DRONE BASKET

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AGE CATEGORIES

KIDS (10 to 12 years old / Elemendary School)

TEENS / SENIOR (12+ to 18 years old / Middle & High School)

ADULTS (18+ years old / University & Individuals)

⚠️ The sport is held in one division:

The sport requires a specific type of drone-robot. Details are provided in the rules.

🚨 Each age category competes separately.

TEAM REGISTRTION

⚠️ RULE ZERO – Zero Tolerance & Common Sense
In all sports, Rule ZERO applies, which states:

➤ "If you are not sure whether something is allowed, then it is probably NOT allowed."

All rules are based on common sense, the spirit of the sport, and the safety of all participants.

Any deliberate misinterpretation, violation of the meaning of the rules, or attempt to exploit gray areas for unfair advantage will not be tolerated and may lead to team disqualification from the competition.

🎯 GOAL

The goal of an alliance (alliance: 3 teams with one Drone Ball each team), is to score by sending the Drone Ball through the opposing team’s basket while preventing the opposing team from scoring in its own basket.

👥 TEAM – COACH

Participation in the competition is team-based, not individual.
Each team may consist of two (2) to three (3) members.
Each team must designate up to one (1) Robot Athlete Technician. Only the Robot Athlete Technician is allowed in the waiting area or competition area. The rest of the team can watch the matches behind the control spots.
The team is allowed to change the designated Technician before each attempt on the track, to give all members the opportunity to be actively involved in the sport, although this is not mandatory.
All team members must be at least 10 years old (equivalent to 4th grade of primary school or above).
The team’s coach must be at least 20 years old.
To ensure smooth participation in the competition, the coach must have 1 assistant for every 3 teams they register in the competition.
Each team is allowed to have only one Drone Ball. Changing the Drone Ball during the competition is not allowed
Teams are not allowed to share the same Drone Ball.
If a team encounters a serious technical issue with their Drone Ball, they are allowed to replace it only after permission from the Head Judges.

🤝 ALLIANCES

An Alliance consists of three teams. Each team may use only one Drone Ball.
In each match, two opposing Alliances compete against each other.
All teams forming an Alliance must represent the same school or institution. A school or institution must have three teams, each with its own Drone Ball, to form an Alliance and participate in the sport.
During the matches, the Alliances will be referred to as Alliance 1, Alliance 2, and so on.
If one team does not appear on the day of the matches, the Alliance may compete with two teams. The Scorer role remains mandatory. The remaining Drone Ball must be assigned either the Playmaker or the Basket Defender role.
If two teams from the same Alliance do not appear, the opposing Alliance will be awarded a victory.
If an Alliance is disqualified from the sport, the opposing Alliance will be awarded a victory, regardless of the stage of the competition at which the disqualification occurs.

🛸 DRONE BALL CATEGORY

The match involves drones with a protective casing in the shape of a ball.

🛸DRONE BALL

Remote Control: The drone ball must be operated using a remote control.
LED LIGHTS: Each drone ball must have lights and must light up in at least two colors, red and blue, so that each alliance can have its own color, allowing players to be easily recognizable by the referees during the matches.
Dimensions and Weight: The dimensions of the drone ball must be max 20cm x 20cm x 18cm, +-1cm, and it must weigh no more than 160 grams.
Specification Confirmation: To confirm compliance with the above specifications, the drone ball will be weighed and must comfortably fit into a control box.
Control Box Dimensions: 20cm x 20cm x 18cm with a tolerance of +- one (1)cm.
The drone ball must fit into the control box without applying pressure.
➤ Spare Battery: Teams must have at least one spare battery to ensure there are no delays in the conduct of the matches.

🧪 TECHNICAL INSPECTION

The initial technical inspection will take place on the day of the Games at a place and time to be determined by the organizers.
The technical inspection includes inspection of the Drone Ball and controller according to the conditions described above. If it does not meet the specifications, he will not be allowed to compete and will be automatically disqualified from the event.
If a team is not in place during the initial inspection, this results in the team being automatically disqualified from the match.
After the completion of the initial inspection, the Drone Ball is assigned its unique ID code.
A secondary technical check is also carried out before each match by the assistant referee.
If, during the competition procedure, the referee determines that a Drone Ball is violating or failing to meet the prescribed specifications, the referee has the right to disqualify it immediately.

