The link was created by going to the teams in a state on FIRST's map and deleting the state and country field. I have a feeling it was generated by teams pre-registering for the competition. When the team either did not register for an event or did not pay fees by Dec. 10, they dropped from the regional listings but not from the "what teams are in this state" listings.
Anne's spread-sheet probably has the right numbers. Unfortunately, a few of these teams are probably not going to make competition and we'll end up between 980 and 990 teams.
This is still an increase; but it goes to show how the extra $1000 in the initial entry fee reduced the rate of growth.
BTW, Kick off is just three weeks away!