Member Registration Fees

[CalTran]

Originally Posted by LeelandS

I personally don't think students should pay to be a part of the team. If a student wants to donate to the team, so be it. But I don't think any student should be denied the right of being on a FIRST team because $100 is too much for them.

If a team is in need of funding, I feel that the team should look elsewhere. Fundraising is something I believe every team should do. It's a part of a "team culture" that I think is an important aspect to sustainability. Teams can also look to businesses for sponsorship or donations. Again, I feel every team should do that. That is not just an aspect of team sustainability, but part of the FIRST culture.

I think no student should be denied access to any club period. If they have the will to join a club then they should be allowed to join.

I completely agree with the quoted statement. Our team, though living in a generally upper-middle class area, do not require a monetary registration fee. We do, however, require people to pay for their own hotel and food costs. Our district covers the gas fees.

[z_beeblebrox]

Our team required (very strongly recommended) a registration fee to pay for shirts, travel, etc. However, if someone was unable to pay the fee, they would still be able to join the team. I think no one should be denied access to a robotics team, but that, if possible, an entry fee should be charged, both to ensure commitment and to cover expenses.

[sanddrag]

As an entity of a California public school, we cannot charge any fee and must provide anything necessary to participate. The students get the first T-shirt free and a free bus ride to the Long Beach regional. We keep a calendar where families take turns providing food for the entire team. We do require that students have black pants to wear at the regional and formal events, and we do not provide those.

The Second T-shirt is $20 and if we travel to a second regional, the travel costs would not be covered by the team. Each student/family would need to pay.

While it would really make funding nice and easy to charge everyone a fee, I don't see it as being realistic (even aside from the law) in our area. There are students whose families can honestly not afford anything other than the bare minimum their child needs.

(I also agree with the post below)