That's not the sound of effort. There is a very discernable difference between nervous/not good at auditions and not prepared/forced to go. In our region this year, there was a good 30-40% that should not have been allowed to go.
We screen our kiddos. Not for first chair ability, but for not embarrass me ability. Not every kiddo will be first, but many will be respectful enough to make a band.
We do chair auditions aside from region auditions for our band. Region placement has no value on the auditions we do in our band hall. There are great kids that just don't prefer to do the region thing and we don't punish them for that.