Student 'contributions' / fees to attend regionals

[purduephotog]

Hello-

If you or your team has a fee or contribution cost to attend a regional or regionals (or even to be on the team), would you kindly PM or email me (if you don't want to post it).

If part of the fund raising effort is to refund these at the end of the season then please note that too.

Thanks in advance- I'm trying to compile some statistics for making our teams sustainable.

[Rich Kressly]

We do charge a nominal fee at the start of each year. It has fluctuated between $20-$30 in the past and we're looking at the possibility of increasing that due to other budgetary cuts. It does not get refunded, however if anyone has a financial need/hardship the fee gets waived provided certain criteria are met.

[RoboMom]

Teams have posted some great handbooks in the white papers here and here: http://www.usfirst.org/community/frc...t.aspx?id=7022
outlining expectations.

[tdlrali]

For us, it's $400 per year per student to cover 3 TShirts, a hoodie, travel costs (busses+hotels), and food at regionals.

[Chris is me]

Our team has dues at the beginning of the year (last year around $50 or so). I imagine that it's negotiable if someone on the team has financial hardship, but that's not my or my teammate's business so I wouldn't know. Volunteering at fundraising events is also a requirement, but our teammates just volunteer anyway; I don't think anyone who's made the cash commitment to the team that shows up to team meetings decides volunteering isn't worth it.

Our team charges teammates for the hotel room and I think part of the bus fee for the away regional (Minnesota for the near future). This isn't to make a profit or anything, but rather since the team organises the rooms together to keep costs down. The same hotel fees apply for Atlanta, but instead of busing team members that wish to go find their own transportation (mostly by plane). Our home regional's just down the street, so that's never a concern.

[cpeister]

We have a fee of $150 to be on the team (to cover shirts, etc), and an additional $100 per regional (to cover bussing, hotel rooms, etc.) The students are responsible for their own food.

Edit: We attend 2 regionals a year, so that works out to $350 for the majority of team members. We have not been to Atlanta in several years, so I don't know if there would be extra costs for it as well.

[Kyle Love]

This season, 1646 is implementing a new way to be active on the team. The students will now be asked to get somewhere between $150 and $250 in sponsorship money. There will be ways to offset these costs if students are not able to raise the money. It will be highly suggested that the students do raise the money so that the team will be able to have a larger budget for the year.

[idk]

Our team attends two regionals, one out of state and one about 30 minutes away. We have to pay $150 for transportation and housing for the out of state regional and pay for our own meals. We pay for shirts separately, usually at $10 a piece. If we have spirit items, it is an option for students to buy them and that can range anywhere from $5 to $20. Sweatshirts and jackets are ordered once a year and cost anywhere from $25 to $40.

[Mr. Freeman]

My "old" team, 1552 doesn't have a fee for being a member of the team. Students may have to pay for their T-shirt depending on the financial situation.

I see charging fees to be on a team as a brilliant way to drive away potential members. I know I wouldn't have joined the team if I had to pay $100 to be part of it. My parents probably wouldn't have liked it either.

[Chris is me]

Eh, it's not really like an entry fee. It's an activity fee. If it's a financial hardship, most teams (mine included) can negotiate.

My team collects the fee in the fall, after you've gone to summer demos and such, so you can get a feel for what the team is like beforehand. It's not like our team won't let you in the door if you don't have $50 in hand on day 1.

Even school sports have activity fees.

[sdcantrell56]

Originally Posted by Mr. Freeman

My "old" team, 1552 doesn't have a fee for being a member of the team. Students may have to pay for their T-shirt depending on the financial situation.

I see charging fees to be on a team as a brilliant way to drive away potential members. I know I wouldn't have joined the team if I had to pay $100 to be part of it. My parents probably wouldn't have liked it either.

In response to this, when I was in high school and a part of the football team for 4 years, we had to raise or pay $300 per person to cover many expenses. Almost all sports at my old highschool and all club sports have some type of fee to pay. I really don't see a reason to not have everyone on the team be responsible for raising $100-300, either through fundraising or just paying a fee. Of course there should be opportunities for the students to raise the money instead of relying on their parents, and there should also be exceptions for low income students, although having fundraising opportunities would take care of that scenario.

[ATannahill]

I've said this before but I feel that it should be reiterated. In my freshman year I was only able to attend the local regional because of monetary problems. Because of this some people felt I was not interested in the team, and did not tell me about summer projects. This year I thankfully was able to be more active during the competition season, but be sure that the students that are not financially gifted are still involved.