[George A.]

For most years 11 goes to two regionals, one of them being the NJ regional (our home town regional) and then the Championship depending on the year.

The second regional usually varies from year to year (04-06 they went to Palmetto, 07 was NYC and 08 was Chesapeake) and my advice is that if your team can afford it, go for it.

The second regional, especially events farther away from your area gives the students an opportunity to see teams, and interact with people that they normally wouldn't. For instance, if an east coast team went out to play in the MWR or Boilermaker it would be far different, than if they stayed local the whole time.

As far as qualifying and cost? With NJ anyone on the team is allowed to go, buses take us to and from the event Thurs/Fri, and the students are responsible for getting their own rides on Saturday, since it's free most students go. For the events that require travel, it usually boils down to whoever contributes the most gets first shot. We're not punishing the students that don't contribute as much, we're just rewarding the students that contribute more.

With cost always being an issue, the students are encouraged to go out and fundraise for the team, and for every dollar they fund raise, a dollar is deducted from their trip. So in the end a student could wind up traveling for next to nothing.


Myself, I go to 3/4 events and the Championships, but usually as a volunteer so it's a bit different.

But that's just my advice, let us know what you decide.