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The Q&A is closed for the 2021-2022 season. Any rule changes or clarifications pertaining to the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship will be included in the April 5 Game Manual Update. Teams attending VEX Worlds who wish to pre-submit questions for the driver's meeting should have received a contact form via email; if not, please contact your REC Foundation Team Engagement Manager for more information.

Official Q&A: VRC 2021-2022: Tipping Point

Usage Guidelines All Questions

Is the "discretion" wording in the header of <G20> overridden by the "must" wording in <G20.b> in the 2.4 version of the rules?

2025A
21-Feb-2022

I am head referee at an upcoming event and have a question about the 2.4 change in the match replay rule wording.

<G20> Match replays are allowed, but rare. Match replays, i.e. playing a Match over again from its start, are at the discretion of the Event Partner and Head Referee, and will only be issued in the most extreme circumstances. Some example situations that may warrant a Match replay are as follows: ... b. A V5 Robot Brain lockup that is outside of the Team’s control and results in a complete shutdown of the Robot. To qualify for a Match replay, all of the following criteria (shown below) must be met:

This new wording is contradictory. The words in the header of the rule are "at the discretion", "Some example situations", and "may warrant a Match replay" while subpart b uses the language "must be met."

So which is it, do I have the discretion to choose when the match will be replayed on a white screen taking into consideration the criteria i-iv listed under subpart b (as when I decide if a field issue is match affecting and should be replayed) or does the "must" wording in subpart b override the header text?

G20   Referee Decisions  
Answered by committee

This may be an oversimplified analogy, but it might help to clear up some confusion.

If you are faced with a locked door, you "may" choose to open that door or not. However, before you decide to open the door, you "must" have the key required to open that door. Granting a replay is the locked door; the "white screen" criteria is one key that can be used to open that door.

Teams may request a replay at any time, for any reason. In most cases, these requests are denied. However, we have identified one particular form of Robot Brain lockup that is verifiably outside of the Teams' control. If a Robot is not responding, and a Team is requesting a replay, criteria i-iv can be used to determine whether they are experiencing this true "white screen" lockup.

Similarly, just because a Team experiences this lockup, does not immediately mean that a Match replay should occur - this is still within EP / Head Referee discretion. Some examples may be, if it occurs in the last 5 seconds in a non-Match-Affecting manner, if the situation has occurred multiple times and the Team has refused assistance with technical troubleshooting, etc.