How to Save Money on Tournament Weekends: 15 Tactics That Follow the Rules

The biggest savings on a tournament weekend come from the lines that are big to begin with: the hotel, the food and the miles. The entry fee is the smallest piece. Nickel City Hockey puts it at 6 to 9 percent of what a fly-in hockey weekend costs a family.

Below are 15 tactics, each tied to a source we opened. Some savings figures are the source's own estimates, and we say so. None of these asks you to break a tournament's rules. Where a tactic depends on the rules, it says so.

What should I decide before I book anything?

These three choices change the total more than any coupon.

1. Pick fewer, closer tournaments. Nickel City says "six well-chosen events beat ten mediocre ones." TeamSnap's team travel guide says that for most teams, especially players under 12, the farthest you need to go is a couple of hours from home. A drive-to hockey weekend runs about $1,000 to $1,600 in Nickel City's budget. A fly-in runs $2,000 to $3,300.

2. Limit the calendar. Our Kids Play Hockey's write-up advises two to three tournaments a year rather than one every weekend, and favors destinations with free or cheap things to do. That is an opinion from a hockey site, but the math backs it up. Every extra event adds a hotel bill.

3. Fill the roster. This is the team manager's lever, not yours, but ask. Nickel City says a 17-player roster cuts the per-family cost by 23% versus a 13-player roster. That is a cost-sharing effect on team-level fees.

How do I spend less on the room?

The hotel is the largest single line in most budgets. Nickel City puts three nights at $450 to $750 for hockey. Scout Elite lists $169 to $250 per night for fly-away events.

4. Contact the hotel directly, where the rules allow. TeamSnap says to call the hotel itself rather than a chain's toll-free number when you are negotiating a block. This applies to teams that control their own housing. If your tournament runs a mandatory housing partner, the rules decide where you book. Do not guess.

5. Use any loyalty discount the rules allow. IHG's release says families can earn points and "save up to 15% on stays of three or more nights." That is one brand's offer. And it may not apply. Oklahoma Watch quotes one tournament's rules: "No other booking sites, discounts, points awards, special rates or programs...will be accepted." Read the housing policy. If points are barred, you cannot use them.

6. Share rooms within the limits. Our Kids Play Hockey suggests splitting hotel bills with other families, including parents sharing a room apart from the kids. Check the hotel's maximum occupancy and ask your team manager how the tournament counts rooms.

7. Ask about an exemption the rules allow. Some tournaments waive the hotel requirement for local families, or for families who meet a stated test. Defender Hockey Tournaments' hotel page, for example, ties its requirement to teams whose home rink is more than 75 miles from the tournament rink. Others charge to opt out. Oklahoma Watch reports Premier Girls Fastpitch charged $2,400 to bypass its lodging requirement. Ask politely, in writing, before you book.

How do I spend less on food?

Meals add up faster than parents expect. Nickel City budgets $300 to $450 for three days for a family of three. Scout Elite uses about $80 a day.

8. Choose a room with a kitchen if you have a choice. IHG says Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites have apartment-style rooms with fully equipped kitchens. That is a company claim. Check the specific property.

9. Cook one meal a day. Nickel City says one grocery-sourced meal a day "cuts the food line item roughly in half."

10. Take the free breakfast. IHG lists complimentary hot breakfast at Holiday Inn Express and other brands. Ask your hotel what is included. Women's Hockey Life adds that if breakfast is not included, packing hard-boiled eggs, granola bars and yogurt tubes saves roughly $10 per person per day by its own estimate.

11. Buy snacks in bulk before you leave. Women's Hockey Life estimates warehouse-store snacks, drinks and sandwich supplies save about $150 per weekend. That figure is the author's estimate, not a measured average.

12. Share big plates at team dinners. The same author suggests sharing appetizers and eating a light snack beforehand, with an estimated $40 saved per meal. Again, an estimate.

13. Pool the cooking. TeamSnap suggests team potluck meals for the first day, and for longer events, groups of parents who each shop and cook for one meal. This works best at multi-day events like week-long baseball tournaments, where TeamSnap also suggests renting one large house with a kitchen for several families.

How do I spend less on getting there?

14. Carpool and share rental cars. TeamSnap notes that "fourteen SUVs or minivans burn up a lot of gas, even if you're just driving 100 miles." For fly-in trips, Nickel City says two families splitting a rental car save $125 to $200 each. It also suggests comparing nearby airports and shipping gear by ground when bag fees run $50 to $75 per bag each way (Scout Elite lists the same bag range).

15. Skip the extras. Women's Hockey Life puts photo packages and merchandise booths at about $60 a tournament in estimated savings. Use your own phone.

How do I use this list on a real weekend?

Do not try all 15. Start with the tactics that fit your event. If it is a drive-to weekend with a required hotel, the room is fixed, so food and carpooling are where the money is: tactics 8 to 14. If the event has no hotel requirement, the room becomes the first thing to shop, and tactics 4 to 7 apply. For a fly-in, shipping gear, sharing the rental car and picking the right airport come first.

Then put numbers on it. Write down what last weekend cost, line by line, and pick the two biggest lines. Aim your effort there. A parent who cuts the food line in half has done more than one who clips every coupon. Share what works with your team manager, since several of these tactics (potlucks, carpools, shared cooking) only work when a few families join in.

What do the savings add up to?

Here is the tally, using each source's own numbers. These are estimates from different authors and do not stack neatly.

Women's Hockey Life totals its own list at roughly $250 to $310 per weekend. That total also includes a tip about staying at a budget hotel instead of the required one, which we do not endorse. Where a tournament requires a specific hotel, booking elsewhere can mean removal from the event.

What should I not do to save money?

Do not book outside a required housing block unless the rules or the director clearly allow it. The Brantford Minor Hockey Association's hotel page for one tournament says booking outside the approved hotel blocks is "strictly prohibited." Defender's hotel page lists removal from the tournament and forfeiture of fees as consequences. Saving $50 a night is not worth losing the entry fee.

If a rule looks unfair to you, say so to the director, or look at our stay-to-play watch for bills and lawsuits. The right move is to ask, or pick a different event.

How do I find the cheaper tournaments?

Compare total cost, not entry fee. Our trip cost calculator lets you enter the hotel rate, nights, miles and meals. The Housing Fairness score shows how each event's published hotel rules rate. For a full line-by-line example, read hockey tournament weekend cost. For the national view, see how much travel sports cost. Before you join a team, our questions to ask before joining a travel team covers tournament count and housing rules.

Check your tournament

Look up your event in the tournament finder to see its published hotel rule. If you would rather choose your own room, browse the tournaments with no hotel requirement.