[jyl]

There is a life lesson (life is unpredictable and unfair) but there is another one available (don't be a victim, make the best of unexpected events, improvise smartly).

If the program is really great (I don't know anything about it), and your or your wife have time, then starting a team is a real alternative.

Or, taking that time committment and spending it with your daughter doing some other activity(ies) - learning a sport or a language together, taking classes in something together, backpacking trips together, etc - is also a real alternative.

I'd sit down with wife and daughter and decide, mainly letting your daughter choose.

She's done this 3 years running, it sounds like, maybe it is time to do something else. I wouldn't form a team and do all that work just for spite or pride, if there's nothing really to be gained by a 4th year.