User blog comment:Omega natsu2/Episode 178: Fairy Strategist, Review./@comment-17764746-20140419104608/@comment-7418318-20140419122406

I thought it was made clear in Lucy vs. Flare that officially only the contestants are allowed to participate in any event.

I guess if it's officially cheating depends on whether Mavis was only giving them the plan up front and is just re-iterating it for the benefit of the other, not participating FT members (and the viewers), or whether the team actually hears her those words and followed those orders as they come in.

The former would probably be fine, but I'm pretty sure the latter would be considered cheating, since it's help from a none participating person during the course of the event.