Newbie questions

[proffles]

Hello!
First post, please be gentle

I've been thinking about designing a robot.

I have a few basic/stupid questions that would affect the design.
I've not been able to find answers to, I'm sure any experienced roboteer would probably know right away:

1. Are arena floors always made of steel?
2. Is there always a trapdoor/pit in the arena?
3. What is an event "whiteboard"?
4. In featherweight events is there such a thing as a "judges decision" at timeout, or is it always a fight-to-death sort of thing?
5. Do arena sides always have a border type thing, or do the walls sometimes all come flush to the arena floor. I.e. is there always a way for a robot to be thrown out of the arena?

That's all... for now at least

Cheers in advance!

[maddox10]

1) Arena floors are rarely from steel. Logistics are the main reason.

2) No, not all arena's have a pit or any arena hazards.

3) A Whiteboard is a "fun" fight, no set limit on participants. Just write your machines name on the whiteboard, and if the opponents are too dangerous to your taste, you can wipe out.

4) Depends on EO.

5) Some arena's allow OOTA's, others have the sidewall semi flush with the polycarb safety barrier.

[proffles]

Nice one, thanks for the quick answers!

regarding #1 - if the floors are not steel what are they? Alu/MDF or something?
and I should have asked - does the above apply the same for heavyweights as for featherweights?

Thanks

[Garfie489]

Basically every question depends entirely on the event. Theres no single answer.

Heavyweight live events tend to use an MDF floor, though events dedicated to smaller weight classes tend to use steel.

Similar with the pit ect in that most events have them, but not always.

[proffles]

Ok thanks guys, understood.