My son's team went this year and we're not from LI. AMA.
tl;dr.. It's one year. It was worth it for "our team" bec we've been looking forward to it for 2 years and held our own against the best age-based competition.
Other: The boys had a good time being together in a vacation setting (we went to Vail, whitewater rafting, rockies baseball game, Bird Scooters all over downtown Denver, team dinners, hanging out in hotel where everyone stayed in, met players from across the country) and ofcourse lax.. it was world-class, model for how to run tournaments. Summed up in one word.. memories. All of this ofcourse will not matter if you feel it's unaffortable or not worth the price, which is totally understandable.
PS.. if you do go and play one of the nations team (such as Iriqois), treat them with respect and not run up the score if you can help it.. they're there as a symbol .. ambassadors for the game. It's one of the things that we would take back if we could. | 
