I don't think anyone probably cares, but I was on the board at the time they decided the districts would be the same as the state tournament fees. I had been trying for years (more than a couple) to get the State tournament fees raised from $15 to $20 so the officials could get paid better. At that time they got $150 a day and some got a shared room. Our district tournament charged $15 when other districts where already charging $20. They finally raised the State fee to $20. A couple of years later they tried to make the districts all the same, I and others argued the fees shouldn't be the same. $15 was reasonable and the host could still make a profit. We lost and the fees and several other things were supposed to be followed to try to get the qualifying tournaments run on the same format. I agree with you that they don't need to be exactly the same, the board at the time however felt there was some disadvantages and felt that was a place to start. Later figuring out that because of the sizes of district it might not be possible. The State Tournament comittee worked hard to try to make sure everyone was following but it didn't quite work out.
