The NITRO RoboWarrior Ring is 1.5 meters across and perfectly round, it is just a surface of cheap plywood, painted black with a white border, and raised 5cm above the floor. Competitors must accept that as competition progresses, this floor will not remain ideal, and that although the surface will be cleaned between bouts, imperfections will accumulate.
Competition Procedure:
These procedures will be followed for all NITRO RoboWarrior competitions. Matches will consist of three trials. The best of two competitors out of the three trials will be awarded the match.
The object for a competing machine during the course of a trial will be to remain within the boundary of the circular field longer than one's opponent. A trial starts with both machines "facing off" in the center of the ring exactly 30cm apart. Once a starting command is given, no one other than a judge may touch a competing machine until a win or tie is declared.
If both machines leave the field, it will be up to the judges to decide which one left first. If neither machine crosses the boundary within two minutes, that trial will be declared a tie. If the result of a given match is three ties, then the judges will chose a winner on the basis of aggressiveness and operator skill. In case of a dispute, the audience will decide.
A trial starts in two ways, but both start when a whistle is blown. For human-operated devices, play starts immediately. A trial ends when one entrant leaves the ring or 2 minutes have passed. If one entrant becomes damaged, play continues unless undue roughness is observed and/or the loosing robot's designer concedes the match. If both entrants are incapacitated (i.e.: flipped or excessively damaged) then the trial is restarted. If the cause of repeated incapacitation is some obvious design defect, then the designer(s) will be asked to remove and repair the device. Play continues in round-robin elimination except for the final three sorties which will be a best-of-five contest, to account for strong equivalencies between designs.
Competition continues until all winners and secondary winners have faced each other. Prizes will be awarded individually to best chassis design, best decoration, best weapon design, best driving and COOLEST OVERALL ROBOT.