[robochick1319]

There are so many benefits to working with a school (visibility, recruitment, field trips, fundraisers, classrooms, computers, etc.). However, travel policies can cause a serious issue.

We have encountered several problems including not being able to secure a driver for the bus. For our Week 1 event at GSCR we had a bus and a driver but an impending snow storm resulted in the district canceling our school bus. If there's no snow in Greenville, it doesn't matter where we are. We lost the bus and parents had to drive their students to the event. We almost weren't able to compete because the school district closed for less than 2" of ice/snow.

Moral of the story - make a budget that pays for a charter bus for every regional. Charter buses are super expensive this time of year so we try to travel with other teams as much as possible. That's what we are doing for Peachtree and the World Championship. It saves money, builds team relationships, and abides by all the rules.

TL;DR snow and lack of school bus drivers means you should budget for a charter bus and try to ride with other teams to split the cost. Plan ahead!