Sports travel....kids teams...how much notice?

[npmommie]

If your kids are involved in any sport that has travel meets/games, how much notice do you have to plan? I am talking about travel that requires a plane to get there.
Our gymnastic team head coach wants the team to travel to florida for a meet in february. She just had a parent meeting about this in the middle of September. They were researching with a travel agent that specializes in student travel. So she just sent an email with the prices for the travel agent. But in the email she says she has Not sent in the deposit to hold our spot in the met because she wants to be sure enough people will go.

So back when we had the parent mtg i researched airfares. Lots avail high price but i expected that due to the time we would have to go. Now today i looked the fares are much higher and most are sold out on carriers like southwest.

The price with the travel agent was not that great. Imo. It was more money for 3 nights at disney and airfare than i spent on our last week at the Polynesian incl airfare.

So.........my gripe is, there is no guarentee we are in the meet, i dont want to buy tickets until its confirmed, but then the prices and choices will be even higher.

I think starting this planning in september was not enough time. I think she should have begun this months prior.
So how do your teams plan for stuff like this?

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

If your kids are involved in any sport that has travel meets/games, how much notice do you have to plan? I am talking about travel that requires a plane to get there.
Our gymnastic team head coach wants the team to travel to florida for a meet in february. She just had a parent meeting about this in the middle of September. They were researching with a travel agent that specializes in student travel. So she just sent an email with the prices for the travel agent. But in the email she says she has Not sent in the deposit to hold our spot in the met because she wants to be sure enough people will go.

So back when we had the parent mtg i researched airfares. Lots avail high price but i expected that due to the time we would have to go. Now today i looked the fares are much higher and most are sold out on carriers like southwest.

The price with the travel agent was not that great. Imo. It was more money for 3 nights at disney and airfare than i spent on our last week at the Polynesian incl airfare.

So.........my gripe is, there is no guarentee we are in the meet, i dont want to buy tickets until its confirmed, but then the prices and choices will be even higher.

I think starting this planning in september was not enough time. I think she should have begun this months prior.
So how do your teams plan for stuff like this?

We are not in Gymnastics - my kids do soccer.

We are told what tournaments we are participating in beginning of the season and dates for finals, states, etc are given but you KNOW there is no guarantee if you will be playing.

I think September was more than enough time for February. You could have purchased a refundable ticket at that time but it probably would have been more expensive than the travel agent.

If you are going to the meet 60 days out is a good time to look for airfare, so December. You still have a chance for a good fare rate.

 

[padams]

We are not in Gymnastics - my kids do soccer.

We are told what tournaments we are participating in beginning of the season and dates for finals, states, etc are given but you KNOW there is no guarantee if you will be playing.

I think September was more than enough time for February. You could have purchased a refundable ticket at that time but it probably would have been more expensive than the travel agent.

If you are going to the meet 60 days out is a good time to look for airfare, so December. You still have a chance for a good fare rate.

Same experience here. We had a meeting last week for team travel by air for a competition in Feb. We don't know the cost yet. We just know it's on the calendar.

 

[Hannathy]

I would think 3 months is more than enough notice.

 

[Hrhpd]

If your kids are involved in any sport that has travel meets/games, how much notice do you have to plan? I am talking about travel that requires a plane to get there.
Our gymnastic team head coach wants the team to travel to florida for a meet in february. She just had a parent meeting about this in the middle of September. They were researching with a travel agent that specializes in student travel. So she just sent an email with the prices for the travel agent. But in the email she says she has Not sent in the deposit to hold our spot in the met because she wants to be sure enough people will go.

So back when we had the parent mtg i researched airfares. Lots avail high price but i expected that due to the time we would have to go. Now today i looked the fares are much higher and most are sold out on carriers like southwest.

The price with the travel agent was not that great. Imo. It was more money for 3 nights at disney and airfare than i spent on our last week at the Polynesian incl airfare.

So.........my gripe is, there is no guarentee we are in the meet, i dont want to buy tickets until its confirmed, but then the prices and choices will be even higher.

I think starting this planning in september was not enough time. I think she should have begun this months prior.
So how do your teams plan for stuff like this?

We have travel competitions in December, January, March, April and May.

We were informed at our parent meeting in late August where we were going, so less notice than you have had. We have been doing this for 8 years and have always been able to plan accordingly and find good deals. Not a big deal.

We usually fly Southwest so that if the prices do go down, we get a credit for next year's travel.

I do have to ask - how come your daughter is still at this gym? You seem to have many, many problems and numerous posts about it. I think you may be happier at a gym that is a better fit for your family. And save your blood pressure a bit

 

[npmommie]

ok so maybe i wil stop stressing over the airfare now and wait. I am a planner and i like to be all set, not a last minute kind of person, LOL.
I forgot about southwest giving a credit. I just about fell over when i looked today andit came out to just under $2000 for us to fly, when the last trip to florida last year we flew rt for $750! But of course we did not go during school vacation!

Oh and to answer about the gym. I am happy for the most part and i do have little concerns, but i doubt any gym is perfect, and they do address my concerns at this gym, and the most important reason is my dd is happy and has adamently expressed that she does not want to switch. She has been with her team mates for many years and she is very happy. So i would not make her switch.

I was just curious how other teams do this sort of thing. Our team has never done a travel meet like this. We were supposed to last year and the majority of parents said no.

