[Bduggan04]

I don't agree with your assessment, because it assumes that A) the penalties will be assessed judiciously and B) all the penalties described in the manual are fair and meaningful. I'm not sure if either A nor B is true.
--Petey[/quote]

Both are variables out of your control. Until that fact changes the best solution is to accept it and deal with it.

My assumptions are based on the fact that in years past, both the judges/referees and the teams improved at their jobs. Not assuming that the same would be true this year would suggest that one of the parties is incapable of learning from mistakes and self improvement. I know of no teams or judges that fit this description.