[753]

Hi,

Our team usually attends 2 regionals and then tries to go to the Championship if we qualify. This leads to a mad dash for money and a lot of missed school/work time attending 3 events. Since I have such a strong team this year, and I stress teamwork over scoring, I told them we could sign up for 1 regional and Atlanta. Then the economic market collapsed.

We've paid for our regional and need to pay for the Championship by Dec 5th. We might be able to swing going with a lot of scrimping and begging. My concern is should we wait to qualify and then try for Atlanta or if we pay the registration, what are our chances of getting our money refunded. By mid-January we should have a better idea of our ability to pay. Does the Championship always sell-out, thus enabling you to get your money back or is that a huge gamble?

PS. Another concern is we'll have to cover a fair number of kid's travel expenses. If we win Chairmans, or some other qualifying award, the school district will cover the airplane costs for the students. That's a big if? Does anyone have luck getting help with travel costs for students even if you don't "qualify". We haven't attending Atlanta in 3 years and no one on the team has been there. I feel that should be justification enough for the school district.

Coach