[EricH]

Originally Posted by gblake

I dunno the regulations (insurance, venue, and/or FIRST) that would govern walk-on participation in genetic or specific off-season events, so that's why I didn't explicitly mention that possibility.

As far as FIRST, they don't really care. It's the event organizers you'd have to chat with, and 9/10 of them or more would bend over backwards to get you in if you're a prerookie, including such elements as free entry, robot arrangement facilitation, and other help needed. Not sure they'd bump a team for a prerookie, but space can generally be found somewhere along the line.

Basically, you'd reach out and say, "I'm a prerookie, do you have space?". If they didn't, they'd tell you.