[rich2202]

It is a rule because of FMS. FMS automatically assigns the teams to positions, and configures the system to expect the right team in the right position.

If a team plugs the driver's station into the wrong position, it won't work. It has to do with the private channel the FMS provides between each DS and the robot.

For practice matches, it is possible to override team placement (filler line). For qualifications and eliminations, I don't think FMS would know what to do if the team number changed. From your perspective, it is just two teams swapping position. From FMS's perspective, it is two (or all) positions with a different team number.

It is not just a communication issue. FMS is also keeping score, so it needs to know how many points to give to which team. In Qualification matches, this is a much bigger issue since scores are tracked by Team. For eliminations, it is less of an issue, since the entire alliance gets the same score.