[edit - This apparently was answered during Toss Up season, and the answer was that it was not the GDC's intention. Given the situation raised in VEX forum it appears that it is still not clear to some. I would recommend that that the words "prior to the start of the match" be added to T03 in future game manuals.]
An interesting discussion on VEXforum on time outs. A poster noted that a team asked for a time out during a match, and was given it by disabling all the robots on the field:
This reminds me of Chinese teams were calling timeout during the match..... Yes, during the match, like when there is 1 min left and they call "timeout", field comp got cut and teams start discussing strategies. I scratched my head and searched for the rules, it does not explicitly say timeout cant be called during the match.....
Was this proper procedure to follow - shutting down the match because a team asked for it.
The game manual does not specify that a time out must be prior to the start of a match:
<T03> There are no time outs in Qualifying Matches; in the elimination rounds, each Alliance will be allotted ONE time out of no more than three (3) minutes, as permitted by the head referee. The Matches must progress according to schedule.