[FourPenguins]

Yet another MORT member heard from. (Sorry guys, but we did get hosed.)
I think I understand the intent of this system. The belief (misguided though it is) was that by pairing a rookie with an experienced team, the rookies would be able to advance, making the competitions more "fair" to rookie teams.
Now, this system is based on two assumptions. The first is that a team's age and its robot's abilities are inversely proportional. This isn't always true, as our rookie all-stars prove every year. The second assumption was that rookies deserve a better shot at winning than experienced teams. Coming from an experienced team, I may be biased, but with three "rookie-only" awards, do we also need to skew the qualification matches to "help" rookies?
Sorry if I'm stepping on any toes, but this looks a bit like they're stacking it to me. I'd much prefer true randomized pairings, and let everyone rise or fall on their own merit, not their perpetual teammate/opponent's.