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I notice both Helicopters and Wright Stuff have an addition to rule 4.b stating that only competitors can handle device components while they are competing. The location of the change makes it seem to me that it was intended towards spectators (with the next statement on teams violating this rule being tiered), but could it (or is it intended to) also be interpreted to apply to event supervisors?

Yes. You'll notice a similar more explicit change to Towers in 4.a. where it states the team will make measurements in front of Event Supervisors.

Is this in response to the query of Event Supervisors breaking devices? I guess SOINC is putting the onus back on to the competitors now... more practice

Yes, we always recommend that the Event Supervisors not to touch competitors' devices. The competitors built these devices so they are the best people to know where to touch or not touch their device. The goal is to minimize the chances of the device being accidentally broken and maximize the chances of allowing the students to test the devices.