TRAVEL REMINDER
I know everyone probably already knows this, but I wanted to put out a reminder.
Travel Insurance and Refund Policies
Now that we are traveling to more competitions further away from home, I would suggest investing into the travel insurance or protection for those big comps. As we found out during Covid, competitions can be cancelled or moved at any moment. There were so many parents that lost money. Ok, so Covid was a little extreme. However, I do remember that one year where we had a Winter Storm hit Spirit of Hope in Charlotte followed by another Winter Storm hitting NCA Nationals in Dallas. There were lots of plane and hotel cancellations. And just about all of it was last minute. If memory serves me right, I think NCA went virtual.
This season we have (or had) the govt. shutdown and tight times… you just never know anymore. I have already seen 4 competitions cancelled and one moved to new location. Now I’m not saying we will see a rash of changes, but it’s just enough to be aware.
Make sure you read cancellations policies, including those of both Stay n Plays AND the actual hotels you are staying at. If you are renting Airbnbs, ask if there is any refunds and what needs to happen to get the refunds. (Weather, etc). Also, keep a little flexible. If one of your comps gets cancelled, it is possible your gym might make a replacement and it may or may not be on the same weekend. Lastly, just remember, there may be a lot of people in the same boat, have patience and kindness.