Do any of the tournament organizers know if it is mandatory to reduce the number of rounds played by 1, or is that optional?

I'd love to get an official word from Fantasy Flight on this, and have been meaning to send them an email regarding this topic. As soon as there is something in writing from an official source, can we make sure that it is widely disseminated?

Here's the language in the email:

Greetings:

We have decided to make a slight change to the Store Championship tournament format for X-Wing. Due to player and venue feedback, we have agreed that the required rounds of Swiss be reduced by one.

Please see the updated, attached info sheet for full details. All events going forward must be run by these standards.