Mandy Torkelson is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Valley Christian High School for AZPreps365.com

The idea of taking a high school track and field team to Oregon for a meet starts with excitement, but quickly turns into a question of money.

For Valley Christian’s track program, the opportunity to compete out of state represents more than just higher competition. It’s a chance for athletes to gain exposure and experience. But making that trip happen requires months of planning and a careful look at how the program raises and spends its money.

“They have not done a trip like this before,” athletic director Greg Haagsma said. “Programs are expected to fund major trips independently, which can be hard.”

The total cost includes transportation, hotel rooms, meals, and meet entry fees. With multiple athletes and coaches traveling, expenses can quickly reach into the thousands. Haagsma said about $10,000 is expected to be spent, with some funding coming from the program's extracurricular account.

That’s where fundraising becomes essential.

“Our biggest fundraisers are the meets we host,” track and field head coach David Mehlhorn said. “We host three meets a year. Between team entry fees, snack bar and gates, we can raise money that way.

The team relies on a mix of fundraising efforts, including restaurant partnerships where a percentage of sales goes back to the program. While those efforts help, they often don’t cover everything. Families are asked to contribute, though coaches say they are trying to be mindful of financial differences amongst families.

“Costs can definitely be a barrier for some families,” Mehlhorn said. “One of the things we do as a program is we try to let athletes know that if that is a barrier for them, that we will help them out.”

Balancing affordability with opportunity remains a challenge. Not every athlete comes from the same financial background, and travel and equipment costs can add pressure. At the same time, the program is competing for limited resources within the school’s athletic department.

“We have an entire budget for athletics, which is divided up among all our sports,” Haagsma said. “Certain sports like football, obviously, get more than some other sports do. If a program needs additional funds, they need to go out and raise funds.”

Because of those limitations, planning for the Oregon trip began months in advance. 

“I started talking with meet directors seven to eight months ago to go to the meet in Oregon at the beginning of April,” Mehlhorn said. “This is such a cool opportunity for the kids and creates great exposure.”

Now, with the meet approaching, those plans are becoming a reality. Fundraising and budgeting efforts have helped make the trip to Oregon possible, and the team is preparing to compete.

“We wanted to be able to compete somewhere that, who knows if some of these athletes will get another chance to,” Mehlhorn said. “This is going to create such a core memory for our athletes, and I am beyond excited.”