The crew team is $12,000 richer after the Student Government Association passed a bill to pay for their spring break training trip. The SGA passed the bill unanimously as emergency business during their meeting on Feb. 22. Annie Bednar, a member of the crew team, said she believes the money is going to good use and will help out the recent deficit problems the club has been facing. With Vermont’s winter weather leaving most of their practice areas frozen, the spring break training would be very valuable to the team’s many new members, she said. Bednar appeared before the SGA Senate in a plea to save the team’s scheduled spring event. “The major increase in this trip is coming from a problem with the bus,” she said. While one bus company offered to take the team for $9,000, university regulations concerning insurance forced the team to take a bus costing $19,000 for the trip, Bednar said. “The trip usually costs about $500 per person,” she said. “But this change would cause the price to jump to around $750 per person, which isn’t pocket change.” Some students said they are questioning the use of their tuition dollars to pay for a non-sponsored training trip for a UVM club sport. “I think that $12,000 could be used in so many better ways,” sophomore Conor Dwyer said. “It’s a lot of money to be handing out for a club’s spring break.” The SGA Finance Committee introduced the bill to the Senate floor for vote after recommending that the measure be passed. The committee based its recommendation on the high fees that crew team members have to pay, Alex Mallea, chair of the Finance Committee, said. “Currently, members are paying around $500 to go on the trip,” Mallea said. “But they also need to pay $500 to join the club.” The crew team is a recognized club and sponsored only through the SGA and independent fundraising, according to their website.