[EricH]

OK, now I understand.

In principle, I don't see there being all that big a deal...

But then there are two further points that need to be made.

#1: If you sort into an A and a B, then one of the two is NO LONGER a CHAMPIONSHIP. You're sorting a second-tier group. That's like telling a rookie team that they could have had RAS and now because they didn't perform well enough on-field they only get RI (or nothing). There are solutions, yes. But don't call it a Championship. I've made my views on that very clear in the past, this isn't a good way to do it.

#2: As I said before, ANY solution that results in teams having zero time to make travel arrangements (particularly flights--as a Bostonian, you need to understand that the West Coast has NEVER, EVER been able to DRIVE to Champs without taking multiple days, unlike most of the East Coast and Midwest teams) is a non-starter. It was bad enough trying to get a team in on a lost/canceled reservation (actually happened, but the travel agency worked to get us there and home); I can't imagine doing that under normal conditions.


If you use geography, at least teams know BEFORE they plan where their particular system is feeding to, so they can immediately start planning when they qualify. If you use a points system, teams might not know until Week 7 after qualifying in Week 1--that means that they had 6. Weeks. of. Not. Being. Able. To. Plan. This isn't a DCMP that most teams can easily drive to, this is a World Championship Event! You can't just go in without planning!