diff --git a/birb_scheduler/run_scheduler.py b/birb_scheduler/run_scheduler.py
index 978acdf..e265c56 100644
--- a/birb_scheduler/run_scheduler.py
+++ b/birb_scheduler/run_scheduler.py
@@ -47,8 +47,9 @@ def run(redis_client: Redis, site_url_map: Dict[str, str]):
             logging.debug("Default site is not set. Selecting one...")
             for site in Config.SITE_LIST:
                 if site.name not in incraising_queue_at:
-                    redis_client.set("DEFAULT:SCHEDULED", site)
-                    logging.info(f"Default site set to {site}")
+                    ensure_running_pod_on_site(site.name)  # blocking
+                    redis_client.set("DEFAULT:SCHEDULED", site.name)
+                    logging.info(f"Default site set to {site.name}")
                     break
     else:
         logging.debug("Not enough data points to decide on default site yet")
diff --git a/k8s/scheduler.yml b/k8s/scheduler.yml
index 7959793..0c0f0a0 100644
--- a/k8s/scheduler.yml
+++ b/k8s/scheduler.yml
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ data:
   SITES: "edge-1;http://192.168.111.100:30420/ edge-2;http://192.168.112.100:30420/ cloud;http://192.168.110.100:30420/"
   DEBUG: "yes"
   REDIS_URL: "redis://birb-scheduler-redis:6379/0"
-  COLLECTOR_URL: "http://birb-latency-collector/report"
+  COLLECTOR_URL: "http://birb-latency-collector/report/"
 ---
 kind: Role
 apiVersion: rbac.authorization.k8s.io/v1