WAG $500+ competition leo!?!?

[3gymnastmom]

It is unlikely that the gym is making any/much money from the required leos and apparel. $500 is excessive for a lower level team even is it does include the warmups. However, if the lower and upper levels all use the same leos (which is not advisable due to the cost for the lower level families) then the cost is understandable as the upper levels tend to have more intricate designs and bling. How is your xcel used? do they transition from xcel to JO optionals or are they separate tracks? If separate tracks, then yes I would a irritated as it should be less expensive/less intense.

Xcel is a separate track…and I like that. The amount of time my boys spend at the gym pretty much prohibits them from any other activities, so I’m glad my daughter has a choice. Additionally something I didn’t share in my original post is that besides being gym owners, they also own an apparel company. All of the required “extras” come from their company and based on what we’ve paid for these items, I suspect they are getting considerable markup. Additionally, I think being the owners of an apparel company gives them to ability to buy the GK leos & warmups wholesale, which they then markup to full retail prices. It’s odd that when we as parents write the final check for any leos or warmups, we write it to one of the owners, not to the gym name or the apparel company name. Seems sort of shady to me, but maybe that’s normal? Anyway, thank you for your thoughts and perspective, I really appreciate it.

 

[JessSyd]

I think there would be a parent rebellion if any of the gyms I know tried to enforce a $500 leotard. I just can’t see how it could be anything but a spectacular ripoff. Is the gymnast’s experience enhanced at all by a few extra crystals?

We can get lined, handmade in Australia (ie, no sweatshop labour), leotards with a few hundred high quality crystals for half that. They do the job, and they look very pretty while they are doing it. Although they still look athletic. The dance/showgirl aesthetic (as seen in, say, the leotards team USA wore for the team final at the Pan Ams) hasn’t really hit here yet.

It’s a very odd experience looking at the Sylvia P teamwear site for that reason. Many/most clubs use Sylvia P as their leotards. And NONE of the leotards I see at competitions look even remotely like the ones on the Sylvia P website. I sometimes wonder if they have a completely different look book they distribute to Australian clubs.

 

[Tigtimes]

$250 for our optional Leo. I know the excel at our gym use a stock competition Leo so less than the optional. we Had a problem with Covid supply chain and had to do simple black 3/4 zip for warmups and realized there was no need for fancy ones. Gym is keeping them. $500 for excel seems way excessive but many gyms are over the top with competition Leo’s and warm ups so sadly don’t think your cost is unheard of.

 

[gymgal]

Xcel is a separate track…and I like that. The amount of time my boys spend at the gym pretty much prohibits them from any other activities, so I’m glad my daughter has a choice. Additionally something I didn’t share in my original post is that besides being gym owners, they also own an apparel company. All of the required “extras” come from their company and based on what we’ve paid for these items, I suspect they are getting considerable markup. Additionally, I think being the owners of an apparel company gives them to ability to buy the GK leos & warmups wholesale, which they then markup to full retail prices. It’s odd that when we as parents write the final check for any leos or warmups, we write it to one of the owners, not to the gym name or the apparel company name. Seems sort of shady to me, but maybe that’s normal? Anyway, thank you for your thoughts and perspective, I really appreciate it.

yeah, that's definitely shady. I would not be ok with that. And if they are separate tracks, they should be treating xcel as a lower cost program, meaning lower cost uniforms as well.

 

[JPC13]

Is this $500 for just the leo or is it leo, warm up pants and jacket, hair thing, backpack, etc? If the former that's outrageous. If that latter that's still expensive.

I don't know how much my daughter's competition kit cost but it was definitely not $500 all in and based on what I've seen at competitions her gym's getup is one of the more ornate looking ones.

 

[CuriousCate]

I don't have Xcel experience with JO in our gym, compulsories have leos that run around $75-85 and optionals around $325-400. Looking at our Xcel teams, it seems that the XB through XG have the lower end no-bling leos similar to our compulsories and the XP-XD have the blingier ones.

 

[jm_gymmom]

That’s insane just for a competition leotard, I don’t care what level, though I know some clubs do it. Rumor had it this past season that one of the local gyms had $700 leotards for all their DPs, even level 3 .
Our preteam (levels 1-3) and xcel wear relatively simple Ozone leos, about $100, and they are pretty and the girls say they are comfortable. Our DP levels 4 and up wear GK, usually around $200-250 though it’s time for new ones and I expect they’ll be a little more this year, because everything is higher these days.

 

[3gymnastmom]

Is this $500 for just the leo or is it leo, warm up pants and jacket, hair thing, backpack, etc? If the former that's outrageous. If that latter that's still expensive.

I don't know how much my daughter's competition kit cost but it was definitely not $500 all in and based on what I've seen at competitions her gym's getup is one of the more ornate looking ones.

