Penalty

The consequence imposed for a rule or procedure violation that is identified by a referee. When a
Penalty occurs, points will be awarded to the Alliance that did not incur the Penalty. Penalties are further defined into Minor Penalties (ten points) and Major Penalties (thirty points). Penalties may also escalate to
issuing of a Yellow Card or Red Card as a result of a continued occurrence of a rule violation and upon
discretion of the Referee

**Yellow Cards and Red Cards** – In addition to rule violations explicitly listed in section 1.6, Yellow
Cards and Red Cards are used in the FIRST Tech Challenge to manage Team and Robot behavior
that does not align with the mission of FIRST. Yellow and Red Cards are not limited to just the
Competition Area. Teams that display egregious behavior in the pit area, judging rooms, stands, or
any other location of the tournament can be issued a yellow or red card for egregious behavior.
Egregious or repeated (3 or more) Robot or Team member behavior at the tournament can result in
a Yellow and/or Red Card. Yellow Cards are additive, meaning that a second Yellow Card is
automatically converted to a Red Card. A Team is issued a Red Card for any subsequent incident in
which they receive an additional Yellow Card, for example, earning a second Yellow Card during a
single Match

**Yellow and Red Cards at the Competition Field**

 The Head Referee may assign a Yellow Card as a warning, or a Red Card for Disqualification in a
Match. A Yellow Card or Red Card is signaled by the Head Referee standing in front of the Team’s
Alliance Station and holding a yellow card and/or red card in the air.
To issue the second Yellow Card, the Head Referee will stand in front of the Team’s Alliance Station
and hold a yellow card and red card. The Head Referee will signal the second Yellow Card after the
Match has ended.
A Team that has received either a Yellow Card or a Red Card carries a Yellow Card into following
Matches, except as noted below. A Red Card results in Match Disqualification. Multiple Red Cards
may lead to tournament Disqualification. Once a Team receives a Yellow Card or Red Card, the
Team number is presented with a yellow background on the audience screen at the beginning of all
following Matches. This is a reminder to the Team, referees, and audience the Team carries a
Yellow Card.
Yellow Cards do not carry over from the Qualification Matches to the Elimination Matches. During
the Elimination Matches, Yellow and Red Cards count against the entire Alliance, not to a specific
Team. If a Team receives a Yellow Card or Red Card, it results in the entire Alliance receiving the
Yellow Card or Red Card for that Match. If two different Teams on the same Alliance are issued
Yellow Cards, the entire Alliance is issued a Red Card. A Red Card results in zero (0) points for that
Match, and the Alliance loses the Match. If both Alliances receive Red Cards, the Alliance which
committed the action earning the Red Card first chronologically loses the Match.
Yellow and Red Cards may also be issued off the competition field. For details please make sure to
read the Tournament Rules outlined in section 4.3 of the Game Manual Part 1.