<T1>

Head Referees have ultimate and final authority on all gameplay and robot ruling decisions during the competition.
  • Scorekeeper Referees score the Match, and may serve as observers or advisers for the Head Referee, but may not determine any rules or infractions directly.
  • When issuing a Disqualification or Violation to a Team, the Head Referee should attempt to notify the Team as the Violation occurs, and after the Match must provide the rule number of the specific rule that has been Violated and record the Violation in the Match Anomaly Log.
  • Major Violations of the REC Foundation Code of Conduct and other rules related to the Code of Conduct require additional escalation beyond the Head Referee’s initial ruling, including (but not limited to) investigation by REC Foundation representatives. Rules <S1>, <S2>, <G1>, <G2>, <G4>, and <R17> are the rules for which this escalation may be required.
  • Event Partners may not overrule a Head Referee’s decision.
  • Every Qualification Match and Finals Match must be watched by a certified Head Referee. Head Referees may only watch one Match at a time; if multiple Matches are happening simultaneously on separate fields, each field must have its own Head Referee.
    • Note from the VEX GDC: The rules contained in this Game Manual are written to be enforced by human Head Referees. Many rules have “black-and-white” criteria that can be easily checked. However, some rulings will rely on a judgment call from this human Head Referee. In these cases, Head Referees will make their calls based on what they and the Scorekeeper Referees saw, what guidance is provided by their official support materials (the Game Manual and the Q&A), and most crucially, the context of the Match in question. The VEX IQ Robotics Competition does not have video replay, our Fields do not have absolute sensors to count scores, and most events do not have the resources for an extensive review conference between each Match. When an ambiguous rule results in a controversial call, there is a natural instinct to wonder what the “right” ruling “should have been,” or what the GDC “would have ruled.” This is ultimately an irrelevant question; our answer is that when a rule specifies “Head Referee’s discretion” (or similar), then the “right” call is the one made by the Head Referee in the moment. The VEX GDC designs games, and writes rules, with this expectation (constraint) in mind.