Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Steele
We moved to this system in PNW District last year. In the first round of signups a team could wither "opt out" of their local event or register for their local "home" event. Opt out would mean that you wait until the 2nd round and you get 2 choices when it opens up. (Again this is District only)
Due to the wonky way home events were chosen (by FIRST), the event we were listed as "home" for us was actually further away from us than the one we wanted to compete at. We opted out and then signed up for the closer event the 2nd registration. (FIRST chose home events based on zip codes or something and not by actual distance.... they would not change it when we requested it before registration)
It worked out for us... it simply gives a team the best chance at the district event that is closest to them. They don't have to take it. In this way, a team is never frozen out of the local district event.
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We've also found the way things work to be curious from time to time. For example, before the home event system we asked if we could be guaranteed entry to the event that we host. The answer was not "no", it was "no because our IT department wouldn't be able to do that". That's a stupid response because they could always just adjust the number of spots held back with no special coding involved. A flat "no" would at least be honest.
Another curious thing is that the Alaskan team's home event is Wilsonville. While we'd love to see them in Wilsonville, it's about as far away from them as you can get without leaving the district. And I've heard a rumor that they've already made arrangements to stay in Seattle for a couple of weeks to compete, so if they choose to opt out it should not be a surprise to anyone.