Disclaimer: I in no way am accusing anyone of anything and am meaning this post to be a discussion. I do not wish to assign blame to anyone.
So I had a competition recently, and we did well and went to the finals. It was 1 to 1 in the last match. We had 1 team that was working, my team that was working but not well, and 1 team that could be working with a little time. It was decided that I go in and play defense because I had the most maneuverable robot at the competition. Defense was risky so I decided not to score any points in case I got dq’d. I got dq’d like I though by accidentally touching the starting bar of the opposing alliance, so I decided to blatantly play defense. Because I was already dq’d I just started touching the starting bar, their zones, and goals trying to get a rematch so that my other team could get fixed and play in the fourth match and have a chance to win. We still lost so I never got the chance to see the outcome of the fourth match, but my question is was it right to do what I did.
In the eliminations, if there is a DQ, the entire alliance gets 0 points. So, the strategy was not good. Once you were DQed, your alliance already lost the match. However, as others point out, DQs and handed out after the match and after the refs talk. Plus, you dont get a rematch after getting a DQ, you lose the match.
Usually if the action was illegal you’d usually get a warning if it wasn’t match affecting. Touching the opponents starting bar is both legal and wasn’t even match affecting. I think next time you see the judges you should let them know next time to get a more precise understanding of what’s legal and illegal, and if illegal to rule if it’s match affecting or not. Probably printing the manual and highlighting important information to give to them would be the most efficient and straight-forward way instead of arguing and making it end with the judge saying that he’s the judge and it’s his rules.
There’s a lot to unpack here… First, I am not sure that the OP was actually DQ’d before they went crazy. And the actions they described after they said (assumed?) they were DQ’d would certainly result in a disqualification You are correct that this initial offense would usually only resort in a warning, but I think they may have just assumed they would be DQ’d instead of actually being told so (I have never seen that happen in the middle of a match). The fact that they thought that blatant offenses would result in a replay of the match demonstrates that they do not have a firm understanding of the game rules, so I could see this assumption occurring.
Second, try to “let the [referees] know next time to get a more precise understanding of what’s legal and illegal…” That is a very poor way to change minds, and a great way to make enemies. The way to handle any disputes is definitely to respectfully state what the rules state and where you believe they strayed from the rules, as written. If necessary, in this case, explain how your offense was in no way match-affecting. There are going to be some people who can’t take the criticism, no matter how softly it is worded, but it is never a bad thing to start as gently as possible, and then perhaps use more firm language if necessary. Always try to assess where they are coming from, and address their understanding. That will usually work, and if it doesn’t, it was an impossible task to start with (which is also something I’ve experienced).
I would like to clarify. At the tournament I went to the refs were only handing dq’s to one team and not the alliance. I now know that was wrong. I did not receive a warning, so I assumed that the dq’d me for the contact. What may have gotten lost in translation was not the legal definition, but was it ethically ok for me to do this.