⚠️ 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 the robot athlete is to throw the ball as far as possible.
The sport requires shot putter movements, precision, mechanics and correct calculations.
👥 TEAM – COACH
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Participation in the competition is team-based, not individual.
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Each team may consist of two (2) to three (3) members.
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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 must remain in the competition venue but cannot wait in line. ➤ In other words, they cannot occupy an additional spot. If a team fails to comply with this rule, it will be disqualified.
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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.
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All team members must be at least 10 years old (equivalent to 4th grade of primary school or above).
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The team’s coach must be at least 20 years old.
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To ensure smooth participation in the competition, the coach must have 1 assistant for every 3 teams they register in the competition.
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Each team is allowed to have only one robot. Changing the robot during the competition is not allowed.
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Teams are not allowed to share the same robot.
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If a team encounters a serious technical issue with their robot, they are allowed to replace only the microcontroller or the electronic components, after obtaining permission from the Head Judges.
🤖 ROBOT ATHLETE – ROBOT CATEGORY
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The Competition is for Robot Athletes regardless of the robotic package or hardware used.
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Do It Youself Robot Athletes are also allowed.
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All Robot Athletes compete together in each age division.
⚙️ ROBOT ATHLETE REQUIREMENTS – SPECIFICATIONS
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The Robot Athlete must be autonomous. This means it should adjust the arc height when the start button is pressed, not manually.
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Its maximum dimensions must be 25 cm Width x 25 cm Length and its mass up to 1000gr.
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To confirm the specifications listed above, the Robot Athlete will be weighed and must comfortably fit into a control box.
➤ The control box measures (25 x 25) centimeters plus two (2) millimeters tolerance.
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The Athlete Robot should be placed in the control box without applying pressure.
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The Robot Athlete must have a start and stop button.
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For 2026 the Robot Athlete must have a 3-degree-of-freedom arm, meaning it must have three joints working in sequence to perform motion in a robotic arm that will be used to throw the ball.
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➤ The robotic arm must be connected to motors, and this must be clearly visible.
➤ A robotic arm must not be built using axles, even if they are short in length.
➤ The robotic arm must under no circumstances launch the ball using a bow-like mechanism (e.g., flexible axles, wood, plastic, etc.).
➤ The Robot Athlete must not throw the ball in a way that imitates a tennis ball launcher.
➤ The Robot Athlete must not use rubber bands anywhere on the structure of its arm. -
The use of pneumatic devices in the construction of the arm is strictly prohibited.
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The use of metal blades or springs is strictly prohibited.
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Regardless of the robot category, only 1 processor, 6 motors, and 4 sensors are allowed.
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In robotic kit categories where the microcontroller’s ports do not support more than 4 motors, the use of port expansion components is allowed (e.g., LEGO Mindstorms multiplexer).
🔧 Detailed description of the arm based on the 3 degrees of freedom:
The arm, consisting of three joints (shoulder, elbow, wrist), must perform a throwing-type motion by unfolding its joints sequentially with increasing speed, in order to accelerate the ball and launch it.
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Joint 1 (shoulder) – Motor 1:
➤ Lifts the arm forward and/or upward, initiating the motion.
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Joint 2 (elbow) – Motor 2:
➤ Performs bending/extension to enhance the forward speed.
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Joint 3 (wrist or final joint) – Motor 3:
➤ Completes the motion with a rapid thrust of the ball outward.
Ball holding point (e.g. palm-like construction connected to the wrist):
➤ Includes a suitable structure (e.g. “grip,” “palm,” or “holder”) that firmly holds the ball until the moment of release.
➤ The release of the ball may be assisted by an additional mechanical system (e.g. a lever or other construction), without the use of rubber bands, springs, additional motors, or pneumatic components.
🧪 TECHNICAL INSPECTION
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The initial technical inspection takes place on the day of the competition, during the Robot Athlete’s first attempt.
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During the initial inspection, the team will be asked questions about the critical parts of the robot's program.
➤ The team must have their laptop with the robot’s program open.
➤ If it becomes clear from the answers that the team does not understand the program, they will receive a penalty equal to -20% of the score they achieve in the event. -
The technical inspection includes a robot examination based on the specifications described above.
➤ If the robot does not meet the requirements, it will not be allowed to compete and will be automatically disqualified from the event. -
After the completion of the initial inspection, the Robot Athlete is assigned its unique ID code.
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If a team is not present at the time of the initial technical inspection, it will result in automatic disqualification from the competition.
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A secondary technical inspection is also conducted before each attempt, performed by the assistant referee.
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It is mandatory for the Robot Athlete Technician to wear safety glasses. Protective equipment is mandatory on the playing field before and during matches. The protective equipment will be checked during the technical inspection.
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The lack of protective equipment in whole or in part will be reason for the team to be disqualified from the Sport.
🏟️ FIELD
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The competition mat has dimensions of 2.36cm Length x 1.14 Width x 0.05cm Perimeter Barrier Height,
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Its color is white and the texture of the tarpaulin is printable.
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It has a 5cm thick black frame around the perimeter.
