[Tristan Lall]

We are seeing in North America the problems associated with the growth of the quantity of regional events. Certain events remain unfilled, others cut costs dramatically in order to even exist--this is not desirable. With that in mind, certain things are necessary, including a strong base of committed teams--this usually takes the form of local teams with nowhere else to go easily--and a number of corporate sponsors.

Currently, there are very few European teams; a first priority might be to ensure that there will be enough local teams to meet the demand for a regional, both now, and in the future (teams don't always return--that's too often overlooked). Of course, it is easier to form teams if they know that there will be a regional event locally--which is a rather circular problem. The current lower limit for a sustainable regional is (arguably) about 30; there are a couple of exceptions this year (Israel due to special arrangements, and Waterloo due to an unfortunately-timed religious holiday), but this is approximately the minimum.