Allowable cost of FIRST choice items

[Gary Dillard]

As I interpret the rules, I would say that any item we use that we get free from FIRST choice still has a chargeable cost against the $3500, since

1) The definition of Kit of Parts says anything on the Kit of Parts checklist, and these are not on that checklist
2) Although they are available to all teams from this "Vendor" at the same discounted price ($0) per 4.3.5.C, they aren't offered in sufficient quantity for all teams to get them within the build season per the definition of Vendor parts D & E.
3) There is no mention of FIRST choice in the rules (that I could find) that indicate it is part of the Kit of Parts or not chargeable.

That is based on the Manual being the final word; however, as I found out last year when I posed the question to the GDC in the Q&A I discovered that there are other "writings" with equivalent importance including Bill's Blog (which is noted this year in section 2.6.4 of the communication section of the manual). Bill's Blog from 11/15/2010 states that "FIRST Choice is an online extension of the traditional KoP".

So - parts that we get for free through FIRST Choice - chargeable or free?