Isn’t it proximity and availability? It’s less expensive for Kentucky teams to attend than, say, Brazilian teams. Sure, it’s a little (read: a lot) unfair, but it works.
Edit: Okay, maybe not. I have no clue what criteria they take into account, then. It might be random. But probably not.
But if I am from Brazil and go through the trouble of putting my team in the waitlist, I am signaling that I am willing to travel.
I mean there were teams from VA invited off the waitlist. 9+ hours isn’t necessarily that close, and with the cost and travel, that’s not an easy thing.
You could email the RECF and ask them how it works I guess
Or you can try @Brad_Lauer to see if he will respond. He’ reads a lot!
From what I remember from last year, it doesn’t take that much effort to sign up for the waitlist.
If it works the same as last year, a coach just has to go to the Robot Events page for Worlds and click to add the team to the waitlist.
@Foster, you have been involved with vex for much longer than me. Do you think it is just my subjective impression that there is significantly more drama, volatility, and matters that had to be escalated all the way to the top of RECF in the recent years or it is an actual trend?
Obviously, there is a tendency for human memory to recall that grass was greener and water wetter in the past. And we shouldn’t really call trends without actual data, but still…
The reason I am asking is that, as engineer, I always try to analyse how energy moves through any system, that I am trying to understand.
It looks like the lure of Worlds pulls on the teams stronger and stronger every year. It could be that VRC became more popular. It could be that, as spots are scarcer percentage-wise, they becomes more prestigious status symbol. It could be that parents look at VRC awards as a very important item for the future college placement…
Regardless of the reason this pumps a lot of energy into the system. And, when there is a lot of potential energy, without a safe way to discharge, there got to be sparks flying all over the place.
I feel that many recent heated discussion, similar to the one in this thread, are an indication of such process and, statistically, we could expect them to become more frequent.
So, I think, that any changes by RECF like the introduction of Signature Events, that are designed to make qualification drama less intense, are great.
