Youth Science Canada Equalized Travel Plan

About the Equalized Travel Plan

The Youth Science Canada Equalized Travel Plan provides central administration for the logistics associated with the transportation of participants to the CWSF host city. The goal of the plan is to equalize the cost of travel for all participants in the CWSF. This ensures that all regions have access to affordable travel, regardless of the location of the CWSF and makes participation from remote regions possible.

Travel Plan Coordinator

The Plan is operated by Youth Science Canada and participation is mandatory for all affiliated Regional Science Fairs.

Liette Philippe manages and coordinates the Travel Plan for Youth Science Canada and Carlson Wagonlit serves as our official travel agency.

CWSF 2012 Arrival and Departure

Canada-Wide Science Fair 2012 is being held in Charlettetown, PEI. Arrival day is Saturday, May 12; however, some regions with more difficult routing and flight arrangements may have to travel earlier (May 11). (Judging is on Tuesday.) Travel for most regions will be by air to Toronto. Flight selection will be by the best available routing.

All departures are SATURDAY, May 19.

Communication

Youth Science Canada’s preferred method of communication is email. Regional Coordinators will receive correspondence by email with links to downloadable files in Acrobat (PDF) format available online through the affiliation/registration system.

Travel Administrative Process

The travel administrative process will be as follows:

  • Regions must complete the online affiliation, including CWSF participation information and send the travel deposit as part of Cheque 1 by December 3, 2011.
  • As soon as it is available, travel information will appear under “Manage CWSF Travel” in the online system.
  • The Regional Coordinator will need to confirm the travel information for the region within one week after the regional fair, but no later than April 12th (see below). Once confirmed (by clicking a button) and once payment has been received, tickets will be issued and further changes will not be possible.
  • Once tickets have been issued, they will be available for download as a PDF document under “Manage CWSF Travel.”

April 12 Deadline: Important Note

All airlines require confirmation and payment for group bookings no later than 30 days before travel. As a result, all CWSF airline ticket commitments become final and must be paid by Youth Science Canada to Air Canada and WestJet on April 12, 2012. Unless confirmed earlier, regions will be charged for the number of tickets specified in the online system as of April 12th, whether the tickets are used or not. Tickets cannot be refunded after this date. Please do not ask for an extension; Youth Science Canada does not make these rules, Air Canada and WestJet do.
Cheque 2 is due to Youth Science Canada on March 31st. It is difficult for Youth Science Canada to pay for airline tickets before receiving payment from regions and we are required to pay for all tickets by April 12th.
Please ensure that Cheque 2 arrives in the Youth Science Canada office by March 31, 2012.

If your regional fair will be held after April 12th your region will need to select finalists and projects according to the number of tickets you have committed to purchase. This may mean selecting a lower- ranking individual project over a higher-ranked pair, or sending a project you might ordinarily not have sent in order to avoid “wasting” a ticket.

Unfortunately, the only way to retain the flexibility of reducing your numbers is to hold your regional fair before April 12th.

Adding Participants After April 12, 2012

Although reducing numbers after April 12th is not possible, it is sometimes possible to add participants, but only within the region’s allocation. Unfortunately, airline tickets purchased this late usually cost more than the group travel tickets booked by Youth Science Canada in October. Regions will be invoiced for any additional cost of these extra tickets.

Contact Information

Youth Science Canada Equalized Travel Plan Contact Information: