Lesson 1: Official Rules Sources and Updates

As a Head Referee, part of staying prepared is making sure you are always working from the current rules. That comes down to a few habits: before each event, confirm that the version of the Game Manual you are looking at is the one in effect, and know where official answers live when questions come up during a match.

This lesson covers the two official sources you rely on and how they fit together, how to use the Q&A system, how to recognize when to research a question further or escalate it, and how Game Manual updates take effect over the season.

Before continuing, read the following in the current Game Manual:

• The Game Manual Updates and release tables, The Q&A System, and Hierarchy of Information sections in the Introduction (Section 1)

How the Game Manual and Official Q&A Work Together

You already know the Game Manual as the official source for rules, scoring, robot requirements, tournament procedures, definitions, and event expectations. The official Q&A is its companion. When a team, Event Partner, or Head Referee has closely reviewed the relevant rules and still cannot find a clear answer, they can ask the Game Design Committee for an official interpretation in the VEX V5 Robotics Competition Q&A System. Certified Head Referees can post questions there too.

A Q&A response is not an opinion or a suggestion. Every response is an official ruling from the Game Design Committee and represents the correct and official interpretation of the rules — functionally an extension of the Game Manual itself. The two sources are built to be used together: the Game Manual provides the written rule, and the Q&A clarifies how that rule applies in situations the written text may not address directly.

The Hierarchy of Information

When you need to determine a ruling using information from beyond a single rule, the Game Manual sets a clear order of authority:

1. The most current English-language PDF of the Game Manual.
2. Official rulings published in the VEX Robotics Q&A system.
3. All other supplementary documents, policies, and media.

If anything in a training document, an app, a translated manual, or a reveal video appears to conflict with the English-language PDF of the Game Manual, the Game Manual wins. A Q&A ruling carries official weight directly below it. Everything else — including this course — supports those two sources rather than replacing them.

One more point to keep in mind: rulings do not carry over between seasons. Definitions, rules, and Q&A responses from previous games are not official for Override. If a clarification is needed this season, it must be re-submitted in this season's Q&A.

Researching a Question or Escalating It

Most questions that come up at an event are not new; they are already answered somewhere in the official sources. Your first move is to research. As the Game Manual itself notes, the answer is usually already written down, often just in a different place than you first looked. 

A reliable order of operations is to:

• Check the relevant rule, its Violation Notes, and the Appendix B definitions in the Game Manual.
• Search the current season's Q&A for an existing ruling.
• Check the PD+ Community for V5 Head Referees to see what other referees are experiencing.
• During a live match, make the call in the moment based on what you and your referee team saw.

Using The PD+ Community To Discuss with Other Head Referees

Escalating to the Q&A is the right move only when a genuine rules-interpretation question remains after that research and when the answer would help beyond a single match — a recurring situation you expect to see again this season. Because a response takes time, escalation prepares you for future events rather than resolving the match in front of you.

It is just as important to know what the Q&A is not for. Head Referees hold ultimate and final authority on all gameplay and robot ruling decisions, and the Game Design Committee will not overrule that authority. The Q&A is not the place to ask what a specific call "should have been," to appeal a ruling, or to post a match video hoping for a reversal — those posts are removed. The official sources exist to support your confidence as the final authority, not to second-guess it.

Using the Official Q&A System

The official Q&A for this season lives on the VEX V5 Robotics Competition Override Q&A page within events.vex.com. Even if you never post a question, knowing your way around the Q&A is important, because reading existing rulings is one of the best ways to stay current.

You do not need to log in to find answers. From the Q&A page you can browse the list of questions or use the New Questions and New Answers filters, Search for a keyword or rule, follow the rule tags attached to each post (such as <SG9> or <R16>) to find every question about a rule. There is also a Download PDF option to save all questions or just the starred, precedent-setting ones for offline reference.

If your research leaves a real rules-interpretation question unresolved, the general flow for posting is:

• Review the Usage Guidelines. The Usage Guidelines page lists the system's expectations; following them protects your posting privileges.
• Search first. Search the Game Manual and the existing Q&A before posting. Duplicate or already-answered questions are removed.
• Log in with an eligible account. Only registered teams (through an adult team contact), certified Event Partners, and certified V5 Head Referees can post. Selecting Ask a Question will prompt you to log in if you have not already.
• Write a specific title. "Does <SG6> possession apply while Plowing?" is far more useful, for the Game Design Committee and for future searchers, than "possession question."
• Ask one question and quote the rule. Keep each post to a single topic and quote the applicable rule from the latest Game Manual. Quoting the rule helps focus the response. You may drag and drop images, or link to a video on a public platform, if necessary to illustrate the question.
• Submit, then watch for the response. Questions are answered roughly in the order received. There is no guaranteed answer date, so if you need a ruling before an event, post it one to two weeks ahead, not the night before.

Game Manual Updates

The Game Manual is updated throughout the season. Updates fall into two types: major updates, which may include gameplay or rule changes, and minor updates, which handle clarifications, typos, and formatting. The Game Design Committee may also issue unscheduled updates if it deems a change critical.

Two timing details matter most for staying current.

• Updates release on Thursdays. Any scheduled or unscheduled update is released on a Thursday, no later than 5:00 PM CST (11:00 PM GMT). Updates are announced on the VEX Forum, pushed to the VEX V5 Hub app, and shared through VEX social media and email. The moment an update is announced, the new version is available at the Game Manual link.
• Most updates include a grace period before they take effect. An update is typically released on one date but does not go into effect for competitions until a later date — generally a 7-day grace period — so teams have time to adapt. The table in the Game Manual Updates in Section 1 lists the specific effective dates for each version. 

The practical application for Head Referees:

• An event that begins before the grace period ends must continue using the previous version of the Game Manual.
• The version that is in effect on the event date, not necessarily the newest version released, is the one you officiate from.

Course Wrap-Up

That's the final lesson. Take a moment — you've worked all the way through the Override Head Referee Certification Course.

Look back at the ground you've covered. You started with the foundations of the referee role and built from there: scoring Head-to-Head and Robot Skills Matches, supporting inspection, reading the start of a match and the Autonomous Period, applying loading and possession rules, judging robot interaction through the high-pressure Endgame, classifying and documenting violations, recognizing what makes VEX U different, and staying current as the Game Manual and Q&A evolve across the season. More than any single rule, you've built the thing that matters most: the judgment to make a fair, confident, well-sourced call — and the habit of knowing exactly where to look to back it up. That is what a Head Referee does, and you're ready to show it.

What's next: the V5 Override Head Referee Certification Exam. Completing every chapter exam unlocks the V5 Override Head Referee Certification Exam, your final step toward earning your Head Referee Certificate. You've done the learning. Now go put it to work — the teams competing this season are counting on prepared, confident referees, and you're about to be one of them.

Once you’ve passed the exam, you will earn your V5 Override Head Referee Certificate! Share this with Event Partners to show that you are prepared and ready to work with teams at their event. You can find your certificate in your VEX PD+ Dashboard.

Good luck. We'll see you on the field!