[Solidstate89]

My main contention is still the lack of transparency. And unless we all went with a catapult design, it still would have been impossible to properly compensate because the balls we were provided in the KOP as well as the balls we could purchase were completely different than what they provided in the Elims.

If FIRST couldn't guarantee complete consistency (which for a toy part, I don't expect them to) we should have been told from the beginning that they would have had different batches. Saying they would have "new balls" doesn't mean much without context. We had "new" and used balls at the Regionals we attended as well but they were of the same batch provided in the KOP as well as what we could purchase.

Some would (and I believe it's the position you're taking) argue that having to deal with inconsistent game pieces is part of the game. And I would agree...up to a reasonable point. What happened in St. Louis I believe goes beyond that reasonable point.