Tower B/C

[bernard]

[bernard]

I've supervised this event for a couple of tournaments this year and wanted to share some recommendations based on common issues I've seen with teams. These observations are from the MIT and Yale Invitationals and I've posted the same in the topic for the MIT Invitational (https://scioly.org/forums/viewtopic.php ... 14#p461814) so I'll just quote the relevant portion below.

1. Variation in Loading Assembly. Every year, a handful of teams struggle with a competition-day Loading Assembly that differs from the one they practiced with and designed their structure around. Remember that the rules allow a range of lengths for the eyebolt, so your structure must accommodate eyebolts of any length within that range. A slightly greater challenge—especially for Tower compared to other structure events—is that the S-hook specified in the rules does not have a fixed dimension. Therefore, teams should not design their Tower to fit precisely around an S-hook of a particular size.
   
   This was the most common challenge I observed during setup, where teams struggled to fit the S-hook through their structure without damaging the surrounding framework. Fortunately, no teams were completely unable to accommodate the Loading Assembly, but those that encountered this difficulty tended to spend significant time on setup.
   
   
2. Building precision. As with every year, a few teams built right to the dimensional specifications in the rules, which is impressive but risky when practicing on a tournament-day setup. Two key specifications where this was relevant this year were the Loading Block height and the bonus circle.
   
   Firstly, measuring accuracy varies, and it is difficult to dispute a difference of a couple millimeters between rulers. If the Event Supervisor's ruler measures slightly longer than yours, your structure built to 51.0 cm may not fall under 50.0 cm, but if you built exactly to 50.0 cm, you now have a Construction Violation.
   
   Secondly, measuring the Loading Block height is challenging because it is a vertical measurement that cannot be taken by simply holding a ruler against the Loading Block, especially with common Tower designs that are angled. Furthermore, an unlevel Loading Block relative to the Test Base can introduce and complicate parallax error correction. To improve accuracy, we mounted two bubble levels with a combination square to a meterstick at 49.9 cm, allowing for a direct, up-close measurement of Loading Block height. Even with this method, a few teams were still too close to the minimum dimension.
   
   Thirdly, even if your Loading Block measures exactly 50.0 cm prior to loading, once your Tower is loaded, it will begin to settle and arguably no longer meets that specification.
   
   Finally, for the bonus circle, drawing a precise 29 cm diameter circle is difficult without a large compass or stencil. Even with a precisely manufactured circle slightly under 29 cm in diameter, off by nearly 1 mm, a few teams' Towers barely missed touching the bonus circle. To avoid potential Construction Violations, teams should prepare for circles that may not be perfectly circular and could be marked with thick lines.
   
   My recommendations are to build your Tower to support a Loading Block at least 50.5 cm, even 51.0 cm, above the Test Base. For the bonus circle, design for a 29.5 cm diameter or larger. The structural and mass differences in building slightly larger are minimal compared to the risk of a Construction Violation, which could significantly impact your ranking.
   
   
3. Eye protection. Eye protection is required for this event and must be properly fitted. If you wear prescription glasses, wearing safety glasses over them that project outward from your face without proper seating on your nose bridge does not meet the requirements. This setup does not provide adequate protection and does not satisfy the event’s safety standards. Additionally, per guidelines, teams must be able to display the Z87+ marking.

In summary: be prepared for eyebolts and S-hooks that are smaller or larger than your usual size, do not build too close to the specifications for Loading Block height and the circle bonus, and present proper eye protection that is compatible with prescription glasses if you wear them.