Yes, $500+ just for the leo…and it could be more than $500 since they said the $250 deposit will hopefully cover 1/2 the cost. They also said we need new bags as well and that they’ll be ~$100. I am NOT getting a new bag, my daughter just got her brand new team bag with her name on it in late January. They also mentioned new warmups being required, but said that in an effort to help with costs, new warmups won’t be until next year. I’m envisioning $500 warmups for next year…hope I’m wrong.

 

[JPC13]

Yes, $500+ just for the leo…and it could be more than $500 since they said the $250 deposit will hopefully cover 1/2 the cost.

That's obscene. I'm pissed off on your behalf.

On edit: that's almost equal to the low estimate of the Team USA olympic leos - https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/team-usa-gymnastics-team-swarovski-leotards-1234888679/

WTF?

 

[3gymnastmom]

That's obscene. I'm pissed off on your behalf.

On edit: that's almost equal to the low estimate of the Team USA olympic leos - https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-scoops/team-usa-gymnastics-team-swarovski-leotards-1234888679/

WTF?

Your reply made me smile…thank you for expressing the same outrage I feel as well. It is insane. And even though I think $700-$1,200 leos are outrageous, I doubt anyone, even USAG, is actually paying for the leos. GK gets so much free advertising by outfitting the team with these leos…they can afford to supply them for free (my opinion).

 

[SupportingHerDreams]

Wow! My daughter's gym does GK leos and ours were $550 each before warmups and backpacks. I'm surprised to ehar everyone say that is so high. I have nothing to compare them to but a FB group I'm in this price seemed on the higher side of average.

 

[3gymnastmom]

I think there would be a parent rebellion if any of the gyms I know tried to enforce a $500 leotard. I just can’t see how it could be anything but a spectacular ripoff. Is the gymnast’s experience enhanced at all by a few extra crystals?

We can get lined, handmade in Australia (ie, no sweatshop labour), leotards with a few hundred high quality crystals for half that. They do the job, and they look very pretty while they are doing it. Although they still look athletic. The dance/showgirl aesthetic (as seen in, say, the leotards team USA wore for the team final at the Pan Ams) hasn’t really hit here yet.

It’s a very odd experience looking at the Sylvia P teamwear site for that reason. Many/most clubs use Sylvia P as their leotards. And NONE of the leotards I see at competitions look even remotely like the ones on the Sylvia P website. I sometimes wonder if they have a completely different look book they distribute to Australian clubs.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I’m glad I reached out to this group…I’m lucky I found chalk bucket.

 

[3gymnastmom]

$250 for our optional Leo. I know the excel at our gym use a stock competition Leo so less than the optional. we Had a problem with Covid supply chain and had to do simple black 3/4 zip for warmups and realized there was no need for fancy ones. Gym is keeping them. $500 for excel seems way excessive but many gyms are over the top with competition Leo’s and warm ups so sadly don’t think your cost is unheard of.

Thank you for sharing. So far it does seem the high cost at our gym is the minority, which is good for all the other families out there. My kids just want to do gymnastics and it’s already so expensive.

 

[3gymnastmom]

Wow! My daughter's gym does GK leos and ours were $550 each before warmups and backpacks. I'm surprised to ehar everyone say that is so high. I have nothing to compare them to but a FB group I'm in this price seemed on the higher side of average.

Thanks for sharing your experience. $550, wow!

 

[ReluctantGymMom]

We pay over 400 for Leo and warm ups,x and we have to buy a new set each year. Every gym I’ve been at, check is always made out to the gym, never the apparel company

 

[Coach Kate]

Our gym doesn't break down the fees by item, but I believe our leos were between $100 and $150.

 

[ZB55]

My daughter's current optional team GK leotards cost $250 and that was the most expensive one I've ever had to buy. The gym tries to keep them for at least two years, but a couple times it has only been one. The xcel leotards are a different style which is typically less fancy and less expensive, for example a design with sequins instead of crystals.

I am fairly confident (and grateful) that our gym does not charge to make a profit on the leotards. In fact, I've gone on GK website and gone through the customize process myself to recreate my daughter's leotard, and the price that comes up has been higher than what we were charged; I assume this is because the website is giving a price for an individual retail order while the gym gets a team discount or such. It can be a fun to do to compare prices though.

 

[Katie]

$105 for ozone leo
$110 for warm ups
$25 for bag (optional)

 

[Deleted member 18037]

We are about 500 for Leo and warmup. If you were to need all 3

 

[3gymnastmom]

Our gym doesn't break down the fees by item, but I believe our leos were between $100 and $150.

Thank you for sharing this, I didn’t realize you had included an attachment until now. I still need to look it over…I can’t wait to see how our fees compare.