Appendix C - Rule Violations

This appendix is intended to provide additional guidance regarding rule Violations within the VEX V5 Robotics Competition, and offer further explanation on how Violations may be interpreted and enforced during Matches. It is designed to promote consistency in officiating and to help Teams better understand how actions on the Field may impact scoring, Match outcomes, and referee decisions.

All Violation Notes to denote special circumstances or provide additional clarifications have been consolidated into this section such that they may be easily referenced. If no Violation Notes are found in a given rule, then it should be assumed that the below “default” definitions apply.

This appendix does not supersede any existing rule, but instead serves as a secondary resource to aid in their application.

Violation - The act of breaking a rule in the Game Manual.

• Minor Violation - A Violation which does not result in a Disqualification.

  • Accidental, momentary, or otherwise non Match Affecting Violations are usually Minor Violations.
  • Minor Violations usually result in a verbal notification from the Head Referee during the Match, which should serve to inform the Team that a rule is being Violated before it escalates to a Major Violation.

• Major Violation - A Violation which results in a Disqualification.

  • Unless otherwise noted in a rule, all Match Affecting Violations are Major Violations.
  • If noted in the rule, egregious or strategic Violations or intentional actions that result in Violations may also be Major Violations.
  • Multiple Minor Violations within a Match or Tournament may escalate to a Major Violation at the Head Referee’s discretion or as specified in a rule. Minor Violations carry over into Elimination Matches unless otherwise specified within a rule.

• Match Affecting - A Violation which changes the winning and losing Alliance in the Match.

  • Multiple Violations within a Match can cumulatively become Match Affecting.
  • When evaluating if a Violation was Match Affecting, Head Referees will focus primarily on any Robot actions that were directly related to the Violation.
  • Determining whether a Violation was Match Affecting can only be done once the Match is complete and the scores have been calculated.
  • To determine whether a Violation may have been Match Affecting, check whether the Team who committed the Violation won or lost the Match. If they did not win the Match, then the Violation could not have been Match Affecting, and it was very likely a Minor Violation.