[Kevin Sevcik]

Originally Posted by Philip Arola

I get what you're saying, and I agree with you in spirit. A problem, however, is that you are missing the entire point of the wildcard system as FRC implements it.
The point is that teams that are not the annual juggernauts are still able to go eventually. Remember, Worlds is a lot more than just the robots.
Like it or not, this is why it is like it is.

Definitely this. I'd like to remind everyone in the thread that the reason FIRST is moving to two Champs is because HQ wants to get more teams to a Champs experience. Specifically, they want every team to have a reasonable chance of getting to Champs every four years or so, whether through qualifying or waitlisting. You're not going to turn every avenue to Champs absolutely merit-based without first changing that mindset. Which first means you're going to have to convince a lot of people that Champs is only for truly worthy robots.