[LeelandS]

I'm a little hesitant to jump in here, since I'm not competing at IRI this year, but here's my two cents.

I don't quite understand where all the complaining in coming from.

On the point of removing coopertition points, coop points were just a method of ranking. I don't see them as an integral part of the game, ESPECIALLY at the level of play IRI will exhibit. Let's be honest. At least 90% of matches would have had a coop anyway. Having the coop points would have crucified the handful of unlucky teams who missed out. The coop bridge did add an element of strategy that I rather enjoyed, but I don't see it as a huge loss for the game.

For the triple balance in qualifications, I actually really like that. I didn't see the point in not giving a triple bonus in qualification matches, so I like this change. Many people that are complaining about this are teams that don't have confidence that their ability to compete with this in play. Tyler hit the nail on the head. I hate to be so course, but if you don't think you can triple balance, I strongly suggest you find a way to win without triple balancing. It's not "favor towards one type of robot." It's an element of the game that has always existed, and is now being expanded. Like Tyler said, 2056 is going to put in a bajillion balls in those last 30 seconds of play, undefended with 18 balls to work with. You need a lead of 21 points with a double balance to cancel out the triple. That's 7 balls in the high hoop, if the alliances are relatively even in scoring (otherwise, you'd just get hosed down anyway and lose to a wash of doubles). That's definitely doable for a large majority of the teams at IRI.

If you're worried about these things, I suggest you stop worrying about the rules, and start working on how you're going to turn them in your favor.