As WRO Switzerland, we had to adapt the qualification procedure for the Swiss final for 2024 compared to previous years. The following factors played a role here:
- More and more teams (2022: 100 teams, 2023: 155 teams, 2024: 225 teams)
- More and more regional competitions (2022: 7 regionals, 2023: 9 regionals, 2024: 10 regionals)
- Competition dates spread over 5 weeks, which leads to greater differences in preparation time
- limited space at the Swiss final
Unfortunately, this means that a smaller proportion of teams can qualify than in the past: There are fewer teams that can qualify directly and fewer teams that qualify via the overall rankings. We are now introducing wildcards to enable teams with particularly high potential to take part in the Swiss final, even if they would otherwise not quite have qualified.
The basic prerequisite for qualifying for the next stage of the competition is always that a team can solve a regular sub-task (not just the surprise task) in at least one scoring round in such a way that it earns points. There are a total of 20 elementary, 20 junior and 16 senior starting places at the Swiss final this year. Depending on the size of the regional competition, the best 1 – 3 teams per age group (see table) can qualify directly for the Swiss final. Further teams per age group will qualify for the Swiss final after the last regional competition according to the national ranking list by points/time. In addition, up to three wildcards for the Swiss final will be awarded. The distribution of the wildcards will be determined by WRO Switzerland and will also be announced after the final regional competition.
Direct qualifications per regional competition
| Location | Elementary | Junior | Senior |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flawil | 2 | 2 | — |
| Yverdon | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Biel | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Brugg-Windisch | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Allschwil | 1 | 2 | — |
| Winterthur | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Bellinzona | — | 1 | 2 |
| Rotkreuz | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| Schötz | 2 | 2 | — |
| Altdorf | 1 | — | — |
| Total | 13 | 15 | 8 |
Wildcards
A maximum of 3 wildcards will be awarded per age group. WRO Switzerland will decide on the award after the final regional competitions; an appeal is not possible.
Qualification according to overall ranking
- Elementary: 4 to 7 teams
- Junior: 2 to 5 teams
- Senior: 5 to 8 teams
Move-up procedure
Of course, we hope that all the teams that qualify will also take part in the Swiss final. However, it happens time and again that a team has to cancel its participation. In such cases, the following regulation applies:
The team that would qualify according to the same qualification mode as the original team moves up. If, for example, a team that has directly qualified as the winner of the regional competition cancels, the second-placed team in the competition moves up. If a team that has qualified via the overall ranking cancels, the next team on the qualification list moves up. Accordingly, a team with a wild card will be replaced by the team that is next on the nomination list.
We try to give teams the chance to take part in the Swiss final for as long as possible and ask teams if they would like to move up. However, both we need time to prepare for the event and teams need time to plan their participation, so we cannot allow any teams to move up shortly beforehand. We therefore ask teams who know early on that they will not be able to take part in the final to cancel their registration early so that another team can take their place.