<p>DS sent me a text message this morning, he won’t be available to chat this weekend as he’ll be at Notre Dame. He goes to school in Pasadena. He’s on the fencing team at his school and apparently they’re competing at Notre Dame this weekend. So who pays for the flight, meals, etc when college sports teams travel? I feel really stupid asking, but DS never played sports in high school, and I don’t want to be shocked if airfare to Indiana appears on the monthly bill from his school. I’m still in shock that DS is heading for Notre Dame as I write, he’s got midterms to do this weekend 
According to him, no problem, he brought everything he needs with him.</p>
<p>I can only speak to D’s experience at a D3 school, but the single thing she pays for is a portion of the annual pre- or early-season training trips. Travel expenses to/from any games on their schedule are covered by the school. (The school also covers food if they’re away, at a pretty basic level, and lodging if they stay overnight.)</p>
<p>A Capella and dance trip at Brown nearly broke the bank</p>
<p>It may depend largely on whether fencing is a varsity sport or a club sport at your son’s school.</p>
<p>As an undergrad, I was on the crew team at two different colleges (I transferred). At College A, crew was not a varsity sport, so we covered all expenses. We didn’t pay for everything out of pocket: we did a lot of fundraising. At College B, crew was a varsity sport, so the university paid for basically everything.</p>
<p>Fencing, like crew, is a sport that can go either way: schools with large or diverse athletic programs probably grant it varsity status (and the funding that comes along with such status), while smaller schools with more limited athletic programs may not. </p>
<p>The best thing to do is probably to ask your son. You could also go to the athletic department website of your school and do some clicking around to see whether fencing is a varsity sport or not. The fencing website might have some info about funding, etc., as well.</p>
<p>Thanks so much, lotf, he goes to a very small school with a very small sports program but fencing is a varsity sport for them so I’m going to relax this weekend and trust that the school is paying for airfare, etc. I think I was in shock when he sent me the text message saying he was going to Notre Dame, I didn’t think of asking until later who was paying for this adventure…and knowing him, he may not have even thought to ask who is paying for the trip. </p>
<p>Funny thing is, DS is not a sports guy at all,never played a sport in high school - and one of the things that he really liked about this school was that it was the one school that never mentioned sports in their brochures(he fell in love with the focus on math & science). And now he’s on the varsity fencing team?!</p>
<p>If it is a varsity sport I would be shocked if all expenses weren’t covered by school.</p>
<p><a href=“he%20fell%20in%20love%20with%20the%20focus%20on%20math%20&%20science”>quote=“oaklandmom”</a>. And now he’s on the varsity fencing team?!
[/quote]
Fencing is a surprisingly cerebral sport… kind of like chess with feet and pointy objects. 
Seems to draw a lot of the math/science crowd at geek_son’s school. I think I can understand the appeal for your son. Ask him about the strategy of it sometime, and I bet you will too. :)</p>
<p>oaklandmom:</p>
<p>I’ll bet that your son’s school will be covering all expenses. How do you like your house?</p>
<p>marite,
thanks for asking about the house. I love my house - though I sometimes wonder if I bought to big since DS won’t be home for the summer. I love living in a small town, though making friends is taking longer than I’d hoped, but little by little I’m finding a place for myself. & its wonderful to live in a community that feels safe(Oakland has lots of wonderful things going for it but the crime there was horrible).
I think I just had a moment of panic wondering about expenses - I’m much calmer now, thanks to all the good CC people.<br>
geek mom - that’s an interesting point that fencing is much like chess. DS was a nationally ranked chess player in elementary & middle school - in high school, Math Circle was Sunday afternoons and it conflicted with too many chess tournaments. He gave up chess so he could go to Math Circle on Sunday afternoons. Though I’m still wondering how he made the fencing team, considering he had one semester of fencing as a p.e. class in high school & the first term of this year he took fencing as an elective and now he’s on the fencing team? Ah well, I guess at his school if you know how to hold the sword (or throw a basketball for that matter) you are on the team.</p>
<p>LOL, oaklandmom - so true for small schools! But small school varsity athletics are not about making the Olympic team. It is all about having a great time as a team and being proud of your school! I’m glad your son is having fun and enjoys his college experience.</p>
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I think its because they get to play with the metal equivalent of light sabers.</p>