I don't know about other teams registering as rookies, but we (Team 217 split into Team 817 {Utica Schools & Ford} and 818 {Warren Consolidated Schools & GM}) were basically forced to register as rookies.
As a former FIRST employee....the rules are (if they haven't been changed yet) that the Main contact from the 'old' team (#217) has the option of keeping the old number, or registering as a rookie team. The other team (that split with the original team number) now can choose to retain the old number or register as a rookie. If a team splits like that, someone can retain the old number if they would like to. The original choice belongs to the Main Contact of that team number.
Was this still an option for your team this year???
-lori-
