Quote:
Originally Posted by PayneTrain
1) Should there have been a full elimination bracket at this 24 team event? Why or why not? I believe it was not the best decision that could have been made, but is one that was made keeping in mind the integrity of the district points structure among other things.
2) Should there be a minimum team count for all events in either the traditional or nontraditional structure. If so, what is it? What protocols should there be for recourse to an event not reaching their number?
3) Should FIRST relax the restrictions on inter-district play to allow teams from outside the structure to populate events? For example, could a team from Knoxville, TN apply to join the NC districts? A team from South Carolina? A team from Virginia? Why or why not?
There may be some other questions that can come from this. I just want to hear what people think about it.
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1648 also attended the PCH District - Albany event, which ran with 25 teams.
1) There should not have been a full elimination bracket. While it nice for every team to make the playoffs, this event has implications for teams down the line. States bids, Worlds bids are influenced by this event. In a game like this year, where all three robots are required to get to the batter for a capture, having options for teams to select at every stage is crucial. There is an argument to be made that your alliance should work with the team in question to get them at least on the batter, but if a team is going to have to help modify another's robot for their alliance, they should at least have the option to choose which robot that is.
District point structures can be modified, as long as it it put in the admin manual ahead of time; frankly, it's impressive that Michigan/MAR have gone long enough and not run into any situation of similar ilk.
2) Traditional Structure: 26 teams. This gives two backup teams, and the final selection has three options to choose from.
If an event hasn't reached it's number by a given date (say, two weeks after out of district events are opened) start reaching out to local teams who aren't attending and aren't doing another event that week and see if they will be willing to come to the event, at a discounted price if necessary.
3) Wholeheartedly, yes. As long as it's done ahead of time (say, a full year in advance). A team should be able to compete in the location it determines is best for itself. Why should we be restricted by (mostly) arbitrary state/region borders?