🏟️ FIELD

➤ Track Dimensions: The track is rectangular, measuring 4 meters by 6 meters.
Track Enclosure: The track is enclosed with net around the perimeter for safety reasons.
Baskets: Two floor-mounted baskets are positioned against the short walls at each end of the track. The exact dimensions of the baskets will be revealed on the day of the competition.
➤ Track Floor:
The floor markings resemble those of a basketball court.

➤ Basket Areas:

In front of each basket, a rectangular area measuring 4 meters by 70 centimeters is marked in red or blue.

🏆 COMPETITION

📋 GENERAL INFORMATION - RULES

🏟️ COMPETITION FORMAT

The competition format is determined according to the number of participating alliances in each age category.
The alliances are divided into 16 groups.
The number of alliances placed in a Group, as well as the number of matches between alliances in a Group will be adjusted according to the number of teams participating in the Sport.
Depending on the number of participants, the group stage leads to the Top 16, Top 8, or Top 4.
Qualified alliances proceed to the subsequent stages according to the format shown in the diagram at the end of this page.
The Organizing Committee reserves the right to modify the format to accommodate the total number of participating alliances.

🤝ALLIANCE ROLES
Each alliance assigns one of the following three roles to each drone ball:

Scorer
Playmaker
Defender

Each alliance must report their roles to the referee before the start of the match.

📝 ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

➤ Scorer:

Only the Scorer Drone Ball may score. A goal is counted only if the Scorer Drone Ball passes completely through the opposing team’s hoop.

➤ Defender:

The Basket Defender’s role is to protect its Alliance’s basket. A Drone Ball may not enter or remain stationary inside its own basket hoop for defensive purposes. The referee will issue a warning for the first violation. If the same Drone Ball repeats the violation, it will be disqualified from the match, and the Alliance will continue without its Basket Defender.

➤ Playmaker:

The Playmaker supports the Scorer by helping create opportunities to score.

BASKET
A basket is achieved only when the Scorer Ball Drone passes entirely through the opposing team's Basket.

🏀 GAME SCORING

Each successful basket scores 2 points.
Each successful free throw scores 1 point.

📊 GROUP STAGE CLASSIFICATION

A win awards 2 classification points.
A loss awards 1 classification point.
A loss by forfeit awards 0 classification points.

🏟️ ADVANCEMENT FROM THE GROUP STAGE TO THE TOP 16.

The Alliance with the highest number of classification points in each group advances to the Top 16.

If two or more Alliances are tied on classification points, their ranking will be determined by applying the following criteria in order:

The results of the games played between the tied Alliances.
The higher game-points difference in those games.
The higher number of game points scored in those games.
The higher game-points difference in all group-stage games.
The higher number of game points scored in all group-stage games.
If the Alliances remain tied after all the above criteria are applied, a timed free-throw shootout will determine which Alliance advances to the Top 16.

🏟️ SCORING AND ADVANCEMENT IN THE TOP 16 AND KNOCKOUT STAGES

In Top 16 and subsequent knockout matches, the Alliance that scores the most points during the match wins.
The winning Alliance advances to the next stage, while the losing Alliance is eliminated.
If the score is tied at the end of regular time, one 2-minute overtime period will be played.
If the score remains tied after overtime, the winner will be determined by a timed free-throw shootout, as described in the procedure below.
The winners of the semifinals advance to the final. The losing Alliances compete in the Small Final. The final determines 1st and 2nd place, and the Small Final determines 3rd and 4th place.

🏟️ PTIMED FREE-THROW SHOOTOUT PROCEDURE

Before each attempt, the referee places the Scorer Drone Ball on the designated Free-Throw Line. All other Drone Balls must remain on the ground and may not interfere.
At the referee’s signal, the Scorer Drone Ball takes off. It has 10 seconds to score as many baskets as possible.
Each complete passage of the Scorer Drone Ball through the opposing Alliance’s basket within the time limit counts as 1 shootout point.
If the Scorer Drone Ball fails to take off or violates a rule, the attempt is recorded as 0 shootout points.
Each Alliance takes three attempts, alternately. The Alliance with the highest total number of shootout points wins.
If the total remains tied after three attempts each, the shootout continues in sudden death. The Alliances take one 10-second attempt each, alternately, until one Alliance scores more shootout points in its attempt than the other.

