Arena

From Combat Robot

History

The word 'arena' comes from a latin word for sand, which the gladiatorial amphitheaters' of the roman empire floors were covered with.(to soak up the gladiators' blood) These days, it's become a word used to describe a specially constructed field and area for sports to take place in. In our sport, it refers to the contraptions in which we run the bots.

Composition

Arenas are made from many different materials, the most common being wood, steel, and transparent plastics like lexan. There is a simple rating system developed by the RFL at http://botleague.org/standards.asp .

RFL Standards

• D: No protection - no robots that can send stuff flying allowed, and observers and drivers could get hit by a robot. Example: parking lot fights.
• C: Little Protection - curb, but no polycarbonate, no robots that can send stuff flying. Example: most 'street fights'.
• B: Good Protection - no robots that require pre-approval, roughly 1/4" polycarbonate or better all around.
• A: Better Protection - no limitations, but pre-approval required over certain limits. Example: the BotBash arena.

This letter rating plus a max weight rating and an ICE note, this way an event like BotBash would rate themselves 'A-180-ICE' (180lbs includes the walker bonus.) Whereas SozBots would also be an A rated arena but only for 1 pound and no gas engines and would look like this: 'A-2' (also including the walker bonus).

Note that an arena receives a rating based on its 'worst' element. If it has A rated sides, but no roof, it is rated a C.