I hate that I can't switch sides. It was the most positive aspect of the old AvA and I'd hoped it could stay that way but the AvA staff has only two tools for balancing the game play in the arena, country switch wait time, or the hated arena cap.
The 24 hour wait time is preferable over arena caps and it's the minimum viable period. If you make it less, the guy who's going to log off in an hour can switch sides, grief the opposition, and be back on his chosen side the next morning to do it again that night. The more experienced players aren't going to tolerate this after investing their time in the new arena setup, and the arena needs all the old experienced players, including those that would like to switch sides for balance.