Costs
THERE IS NO COST TO BE ON THE TEAM. Furthermore, while some tournaments cost money, local tournaments (see “About” for more information about these) are always entirely free. There is financial aid available for students who need help attending more expensive tournamnets- don’t hesitate to contact Zuokun (president) or Zach (vice president) about this. No student is ever required to sign up to attend an event.
The cost of attending away debate tournaments (for more info on these see “About” section) differs greatly depending on what the tournament is. The reason these tournaments cost money, while local tournaments do not, is because of hotel/registration/transportation fees. We receive a grant from the PTA each year to subsidize the more expensive tournaments, but it does not cover everything.
Calculating Cost for Away Tournaments
These tournaments range greatly in pricing, from $50 to $200. There are 3 factors that contribute towards a tournament’s price. The first factor is the tournament’s registration fee. Each tournament charges a different amount of money to register you in their schematic. View this as “the direct fee to participate in the tournament.” The second factor is rooming costs. This varies tremendously because certain tournaments provide housing [The school sets you up with parents who agree to let you stay with them] whereas other tournaments don’t provide such a luxury. In those situations, the team stays in hotels. The third factor is judging fees. Because every round requires at least one judge, every school is responsible for a certain amount of judges. *Tournaments would be significantly cheaper if parents volunteered to judge for the team. All expenses would be paid, including transportation and a hotel room.*
If you have more questions about how cost is determined, or what the cost for a specific tournament might be, you can contact Karen for more detailed information.
Drop Fees
“Dropping” from a tournament- or deciding you cannot go after you signed up- must be done before a specific date. This date (the drop date) will always be announced in advance to grant debaters flexibility. If a debater drops out of a tournament before this date, there is no penalty. However, any debater who drops after the drop date is subject to a fee. When a debater drops late, we are still charged for both their registration fee and (in some cases) the cost they would have to contribute for the hotel. In certain cases students had to pay as much money for the fee as the tournament itself would have cost. In short: drop before the drop date.
