Might play a game tomorrow with Dash.

Have I understood it correctly that the official answer is (for competitive play) :

1. Declare barrel roll to one side.

2. Before measuring declare if you are using ability.

3. If you are NOT using ability and it DOESN'T work you cannot declare same side again.

I believe this is correct, I do not see any other way to read the rules than Shado's reasoning here.

When declaring you are not using Dash' ability, Dash would be treated as per normal rules when boosting/rolling.

As per competitive play wording regarding boosting/rolling onto an object:

Barrel Roll - "...the player may declare a barrel in the other direction, or he may declare a different action."

Boost - "...the player may declare a different maneuver template or direction to use, or he may declare a different action."

A boost or barrel roll action is still that action, whether Dash' ability is in effect or not, so if you cannot boost/roll in the direction you first declared, as per competitive play rules regarding declaring direction, then you must either go to a different, legal area, or choose a different action altogether.

And the reason it feels wrong, for me, to do it in casual play, is because it just seems like a loop hole in rules. It doesn't make sense to me that it would work in an almost completely opposite way as how I interpret it's use in competitive play. But I could be wrong. The FAQ coud use more clarification.

It's ironic that the FAQ would need more clarification because a casual player was trying to exploit a loophole isn't it?

And the reason it feels wrong, for me, to do it in casual play, is because it just seems like a loop hole in rules. It doesn't make sense to me that it would work in an almost completely opposite way as how I interpret it's use in competitive play. But I could be wrong. The FAQ coud use more clarification.

And this is why I feel the competitive/casual rule distinctions are possibly the biggest flaw this game has. It's only ever created problems, has never solved a single one, and has ensured that when two people get together they could almost be playing different editions of the game.

And the reason it feels wrong, for me, to do it in casual play, is because it just seems like a loop hole in rules. It doesn't make sense to me that it would work in an almost completely opposite way as how I interpret it's use in competitive play. But I could be wrong. The FAQ coud use more clarification.

And this is why I feel the competitive/casual rule distinctions are possibly the biggest flaw this game has. It's only ever created problems, has never solved a single one, and has ensured that when two people get together they could almost be playing different editions of the game.

Still it is best to go with the golden rule of table top gaming, HAVE FUN!

I have a house rule that competitive rules are followed over casual, simply because I find that competitive rules are more defined and leave less open for different interpretation. Yeah, I don't get the whole casual/competitive differences. Maybe they should put out a new FAQ that says competitive rules preside over casual in all casual and competitive games. Doesn't mean you have to be competitive in casual games, it just simplifies things and creates less complications. Perhaps they will do something like this if they ever release a new, updated rule book.