[Allison K]

I think that losing the open registration spots will be a natural consequence of the growth in number of teams. There's already too many teams for every team to get to go once every four years (1808/4=452 teams per year, which is more spots than are available). And that's before you consider that there are some teams that will qualify every year. Look at Michigan for example, with teams now needing to qualify for the state championship.

There are, however, many oportunities at championships for teams to go even without their robot. If/when championships becomes by qualification only, there's still the conferences, volunteering, checking out matches, meeting teams, and a number of other reasons to attend.

~Allison