Wrong qualifying points. Teams that were allowed early entrance to the competition either won past competitions or Chairman's Awards, or scored at least five "qualifying points" on this scale.
Quote:
Teams may qualify to register through performance during the prior year (2001) based a point system. Five (5) points are required to register.
a. Regional or National Divisional winner—3 points
b. Regional or National Divisional finalist—2 points
c. Judged Award winner at Regional or National Event—2 points
d. Top Seed at Regional or National Event—1 point
e. Top Rookie Seed at Regional or National Event—1 point
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So since there are so many empty slots at Nationals this year because of the financial impact of September 11th and the recession, they're knocking it down to three points needed to qualify.