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 Isabel(president) or Zuokun(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/transportaion 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 about $50 to about $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. Therefore, the team stays in hotels, which would drive up the cost of an “Away” tournament. The third factor is judging fees. You need a judge for every debate round. Since “Away” tournaments are extremely large, it’s an unfair burden to the tournament host to provide all judges. Therefore, every school is responsible for a certain amount of judges. The hosts of these tournaments realize certain schools don’t have the capacity to bring as many judges as they are required. Therefore, the tournament host allows schools to hire judges. This costs money, a lot of money.
If you have more questions about how cost is determined, or what the cost for a specific tournament might be, you can contact Zuokun for more detailed information.
