[JesseK]

First note that I'm using 1114/2056 as examples since they're popular robots and teams to follow, so most people know their history and accomplishments each year.

FIRST will forever need teams wanting to buy a ticket to championships. Why? There are 52 Regionals, but not 260 unique teams that win those Regionals and/or get RCA's/EI's. To further emphasize this point, let's look at Canada. This year, 2056/1114 have dominated Canada's 3 Regionals Waterloo, GTR-E, and GTR-W (though not always together). A potential 12 slots from winners and RCA's went to only 7* unique teams since 1114/2056 take 2 slots via RCA's and 5 slots via winning. (* no research was done for the other teams to know if there was an RCA/Winner overlap).

So there is a gap between space available at the venue and # of teams who've "earned" a slot. FIRST needs to fill those slots or the cost of the venue on a per-team basis would rise. Teams who want to buy a ticket to championship (such as those Canadian teams who are really good but can't get past the 1114/2056 combo every year) are more likely to be able to buy a slot, fullfilling their want and FIRST's needs.

IMHO, if a team has completed a robot that's performed "average" on the field at a Regional then they've earned a slot to Championships. It shouldn't be up to us to deny those students the incredible experience just because they didn't have the right combination of strategy, talent, and luck at their event, especially if they've done enough to fund raise the near-astronomical cost of going to St. Louis on short notice. Save the "best of the best" attitudes for IRI, and remember that winning a FRC event is considered a secondary goal to FIRST's main mission.