Parents Meet fees?

[mom2newgymnast]

I have a question about meet fees. First let me say that I like my dd's gym and I have no plans to leave anytime soon. This isn't a huge deal, but sometimes I do think they are a little aggressive in their fees. Anyway, I noticed something recently and I was wondering if this is normal or not..

So at our gym, they charge a yearly registration fee which I already think most gyms here don't seem to charge. For coaches fees they have an amount they charge per gymnast that is broken into 4 equal payments made monthly, which seems standard. Then they have the individual meet fees that they charge for the meets your child attends. Well I noticed today that the fee we are charged is higher than the posted meet fee on meetmaker and other websites. So, for example, the website says the meet fee for a particular meet is $75 per gymnast and they charge us $82. Another meet is $65 and they charge us $80. So, it is normal to charge extra on top of the posted meet fees? I thought at first maybe they were splitting the team fee, but with our team of 11 and a team fee of $35, that wouldn't really explain the difference. It's not a huge amount of money of course, but it made me wonder where they are coming up with the numbers from. I would have expected to be charged what the meet is charging honestly. But maybe this is normal and I am just missing something obvious?

 

[sce]

Is there a team fee for each meet? If so, the difference could be the team fee broken out to each gymnast.

I see I did not read your whole message, but it is possible it's for the team fee. Each meet's team fee varies.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Also the team fee charged by a meet is per level, so if a gym is entering girls at 4 different levels, the total would be $35x4=$140. Not uncommon for a gym to split this total among all the gymnasts added together so that every gymnast from the team is paying the same amount.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Also the team fee charged by a meet is per level, so if a gym is entering girls at 4 different levels, the total would be $35x4=$140. Not uncommon for a gym to split this total among all the gymnasts added together so that every gymnast from the team is paying the same amount.

Thanks for the responses so far. Fwiw, there are 50 girls in 4 levels (11 just in my dd's level), so 140/50 is still less than $3 each. But, really, I was just curious how others are charged. We were just told that meet fees vary by meet and then each month we've been charged between $8-15 more than the meet fee listed on their meets websites (which wasn't told to us, but I found by looking online for meet schedules). This is even the case at the meet we are hosting. It seems like splitting the team fee is part of it. Anything else that could be factored in? How does it work at your gym? I know it's such a small amount compared to what we pay each month anyway, but I like to understand what we are paying for. And I know I could just ask them, but I thought I'd see if this is a common thing done at every gym first.

 

[curlygirls]

Extra fees are not added on at our gym (other than a few dollars for team competition), and I don't think it's common at gyms where they charge a separate set of coaches fees. I know it's very minor monetarily compared to total costs, but I would be very put off by that.

 

[raenndrops]

Thanks for the responses so far. Fwiw, there are 50 girls in 4 levels (11 just in my dd's level), so 140/50 is still less than $3 each. But, really, I was just curious how others are charged. We were just told that meet fees vary by meet and then each month we've been charged between $8-15 more than the meet fee listed on their meets websites (which wasn't told to us, but I found by looking online for meet schedules). This is even the case at the meet we are hosting. It seems like splitting the team fee is part of it. Anything else that could be factored in? How does it work at your gym? I know it's such a small amount compared to what we pay each month anyway, but I like to understand what we are paying for. And I know I could just ask them, but I thought I'd see if this is a common thing done at every gym first.

I know that some gyms charge an "administrative fee" ... especially if you pay with a credit / debit card or have direct withdrawl because of ALL the work involved! A 2% administrative fee on a $65 meet fee is $1.30 ... which rounds up to $2. We have now accounted for roughly $4-5 of the $8-15... and some of those meets cost more and may have had higher team entry fees. Also, the coaches fees would account for their coaching... maybe part of the extra is to cover parking and tolls on the way to the meets?

 

[Deleted member 18037]

All the fees should be spelled out in your contract/sign up.

If they are not, ask for a detailed/itemized explanation in writing.

We pay a yearly registration fee, we pay by the meet (whatever the published fee is), coaches fees are billed after the meet (based on actual costs, like tolls, parking, team fee, etc and itemized) and split by gymnasts attending. All is detailed at the beginning of the year, which at our gym is August, in writing and we sign and return the form that we have received the information.

 

[AmandaLynn]

Meetmaker charges a fee as well.

 

[mom2newgymnast]

Meetmaker charges a fee as well.

That makes sense. Thanks!

 

[Jen H.]

We also have a coaches "discretionary fund" which I am assuming goes towards travel expenses related to meets for our coaches.

 

[Moxiegrl83]

We pay the exact amount of the meet entry, and the $50 or so to enter as a team for that level is paid by the gym.

 

[Committed]

Wait...... I'm seeing that some meets only cost $50-$60??? What?!? Jealous!

 

[Muddlethru]

My daughter has been to two gyms. Her current gym does not add anything on top of the meet fees. They don't charge for team fees either. Our booster and the gym itself always gives a clear accounting of charges. Her former gym not quite as transparent. I too would question unsubstantiated fees no matter how small the amount. I'd likely accept a $50 charge I may not agree is necessary than a $10 "secret" charge. I like transparency. You should ask them. It will be good for you to know so the doubts don't continue or unnecessarily snowball.