to the judges, the referee will check the functionality of each bot’s drive and weapon systems. Every multibot component will undergo the check. The referee will determine whether the system:

• Appears fully functional
• Appears damaged but operational
• Inoperable or severely damaged

Any multibot components that do not have an active weapon will only have their drive system checked.

Disciplinary Measures

Tournament Integrity Committee

NHRL is creating a Tournament Integrity Committee (TIC). The committee will investigate allegations of violations of the Builder Conduct Policy, review safety, and other disciplinary issues at events, and impose disciplinary actions if warranted.

Tournament Stewards

There will be two tournament stewards at each event. One will be a member of NHRL staff and the other will be a builder. The stewards’ job is to make rulings on any possible rules infractions that need dedicated attention. Any resolution from the tournament stewards needs to be agreed to by both stewards. If the stewards disagree, no action will be taken against the bot team.

Referees

Referees are empowered to issue warnings, TKOs, and/or TKO points. If a referee feels that a bot team should face greater disciplinary sanctions, the referee will report that to the tournament stewards.

If a referee deems that a driver is deliberately ignoring referee or cage manager instructions or is fighting in the cage contrary to the spirit of the sport, they will call for a tournament steward to come to the cage. The fight will continue. The tournament steward will determine the course of action on what they have seen from the fight, from talking to the cage crew and the drivers and from reviewing fight footage, if needed. A decision will be made cageside.

TKO points

NHRL will introduce a TKO point system that will be administered by the tournament stewards, and issued by stewards, referees, and NHRL staff. TKO points will generally be charged for non-safety mistakes that lead to rules violations.

Any bot that receives three TKO points will be considered TKO’d from their current or upcoming fight.

TKO points will be applied to the bot and not individuals. It is the Main Driver’s responsibility to ensure that their team stays safe and within NHRL rules.

In addition to issuing TKO points, tournament stewards can disqualify individual bots, and decide that individual competitors must leave the pits or the building. If a bot is disqualified but individuals are not made to leave, those individuals can continue to compete with any other teams that they are registered with for the event.

Demerits

To ensure that events run safely and fairly, NHRL has a disciplinary system called Demerits. Demerits will generally be charged for intentional rules violations or most safety violations.

Any bot that receives 3 Demerits will be disqualified from the event. A disqualified bot is immediately removed from the tournament. Its next opponent receives a bye. In addition, a disqualified bot is not allowed to enter Freestyle fights.

Demerits will be applied to the bot and not individuals. It is the Main Driver’s responsibility to ensure that their team stays safe and within NHRL rules.

In addition to issuing Demerits, Tournament Stewards can disqualify individual bots, and decide that individual competitors must leave the building or the pits. If a bot is disqualified but individuals are not made to leave, those individuals can continue to compete with any other teams that they are registered with for the event.

Single-Point Demerit Infractions

Single-point Demerit can be given by any Referee or tournament director. These can only be given for the following listed infractions:

• Leaving a lipo battery charging unattended
• Weapon not locked when away from the designated pit table, workshop, bot inspection area, hazard area or inside the cage (unless with express permission from NHRL staff)
• Controlling the bot or activating the weapon before cage doors are closed
• Working with hazardous materials outside of the Hazard Area
• Using grinding tools outside of the grinding tent or machine shop.

Any potential infraction not on this list must be sent to the Tournament Stewards for an investigation. The infractions on the list can be updated by the Commission.

Tournament Steward Investigations

An investigation can be triggered by any NHRL member of staff. Builders cannot trigger an investigation but if they observe something that should be investigated, they should inform the nearest member of NHRL staff they can find.

A referee or tournament director cannot issue a single point demerit if this would result in the bot’s disqualification. Instead, an investigation will automatically be triggered that will review ALL demerits given to the bot up to that point.

Once the tournament stewards receive an investigation request, they will investigate in any way they see fit. This may or may not include talking to builders as part of the investigation. When the tournament stewards have reached a decision, they will inform a member of NHRL staff to relay the decision to the relevant builder. tournament stewards can decide to issue any number of TKO points, disqualify the bot, request individuals leave the pits of the entire premises, retract TKO points, or do nothing.

To prevent unsettling builders unnecessarily, builders will not be informed they are under investigation unless this is strictly necessary. If the tournament stewards decided that no action should be taken, the builders will not be informed that they were under investigation. As far as possible, the identity of the tournament stewards for the event will be kept hidden so that they will not receive external pressure.

Further disciplinary sanctions

In extreme cases, further sanctions beyond an event disqualification may be warranted. If this is the case, the TIC will meet to decide. In line with current NHRL policies, these investigations, along with the sanctions, will be kept private between the builder and NHRL.