Quote:
Originally Posted by fuzzy1718
Above all elese I'm tired of veteran powerhouses picking one another at regionals and not letting the teams not already qualified to get a chance at going. Why pick one another when all are already going, pick the people that have never gone or don't "buy their way in" every year.
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Let me begin my response by letting you know that this is not meant to sound mean or harsh in any way. I know it can probably be read in more than one way, but I did not intend for it to sound as if it has a nasty or critical tone.
Your complaint of veteran teams picking other veteran teams doesn't seem completely legitimate to me. Every team has to work their way to the top. If a team, veteran or otherwise, is a top 8 seed, they have
earned themselved the right to choose their alliance partners. It is their choice, and they reserve the right to choose who they want as their alliance partners, whether it is based on the merit of the team, or just a friendship. Usually, teams in the top 8 have come up with a strategy and choose other robots which complement their abilities to form a strong alliance, and are consistently effective and sturdy. Often, veteran teams may fit the bill. If you are a top 8 team and you would make the strongest alliance with a veteran team, is it not fair for you to select them as your partners, having earned this right?
Furthermore, veteran teams do not
always pick each other. I can speak even just from my team's experience. Team 1124 has been around for six seasons of competition, 2003-2008. We seeded fairly high and were selected by veteran teams to be in the eliminations, both in our rookie year and our third year. In our fourth year, 2006, we were ranked last out of all teams at our regional. We were selected by a veteran team, who wanted to give us a chance, and we ended up winning the regional with them and securing a spot for ourselves at the Championship; it was the first time we had ever gone. Stuff like this happens
all the time. Really, most alliance selections are based on how the robot/team complements the picking team and fits into their strategy.