Alex,
I have no idea how hard this would be to do so just tell me to shut up if it is.

Each group would be allowed to be in one of three "preview"
Each Group would be allowed to be in two of four "regionals"
Top 12 from each regional would be allowed into the "showdown"
( some would be duplicates so you might only end up with 24 corps)

Example:
End of 1st week on Saturday night

East Coast Preview
West Coast Preview
Mid America Preview

End of 2nd week Saturday Night
Southwest regional Championship
Northeast regional Championship

End of 3rd week Saturday night
Midwest Regional Championship
Southeast Regional Championship

End of 4th week Saturday night
Mid American showdown

Then finals week starts

Should I shut up now ? :-)

I don't like this idea. I like the way it's set up now. They way you have it mentioned remains me of FMA before it was FMA

I was just thinking of a way to get more contests for everyone instead of so many being declined. At least everyone could get 1 preview and 2 regions before finals.

Of course the way it was done this time, some regions were announced AFTER other shows had been scheduled. By having them on Saturdays and announced ahead of time people could schedule shows around them.

Its an interesting thought although it would take some time to implement. I think for now I'll stick with the regionals as they are. Next season I will try to add more regionals, maybe even more than 1 on a day.