If there are 70+ teams in small, then cut that number in half for semis and then take the best 20 to finals...Pocketing the cash of 70+ teams and THEN telling 60+ 0f them "Better luck next year" is not only insulting but also nothing short of highway robbery. I'm sorry but the whole "you're not gonna win so what's the point of competing twice?" mentality is a bit harsh.
Top ten in practically every division at Worlds no big deal, but it is a HUGE accomplishment in Small Senior and more than ten teams should have the opportunity to make it there...there are AT LEAST 20 teams in that division who are good enough to do so.
If finals is just about who's gonna win, then heck, let's just scrap the whole medaling format altogether. Second and third place is no more a win than 1oth place or 15th place. There's only one winner, so take the top two teams from prelims in EVERY division and have them battle it out for the top spot in finals like they do in the superbowl, world series, and every other sport. Would that be fair? To me that's just as crazy as wiping out 90% of a division.
In my opinion, there should be a 30 team cap for Small Senior at Worlds. That way, if you're only taking ten teams to finals then at least you'll know beforehand that more than half of the division has a fighting chance.