Someone at the event I attended this season said that they were (I think they were from FIRST, but I'm not sure). However, eligibility criterion still haven't been released yet, so we can't be 100 percent sure.
From
http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprogr...t.aspx?id=4378
FTC World Championship Event Eligibility Criteria
The FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship will be held in Atlanta, April 14 - 16, 2010 (dates subject to change), at the Georgia Dome. 100 FTC teams will be eligible to participate in the FTC World Championship.
Eligibility criteria will be announced in September/October 2009.
Note the 100 teams thing as well.