Scioly.org

wlsguy wrote: I completely agree.

Rule 2b says something about the attachment point required to be at the top end of the elastic cord.
Rule 3a says you get time to prepare your device
Rule 3c says you cannot modify the cord after impound.

If you must attach to the top end and cannot modify the cord, exactly what is there to prepare?
The way I read the rules, if a team tried to use only part of their cord (an obvious solution) they would be guilty of either modifying the cord (by rolling it up) or not attaching to the top end.
Add the ambiguity of a release mechinism supplied by the event supervisor which must be used (3B) and the event appears impossible.

Hopefully I'm missing something.

Here's a pic of my teams release thingy. We can change how high it is and it's clamped down on the end.


Pretty sure it means that you can change the length of your device (where you put it so it drops a certain height) but you can't change what actually makes up your bungee, as as adding another string or something.

My partner and I have our entire length elastic, and are measuring the length for each height, and then changing the weight and doing the same. Our coach told us that it should be a linear change, but you also need to account for the bungee stretching the more you use it.

How much does everyone's bungee stretch from 1m? Partner said that we get 233% from the stuff we have. Testing gives us a fairly close number.

Can you buy a commercial bungee cord. The rules do not specify if it is illegal or not.
Also how do you build the pole to test

bungeeconfused2 wrote:Can you buy a commercial bungee cord. The rules do not specify if it is illegal or not.
Also how do you build the pole to test

For your first question, my understanding of the rules is that any material (or to be more specific, any cord, since the rules allow cords to be made of multiple materials) that passes the elasticity test is permitted. Therefore, my understanding is that commercial bungee cord is allowed, so long as one meter of it will stretch an additional 25 cm when a 500 g mass is attached to it, so you should be fine.

The outer cover of commercial bungee cord is made of a non-elastic material that limits how far the cord can stretch. Read the rules carefully to see if this would be allowed. If there is any uncertainty, you may wish to submit a question to soinc.org AND your local tournaments.

Just to clarify, as what some teams are posting here is a little bit confusing, all we are REQUIRED to bring to the competition is our cord with a closed ring (we're using a key ring) at one end, and the supervisor will provide everything else, including the attachment/release device for the top of the cord. Let me know if I've got anything wrong here.

Can you clarify what they mean when they say "a top anchoring system/extended platform with a release mechanism (e.g., a clamp) to attach the top end of the elastic cord".

theawesomeperson22 wrote:Can you clarify what they mean when they say "a top anchoring system/extended platform with a release mechanism (e.g., a clamp) to attach the top end of the elastic cord".

I assume you're referring to this part of the rules in 2. b "Supervisors will supply ... an attachment mechanism (hook, clasp, carabiner, etc.) that will connect the team's bottom cord ring to the bottle and a top anchoring system/extended platform with a release mechanism (e.g., a clamp) ... " It means that at the competition they'll have something that extends from the testing wall/railing (wherever you have to drop from), plus you'll have to attach the top end of your elastic cord to it somehow (such as through a clamp that holds it to this extended piece), and somewhere on the extended platform will be a release mechanism that holds the bottle.

However, this is super arbitrary and could be interpreted in many different ways. For example, through the wording you could think that you have to attach the top end of the elastic cord to the release mechanism, which wouldn't work at all because then how would you drop your bottle XD ? In addition, you could consider it means that the very top end of the elastic cord must be clamped, which would be more difficult for most teams because it's easier and more accurate to wrap your elastic cord on something first and then clamp the part where you want the bungee to be measured from. But instead you'd have to clamp and then wrap which could allow your bungee to move more. Most would probably consider how I explained what it meant the first time to be what it actually implies, probably, but I don't like how generic the rules are. I think it is up to the event supervisors to interpret the rules and apply it to how they want to run the event, which can be unfortunate because it leaves some unknowns to the competitors. I think most supervisors will try to be lenient with the rules.

I didn't know what the clamp would be like, and it turned out it was a metal clamp, and the clampy part was a metal disk with serrated edges. I got tiered because it cut through my thin rope :/ and my bungee hit the ground. Please keep this in mind when making your device, and read the rules over and over! One solution I could've done was to clamp my rope less tightly or not have used the clamp at all.

Edit: On further inspection, it doesn't say they will provide something like a clamp or tape to decrease the chance of your bungee from slipping. If you wrap it around several times, that should be enough, or ask if you can use tape before the event starts so the event supervisor considers letting all competitors to use tape.

what is everyone doing for the elastic cord? are you using bungee cords or something else? if bungee cords then what kind? i really just need a starting point

Are we allowed to use CA glue on our bungees or will we get tiered for it?

Just came back from Wright State Invitational and did pretty well...

However, I dont know if anyone else saw, but the way the proctors measured the clearance was very inaccurate. They had a video camera set up but you could tell it didnt work because after a few tests, the proctors rarely looked at it for a true confirmation. Most of the time, the weight dropped, the 3 proctors discussed for a second (literally 2-3 seconds) and told the competitors the scores. On tests that went way above the camera (40's to 90's cm) you could hear them saying "55 to 65? Right?.... ehhh 60 cm") and then would tell the competitors. This seemed very unfair as any kind of error in vision could put an entire team back a place in overall team results. I hope at Nats, they will have a high-speed camera and some kind of mechanism to test if the weight tapped or not (as suggested in the rules, carbon paper or sand).

Also, the way they had the "5 minute setup" was very unprofessional. They never stated that when teams are in line to test, that waiting time IS you setup time, so many teams had to mark measurements within the 5 minute TESTING period, and had to rush to get both tests on time.

I hope at Nats, they will have a high-speed camera and some kind of mechanism to test if the weight tapped or not (as suggested in the rules, carbon paper or sand).