[EricH]

Originally Posted by rsegrest

I should have explained better. In my head (like most things it always sounds better in my head ) they would be available for selection just not an AC. Maybe I have built up the position of AC as having more 'power'(?) than it really does because of the selection process. I don't want them out of the top 8 totally as they are extremely valuable partners and can absolutely help another alliance advance to regionals.

In a district system, AC gives more points towards the district championship than 1st pick or 2nd pick (which are themselves on a sliding scale so the farther back you get picked the fewer points you get). So, yes, there is an advantage there. And they get to pick the broad strategy in any event.

But here's the problem. Let's assume, for a moment, that there's a previous event winner in the #1 slot, one in the #6 slot, and one in the #10 slot. That's a pretty conceivable scenario, I think. My question is this: The #1 team cannot make a selection. Who gets first pick? Well, you say, the #2 gets the first pick. But, are they the #1 alliance or the #2 alliance in the bracket? There is a bit of a difference. If they are the #1, then as I mentioned, how do you treat the #1 team?

What I foresee happening is mass confusion. Confusion and complication are never good unless you're actually trying to solve a very nasty puzzle. If you've ever seen someone try to pick a team that already declined, that's straightforward. Trying to deal with a high-ranked team that can't pick because they happened to win an earlier event...

I also suspect that there may be a few "questionable" finals wins due to teams not wanting to lose their AC eligibility.