Arranging for travel without confirmed eligibility

[jgerstein]

While preparing for the MAR District Championship, my team is also looking at what we will do if we qualify for championships. We haven't traveled to a non-local competition or qualified for championships since 2005, so we have no experience with this.

Question 1: For teams that travel 12+ hours, do you fly or take a bus?

Question 2: If you fly, how do you handle timing of ticket purchases? Especially for teams that qualify late in the season (we wouldn't know until just over a week before CMP starts), do you buy tickets early and hope to be able to use the tickets? Or do you wait until after you qualify and hope to be able to get tickets?

Thanks for any help you can provide.