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.
Preguntas y respuestas oficiales: VRC 2021-2022: Tipping Point
803: Is it allowable to push Game Objects under your opponent's platform?
The rules do not seem to protect the area under your opponent's platform. Objects under the platform can deny your opponent the ability to drive a robot onto their platform, and they can prevent a platform from being balanced. The rules do not seem to prevent this defensive strategy.
Edit 2021-12-07: The v2.2 Game Manual update included the following revision to rule <SG3>, which we believe answers this question more thoroughly than the original answer. We recommend reviewing the full text of <SG3>, including the “red box” clarifications, for more information.
Point “d” applies to Robot actions prior to the last thirty (30) seconds of the Match:
d. Placing a Scoring Object on or under the opposing Alliance’s Platform, at any point during the Match is considered a minor violation of this rule that, at a minimum, will result in a warning.
i. If the placement is accidental, and immediately rectified (i.e. the Scoring Object is immediately removed), then this violation will be considered a warning.
ii. If the placement is intentional and / or not immediately rectified, as judged by the Head Referee, then it will be considered a violation.
iii. Repeated, strategic, and / or egregious warnings may also escalate to a violation, at the Head Referee’s discretion.
[...]
Violations of this rule which do interfere with gameplay will result in a Disqualification, regardless of whether the interference was Match Affecting or not.
Note: If point “d” has escalated from a warning into a violation, then it will automatically be considered a violation which has interfered with gameplay, i.e. will result in a Disqualification.