[treffk]

It really isn't suprise to me that people are passing up on going to Championship. Quite a few teams have been hit very hard finding sponsors and keeping them. Theoretically in my mind, with it being in St. Louis is it more central for everyone in the US which makes it cheaper and easier to travel to for some teams as they do not have to fly from one coast to another. Although this can make it more expense for those who are on the East Coast or outside the US.

This doesn't apply for us anymore because when I went with my team Champs was in Atlanta.

We flew from Kansas City to Atlanta. Plane tickets for all 15 students, a few mentors and parents (total of about 40 people) cost $18,000. Our hotel cost us $11,000. I honest never saw the cost for our food expenses or the Marta costs to get us to and from the airport. This put us at $725 a head for just transportation to Atlanta and hotel. Luckily we had great support that year and all of your expenses was donated to the team.

There are lots of ways to reduce expenses for Championships. Although I do know that some teams build into their budget to go every so many years or they choose between a guarenteed second regional or the possibility of going to Champs.