PNW introducing new funding model

[SoftwareBug2.0]

Originally Posted by BMSOTM

I can see a few different approaches to ensuring fair distribution of the extra plays:

• None, whoever clicks first gets it
• A random lottery for spots
• A lottery based on years since previous third play (similar to CMP waitlist)

Additionally, I would imagine there'd be a gap between third and fourth play registration opening.

I have no inside information on how they plan to do this so your guess is as good as mine, but if I was doing this I might do something akin to the way that the NFL does its waiver wire:

1) Everyone is assigned an initial priority. For argument's sake, let's assume that it's largest team number first.
2) Each team submits an ordered list of which (if any) extra events they would want to go to.
3) Choose the team with the highest priority.
4) See if there are any events with slots left that the team was interested in going to.
5a) If there are then sign them up for the event they wanted the most, then move the team to the back of the priority list. Then go to step 3.
5b) If there were not any events with free slots that the team wanted to go to then choose the next highest priority team and go to step 4. If there is not a next highest priority team then go to step 6.
6) Inform teams of new event signups. Go to step 2 for the next round until it's not possible to sign any more teams up.
7) Save resulting priority list for next year.

A simple lottery would be somewhat problematic: Different slots are worth very different amounts to different teams. It takes longer to get to Spokane (home of the West Valley event) from Seattle than it would take to make a journey visiting every MAR district event! Similarly, telling a team from eastern Washington that they 'won' the option to go to a third event but that it was a slot in Philomath (southernmost and westernmost in the PNW) would probably not make them very happy.