[EricH]

When I said venue, I wasn't referring to the regional committees/event organizers. I was referring to the physical site of the regional--and any associated unions, policies, and other similar "nuisances".

I've actually seen the crew of a regional site insist on taking the field out to the truck--parked at a bed-level loading dock--one case at a time with a forklift. It doesn't make sense, but you have to either live with it, or as in that case, someone with some authority needs to step up and make noise to allow for more efficient/effective loading.

At this point, I don't think anything will change. (Timing could also have been a factor.) But what you do is for next year, you make enough noise via official channels that "Regional X should be Bag-and Tag" that FIRST has to notice. At that point, next year's should be given the green light for that, if the venue approves.