 

[npmommie]

We have travel competitions in December, January, March, April and May.

We were informed at our parent meeting in late August where we were going, so less notice than you have had. We have been doing this for 8 years and have always been able to plan accordingly and find good deals. Not a big deal.

We usually fly Southwest so that if the prices do go down, we get a credit for next year's travel.

I do have to ask - how come your daughter is still at this gym? You seem to have many, many problems and numerous posts about it. I think you may be happier at a gym that is a better fit for your family. And save your blood pressure a bit

How far away do you go? Up til now we have only gone to other states within driving distance.

 

[Hrhpd]

How far away do you go? Up til now we have only gone to other states within driving distance.

If we wanted to drive it would be a minimum of 13 hours for the closest and the ones in Orlando, you have to fly.

We have found, as somebody else said, that about 6 weeks out the prices usually drop again. Also, I subscribe to airfarewatchdog and it gives me a daily e-mail on the rates to the cities I choose. That way I get a good idea of what the lowest is and when I should jump on a fare.

 

[npmommie]

If we wanted to drive it would be a minimum of 13 hours for the closest and the ones in Orlando, you have to fly.

We have found, as somebody else said, that about 6 weeks out the prices usually drop again. Also, I subscribe to airfarewatchdog and it gives me a daily e-mail on the rates to the cities I choose. That way I get a good idea of what the lowest is and when I should jump on a fare.

Thanks! I will check that site out

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

For the Robotics Club World Championships in California we had 2 months notice. That's because we didn't qualify for it prior to that so no way could it be planned for in advance. No one expected us to make it. Needless to say, it wasn't cheap.

I actually have a vacation savings account that I put money in every payday that is used for this type of thing as well as family vacations so at least I've got the money when it happens even if it drives me nuts not to get discounts if it happens so fast.

When the Band travels to Disney I know when it will be happening a year in advance. They don't fly though. They rent buses. And we drive usually so I don't have to worry about airfare. Luckily.

 

[debster812]

DS is also a soccer player. His team is u15, and this is the age that his club drops out of one league in the Spring, and travels to multiple college showcase tournaments. Last year the team in this age group went to Wash DC, North Carolina, NY/NJ, and the Hudson Valley area. I expect it will be similar for our guys this year. All the tournaments are technically drivable, but if we can find decent airfare, I would absolutely consider flying to DC and NC. (We are in Mass).

We will likely get our scheduled tournaments sometime in December, and start traveling in late May/early June.

 

[ToyStory Fan]

Travel hockey checking in here (no pun intended)

Most of our travel tourneys are set early in the season so we have 4+ months to make any arrangements. Occassionally, our teams will play in a regional qualifying tournament that if won, will result in a flying trip to Canada or Michigan with less than 3 months notice. Also, for our state tournament bound teams, if the battle for the top 2 spots in the section are up in the air - depending on who is hosting the state tournament it could result in less than a month's notice for that, and the ensuing national championships after that as well - also less than 1 month. Unfortunately with some travel sports you have to recognize that and be somewhat flexible - my viewpoint is that the kid's earned it so we deal with it and get them where they need to be.

 

[joviroxx]

DS is in Tae Kwon Do. His state qualifiers for nationals are usually in April and Nationals are in the beginning of July. He needs to qualify in April in order to compete at nationals each year. So its a little less than 3 months.

3 months seems like plenty of time to me

 

[tvguy]

I would think 3 months is more than enough notice.

Except in this case they got 5 months notice.

My son's High School Baseball Coach decided to travel to Las Vegas for an Easter Week tournament.......a 600 mile trip...BY BUS.....13 hours. We found out about the trip when school started in August, the trip was in April. 8 months notice, and a lot of fund raising before hand. After all the fundraising it worked out to $200 a player....($25 a day for 8 days, including bus, hotel room, all meals and tournament fees). Chaparones got to ride the bus for free, but had to pay for their own meals and hotel.
For most of the chaparones, the big issue wasn't the money, but getting a week of vacation at Easter, a very popular vacation week.

As the coach put it, "you haven't lived until you have spent 8 days in Las Vegas with 19 teenaged boys from a Catholic High School in Sin City".

 

[msjprincess]

It depends on where you live and if it's President's week. I'm in the northeast and airfare to FL that week is very expensive unless you buy it early.

 

[npmommie]

It depends on where you live and if it's President's week. I'm in the northeast and airfare to FL that week is very expensive unless you buy it early.

Yes exactly!! Right now the airfare is at least double closer to triple the cost just a week prior.

 

[tvguy]

It depends on where you live and if it's President's week. I'm in the northeast and airfare to FL that week is very expensive unless you buy it early.

Yeah, when did it become President's week instead of President's Day?

 

[msjprincess]

Yeah, when did it become President's week instead of President's Day?

Around here schools are closed that week. So it's simetimes referred to as President's Week Vacation/Break.

 

[npmommie]

Yeah, when did it become President's week instead of President's Day?

Around here schools are closed that week. So it's simetimes referred to as President's Week Vacation/Break.

same here for us, schools are all closed the entire week. Presidents week vacation.

 

[npmommie]

I was curious what our school district calls it so I just looked at the calendar and they refer to it as February break.
but it is always the week of Presidents day.