What's the purpose of your reply, exactly? To me, it seems perfectly reasonable to criticize and evaluate a potentially unfair ruling in a large, notable competition.

Now that Salesforce has given their response, it should be evaluated just like any other company statement, to see if it is accurate and meets the community standards of what's "fair". Yes, fairness is partially subjective, which is why people want to discuss it here.

You must have forgotten the grand prize was for $1 million. Not exactly chump change. I'm sure if you felt slighted after entering, you'd be right there complaining about the rules as well. For $1 million I know I would raise my concerns.