[Bob Steele]

Obviously your method would pretty much guarantee that the first seeded alliance would win the regional. If you pick the best three teams and put them all together it is too big of an advantage.

I have coached under both 1-8-,1-8 and 1-8, 8-1 and I think that both give opportunities for a somewhat balanced elimination round.

I also don't think that given the way qualifications have determined the top 8 for quite a number of years, that the #1 Captain necessarily has the best team/robot at the regional.

Many years you will see that the qualification schedule is a great equalizer and many times the best team on the field will not necessarily be the #1 Alliance Captain.

That being the case, a better indicator of the most desirable or best team at a given event is given by the #1 picked robot.

The 1-8 8-1 picking system gives the eight teams the best shot at forming competitive alliances...

Alliance #1 gets the first pick and the 16th pick (ave = 8.5)
Alliance #2 gets the 2nd pick and the 15th pick (ave = 8.5)

....
Alliance #8 gets the 8th and 9th picks.... (ave = 8.5) and has the advantage of making those picks consecutively....which means they can actually pick a pair of robots that have complimentary features.

The real issues in picking come when teams decline. It is conceivable that the #1 alliance could try to pick several good alliance partners that decline (because they are in the top 8) So this can work against the strategy.

I, for one, like the 1-8 and 8-1 system... I think it makes an interesting elimination....


Whoever said that FIRST is trying to get the three best robots to go to Championship? from a regional?

How would you ever figure that out? Certainly seeding can't do it unless you have a huge number of matches....pick order can't do it really because of the opportunity to decline...unless you just take the pick order and not the acceptance order...and where do you place the #1 Alliance team (they CAN'T be picked by anyone.)

A point system similar to what districts are using could be used...but then again without individual stats you still have problems... points from a match may have nothing to do with all three of the robots that were on the winning alliance.

You have to pick a system and use it... nothing is ever going to give you perfect results.