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On one side across the width, there is a green rectangular frame with dimensions 1.05 cm x 90 cm.
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In the center of the rectangle, there is a circle with a diameter of 85 cm (approximately 65 cm white surface – 2 cm black ring).
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The arena is placed within a frame with dimensions 2.36 cm Length x 1.14 cm Width x 5 cm Height (perimeter barrier).
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The white part of the arena contains sand, which fills the entire white surface of the arena.
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To allow Robot Athletes to test before the start of the Games, there will be a practice round for a specific period of time and according to a schedule that will be announced on the day of the Games.
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The ball that the Robot Athlete must throw for the 2026 season is a classic ping pong ball with a diameter of 1.57” (40 mm) and a circumference of 4.94” (125.6 mm). Its weight is 2.7 g.
The distance of the ball is measured from the end of the black line and in a straight line.
🏆COMPETITION
⏱️ PREPARATION
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The Robot Athlete is placed in the circle on the track with the front of the robot facing away from the sand.
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The Technician takes a position behind the Robot athlete and having previously put on the protective equipment.
🏁 START - PROCESS OF THE RACE
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The Robot Athlete must start autonomously, five seconds after their Technician presses the Start-Stop button (time delay).
➤ During these five seconds, the Technician must step back a few steps for safety reasons.
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The Robot Athlete must move in a clockwise (spiral) circular motion, reach the opposite end of the circle, and throw the ball as far as possible, up to a distance of 1.55 m.
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If a Robot Athlete throws the ball beyond the track, at a distance longer than 1.55 m, the attempt is considered invalid and is scored with 0.
➤ The Robot Athlete is allowed only one restart during their first attempt.
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If a Robot Athlete throws the ball outside the track through the side boundaries (right or left), the attempt is considered invalid and is scored with 0.
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If a Robot Athlete does not move in a clockwise (spiral) circular motion, but instead moves in a straight line, the throw is invalid and is scored with 0.
➤ The goal of this Sport is to simulate the movement of a real shot put athlete.
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If one of the Robot Athlete’s wheels touches the black line surrounding the circle, the attempt is considered invalid and is scored with 0.
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If the ball hits or touch any of the walls (the perimeter frame), the attempt is considered invalid and receives 0 points.
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If, during the throw, the referee determines that the Robot Athlete’s arm does not comply with the specifications defined for the event, he have the right to disqualify the Robot Athlete from the Sport.
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The extension of the arm during the throw beyond the black line surrounding the circle is permitted only up to the height of the horizontal black line running along the field.
🔁 ROUNDS – ATTEMPTS
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The duration of the sport is 2 hours.
(This time may be extended depending on the number of participants).
During this time, each Robot Athlete will make repeated attempts on the track, according to the order announced by the organizing committee. -
If a Technician is not present when it is their turn, they lose their attempt, and the next Technician in line will proceed.
➤ The Technician who missed their turn must wait until all other attempts are completed for their turn to come again. -
Before each attempt, the Robot Athlete must pass a secondary technical inspection conducted by the assistant referee.
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The referee records the score of the Robot Athletes for each attempt.
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It is the responsibility of the Robot Athlete’s team to ensure that they perform each attempt within the allocated time window.
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Between attempts, teams are allowed to make corrections to their Robot Athletes and their code/algorithm,
➤ however, no testing is allowed.
❌ END OF A ATTEMPT
1. When the Robot Athlete competes in all 4 distances.
2. If the Athlete Robot experiences a technical problem.
3. If the Robot Athlete during an attempt proves to be unable to shoot the dart in a straight line and this poses a danger to him, the referee or the participants on the playing field.
🟥 TEAM DISQUALIFICATION
A team is disqualified from the event and must withdraw in the following cases:
➤ The team’s results will not be taken into account and will not appear in the official competition rankings.
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If a Robot Athlete does not comply with the specifications defined in the sport’s rules and the team refuses to make the required adjustments.
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If any of the Technicians behave inappropriately or disrespectfully, use offensive language, provoke, or verbally (or otherwise) attack fellow participants or referees.
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If it is discovered that a Robot Athlete is not operating autonomously, but instead is being remotely controlled via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or any similar technology.
✅ ALLOWED / ❌ PROHIBITED
✅ Allowed:
• The extension of the Robot Athlete's arm after the start of the match.
❌ Prohibited:
• Robot Athletes to use parts that can harm spectators.
• The use of adhesives to improve adhesion.
• Breaking the Robot Athlete into pieces during the race.
• Remote control.
• The use of elastic materials (rubbers, belts, etc.). The method of throwing must be exclusively mechanical.
• The wireless connection (bluetooth/Wi-Fi) with a computer or any other electronic device during the match. Teams found to have connected their robot wirelessly (team members or coaches) during the match will be disqualified from the sport.
• The restrictions listed in the Athlete Robot technical control section.
🏆WINNERS
The 3 winners for each age category are the Athletes who throw the ball the farthest.
The best score is used to determine placement in:
🥇 1st place
🥈 2nd place
🥉 3rd place
In the event of a tie, the previous best score of the team is considered, and so on.
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