[Meredith Rice]

I agree that pit location can enter in as a factor for choosing alliances, but the bigger determinant, other than scouting at the current comp., as most people have said is familiarity with a team. The Firebirds had a very successful alliance with E.A.R.T.H. (618) at the Philly regional, and as a result, in the Newton division at nats, 618 picked our team because our performance was good, but more importantly because they new from our first alliance together that our robots and team members complimented each other well. The Firebirds again selected 618 at an off-season comp. mainly because we had to think on our feet (because we were bumped up to 8th and hadn't planned on picking) and we new their team well so it became an obvious and safe choice to make.

But back to the pit location, if your team scouts well, then that information bridges any gaps between two teams placed far away in the pits.