Since Head referees are expected to explain to teams why they have been disqualified or penalized, should they quote the GDC’s response of “No.” as explanation?
Yes.
This is the case for any Q&A ruling, and one of the intended purposes of the Q&A system when there is an ambiguous or unclear rules situation, such as the one referenced in Q&A 1017.
If this is not sufficient, Head Referees can also point to the many portions of SG3 implying that this would be an illegal strategy:
<SG3> Platforms are “safe” during the endgame. During the last thirty (30) seconds, Robots may not contact the opposing Alliance’s Platform.
a. For the purposes of this rule, contact is considered “transitive” through other Robots and Scoring Objects. For example, contacting an opposing Robot who is contacting their own Platform would be considered a violation of this rule.
b. For the purposes of this rule, <G13> supersedes rule <G14>. Any Robot which is contacting its own Platform during the last thirty (30) seconds, provided that no other rules are being violated, will automatically receive the “benefit of the doubt”. Therefore, any contact with this Robot will be considered a violation, regardless of intent.
c. Per <SG10>, using a Scoring Object to contact the opposing Alliance’s Platform during the last thirty (30) seconds would be considered a violation of this rule. Placing a Scoring Object underneath the opposing Alliance’s Platform, such that it inhibits the opposing Alliance’s ability to utilize the Platform during the last thirty (30) seconds, would also be considered a violation of this rule.
Violations of this rule which do not interfere with gameplay, such as bumping into the Platform and then driving away, will result in the opposing Alliance receiving credit for one additional Elevated Robot at the end of the Match. (Alliances may still only receive points for a maximum of two Elevated Robots). Violations of this rule which do interfere with gameplay, such as preventing a Platform from becoming Balanced, will result in a Disqualification, regardless of whether the interference was Match Affecting or not.
The intent of <SG3> is to prohibit Alliances from directly inhibiting their opponents’ ability to utilize the Platform at the end of a Match. Teams partaking in any gameplay near their opponent’s Platform, especially if manipulating Scoring Objects, should be cognizant of this risk and may receive verbal warnings for doing so. Conversely, Teams attempting to invoke an edge-case <SG3> call on their opponents should also be cognizant that it is not feasible for a Head Referee to track the exact movement of every Scoring Object throughout an entire Match. If a single Ring has incidentally found its way underneath a Platform during standard Match gameplay, it will be at the Head Referee’s discretion to determine whether a violation of <SG3> has occurred or not.