🔄 TECHNICIAN CHANGE TIME

An alliance may change its Technician between matches within the same group.

⏱️ MATCH DURATION

The match has a total duration of 4 minutes.
There is no half time. The teams keep the same baskets in all 4 minutes of the game.
During the match, time runs continuously, without stopping the clock at all.
Before each match the Drone Balls will go through a technical check carried out by the referee.

⚠️🛠️ MATCH PREPARATION - RESTRICTIONS

At the start of the match, all Drone Balls must be placed on the court floor within the red or blue area, according to their Alliance’s color.
The match begins with the referee’s whistle. All Drone Balls must take off after the whistle.
When an Alliance scores a basket, the referee records the score without stopping the match clock.
After scoring a basket, all active Drone Balls of the scoring Alliance must immediately return to their own side of the playing area before attempting to score again. If this rule is violated, a free throw will be awarded to the opposing Alliance. Any basket that the referee determines resulted from this violation will not count.
If Drone Balls become entangled, the referee may order them to land. Play will resume on the referee’s signal.
The referee will issue a red card if a Drone Ball intentionally attempts to damage an opponent’s Drone Ball. The Drone Ball will be removed from the match, and the Alliance will continue with two Drone Balls. Its Technician must land and deactivate it without stopping the match clock.
A Drone Ball from the defending Alliance may not intentionally remain stationary in front of its basket or move parallel to the end line for more than 3 seconds. If the referee determines that this rule has been violated, the Drone Ball will be removed from the match, and the Alliance will continue with two Drone Balls.
Referee decisions may be appealed only to the Head Judges. The Head Judges’ decisions are final. Disputing their final decisions may result in the disqualification of a team or Alliance.

🩹 DRONE BALL INJURY

A Drone Ball is considered injured by the referee if:

Any part of it has become disassembled.
It remains stationary because it has lost connection with its controller.

An injured Drone Ball must remain on the ground in the playing area until the 4-minute match is completed. The team may repair it after the match so that it can compete in the next match.

If all Drone Balls of an Alliance are injured and out of play, the referee will allow the Alliance up to 10 minutes to return to the match. During this period, the referee may proceed with the next scheduled match, where possible. Once the Alliance is ready to continue, the referee will resume the interrupted match. If the Alliance is not ready to resume within 10 minutes, the match will be declared over, and the score at the time of the interruption will stand.

GROUPS MATCHES

QUARTER-FINAL

SEMI-FINAL

FINAL

GROUP MATCHES

SMALL FINAL

GROUPS SYSTEM

EXAMPLE OF MATCHES BETWEEN A GROUP'S ALLIANCES

🟥 TEAM DISQUALIFICATION

In the following cases the team is excluded from the Sport and will have to withdraw.
Team results are not taken into account and are not included in the list of competition results.
1. If the team's Drone Ball does not comply with the requirements specified in the rules of the Sport and the team refuses to accommodate him.
2. If any Drone Ball's Technician behaves in an inappropriate or disrespectful manner, swears at or provokes or verbally or otherwise attacks teammates or the referees.

3. If even one of the coaches of a team behaves in an inappropriate or indecent manner, swears or provokes or verbally or otherwise attacks other teams, teammates or the referees.

4. In cases indicated in the rules of the Sport above.

✅ ALLOWED / ❌ PROHIBITED

✅ Allowed:

Frequent battery changes between matches are necessary to ensure the drone ball is always ready for action.

❌ Prohibited:

Any modification of the drone ball.
The use of different motors from those provided with the drone ball as recommended by the sport.
The modification of the controller.
The cases listed in the rules above.

🏆 WINNERS
The alliances that achieve

🥇 1st place

🥈 2nd place

🥉 3rd place

are announced per Age Category, based on the score.