[bduddy]

Our team is free to join, and since we only go to 1 local regional, there are no travel costs. We do require members to purchase T-shirts (usually $15, but we had 2 this year) and we ask parents for donations of $100 or up. Both, of course, can be waived if necessary.

As for the original topic, I think a "team fee" is a bad idea. There are some people for which a "small fee" really matters, and these are the people that need the skills FIRST offers the most; even if the fee is waivable, prospective members may not know that or be ashamed to ask. As for the "barrier to entry" thing, I think that teams should be trying harder to lower barriers to entry. Teams should, in my opinion, be inspiring people that didn't care that much in the first place; trying to cater to those students that already really want to join the robotics team is, IMO, missing the point.