[Wetzel]

116 deals with this in several ways. This year they are going to nationals and VCU. VCU is about a two-two and a half hour drive from home. For VCU, the flight and pit crews (10 students) go down Wensday night and stay through Saturday. The rest of the team, usually a full school bus load, will go down Friday morning at about 6am, then spend the night and leave Saturday evening. That cuts out two nights of hotel rooms for ~25 students and chaparones, as well as the headaches involved in a two day longer trip - missed school, more chaparones, more time to get into mischif. There is also a $25 deposit to goto Richmond. It offsets the money going out a little, as well as an incentive to show up.

For nationals, most of the team will likely go after school on Thursday and return Sunday. There is a $100 deposit, and will likely be another $150 per student, for a total of $250 for the trip. This is about what it has cost the students for the past few years.

Our funding is such that the team can cover a large amount of the travel cost, but not all of it and the student needs to come up with the rest. Adults serving as offical school trip chaparones do not pay anything. Mentors pay the student rate, and other adults going as guests, such as parents/spouses, pay the full cost.


Wetzel