[pwnageNick]

Originally Posted by Sunshine

New update clarifies what happens when a team declines during aliance selection. This update would have had a great effect had Team 2451 - PWNAGE been brought in as a replacement. If I'm interpreting the update correctly, 2451 could not be first alternate after declining because their robot was not functional. FYI, we were told that they had fixed their bot and was indeed the first alternate.

5.4 Playoff MATCHES
At the end of the Qualification MATCHES, the top eight (8) seeded Teams become the ALLIANCE Leads. The top seeded ALLIANCES are designated, in order, ALLIANCE
One, ALLIANCE Two, etc., down to ALLIANCE Eight. Using the ALLIANCE selection process described below, each ALLIANCE Lead chooses two (2) other Teams to join their ALLIANCE. If a team declines the ALLIANCE Lead position or doesn’t send a representative for ALLIANCE selection, they are ineligible to participate in the rest of the Tournament. If the declining/absent team would have been an ALLIANCE Lead, all lower ranked ALLIANCE Leads are promoted one spot. The next highest-seeded team moves up to become the ALLIANCE Eight Lead.

5.4.1 ALLIANCE Selection Process
If the Team declines, that Team is not eligible to be picked again or to be a BACKUP TEAM, and the ALLIANCE CAPTAIN extends another invitation to a different Team. If an invitation from a top eight ALLIANCE to another ALLIANCE Lead is declined, the declining Team may still invite Teams to join their ALLIANCE; however, it cannot accept invitations from other ALLIANCES.

Yes, this rule update was the result of events that unfolded at Midwest. Under prior rules, we were still eligible to be a backup robot and were first in line due to being ranked so high. There was a worry once we got our robot working (around the end of Quarterfinal matches) that someone would call for a backup and it would put us in an awkward situation.

Hopefully this rule will stay for future FRC seasons to come so that no other teams run into this situation.