Answered: Pushing opposing robot onto cones and disabling SG15 and SG4

[Amadeus]

Backstory/Scenario:
At a certain event, there was an instance where one of Team A’s robots pushed Team B’s robot and managed to force it on top of some cones, leaving zero drive contact and effectively disabling one of Team B’s robot for the remainder of the match.

Team A was only given a warning (telling them to be careful when attempting a pin), as Team B’s alliance partner still managed to win the match.

Revisiting This Scenario/Question:
-Is it illegal to force an opposing robot on top of scoring objects to disable them?

**My interpretation/My Answer **
If Team A’s actions were match affecting, would it be correct to assume that the action of disabling a robot with game objects (specifically by forcing a robot on top of the game objects) is a cause for disqualification as per <SG15> and <SG4> since the cones are being used to trap (as defined by the game manual) Team B’s robot?

<SG15> Scoring Objects cannot be used to accomplish actions that would be otherwise illegal if they were attempted by Robot mechanisms.

<SG4> A Robot may not Pin or Trap an opposing Robot for more than five seconds during the Driver Controlled Period. A Pin or Trap is officially over once the Pinning Robot has moved away and the Robots are separated by at least 2 feet (approximately one (1) foam tile). After ending a Pin or Trap, a Robot may not Pin or Trap the same Robot again for a duration of 5 seconds; if a Team does pin the same Robot again, the pinning count will resume from where it left off when the pinning Robot initially backed off.

Trapping – A Robot is considered to be trapped if an opposing Robot has restricted it into a small, confined area of the field, approximately the size of one foam field tile or less, and has not provided an avenue for escape.

[VEX_GDC]

Is it illegal to force an opposing robot on top of scoring objects to disable them?

Yes, by the strictest definitions of Trapping, <SG4>, and <SG15> as you have quoted, this type of interaction could be considered a form of Trapping.

That being said - it would have to be a fairly deliberate action on the part of the defending (non-beached) robot to qualify as Trapping. If this was the inadvertent result of a normal midfield scuffle, then no robot would be at fault. If the referee begins a 5-count and the defender makes no move to rectify the Trap (such as pushing the beached robot off of the Cones), then that could be a good indication that it was deliberate and intentional.