Parents Does this seem accurate?

[gymnasticsmama]

Tuition Total Breakdown
Due on the 5th (if after, $25 late fee)
Two 4 hour classes a week
• $445 a month
$111.25 a week
$55.62 a class (4 hours)
$13.90 an hour
• Team Registration Fee $50.00
• Team Leotard: 450.00
• Team Warm Ups: $200.00
• Team Bag: $50.00

Xcel - 11 girls on team
Each athlete will pay these fees:
Not divided amongst team
• Heart of A Champion (Pasadena 23 miles)
Meet fee - $125
Coach fee - $155
• Muscle Beach Open
(El Segundo 25 miles)
Meet fee - $135
Coach fee - $155
• Dream Big Invitational
(Fullerton 50 miles)
Meet fee - $120
Coach fee - $155
• San Diego Classic
(San Diego 144 miles)
Meet fee - $125
Coach fee - $250
• Victory Classic
(Los Angeles 20 miles)
Meet fee - $135
Coach fee - $160
• State meet
(TBD)
Meet fee - $135
Coach fee - $250

Total meet fees $775
Total Coach fee 6 meets $1125
Total for both $1900
⁃ Pay $380 a month added into tuition for months of
Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.

Break down of coach fee
$1125 x 11 girls = $12,375
$12,375 / 6 meets = $2,062
Coach gets $2,062 per meet

Travel cost estimate
$2,062 (coach fee per meet)
⁃ $50 gas?
⁃ Shouldn’t need a hotel since in the area (maybe San Diego & State meet so will add $250 hotel)
⁃ Food $75 (20 breakfast, 25 lunch, & 30 dinner)

$2,062 (coach fee per meet)- $375 (gas, hotel, food) = $1,687

$1,687 / 12hr meet = $140 hr seems crazy

 

[ZB55]

The individual meet fees seem correct, that's what it costs to enter meets these days. Uniform charges are expensive, but very plausible. But the tuition and coach fees seem off the charts insane to me. Obviously you are CA and that is probably more expensive, but your tuition is on par with my high level optional daughter who does 20 hours per week, our xcel girls pay less for less hours. Our coaches fees are also a fraction of yours and reflect only what appears to be actual and reasonable travel expenses for coaches. I could be wrong because I've never asked, but I don't believe our coaches are paid hourly for meets, I think it is just part of their regular salary as an expected part of their job, otherwise it would probably be a lot higher.

 

[GymnastMomX2]

Tuition seems high for the hours, but the other fees seem in line with what I’ve seen.

 

[ORgymmom]

We don’t receive a specific breakdown like that, so you are lucky to get that kind of transparency.

I think it’s reasonable for coaches to need hotels for meets that seem “local”. Our coaches tend to stay over even for meets that are only ~20 miles away and when athletes aren’t staying over. If they are coaching one session until 9 pm and warmups for the next session start at 7:30, it makes sense for coaches to stay close to the competition site versus doing a long early or late commute in traffic. They’re on their feet all day and you want them rested and alert during the meet. It’s easy to lose perspective on the long hours coaches put in during a meet weekend. As a parent, just one session feels like eternity, especially if compulsory music is involved!

 

[gymnasticsmama]

The individual meet fees seem correct, that's what it costs to enter meets these days. Uniform charges are expensive, but very plausible. But the tuition and coach fees seem off the charts insane to me. Obviously you are CA and that is probably more expensive, but your tuition is on par with my high level optional daughter who does 20 hours per week, our xcel girls pay less for less hours. Our coaches fees are also a fraction of yours and reflect only what appears to be actual and reasonable travel expenses for coaches. I could be wrong because I've never asked, but I don't believe our coaches are paid hourly for meets, I think it is just part of their regular salary as an expected part of their job, otherwise it would probably be a lot higher.

Thank you so much for ra

The individual meet fees seem correct, that's what it costs to enter meets these days. Uniform charges are expensive, but very plausible. But the tuition and coach fees seem off the charts insane to me. Obviously you are CA and that is probably more expensive, but your tuition is on par with my high level optional daughter who does 20 hours per week, our xcel girls pay less for less hours. Our coaches fees are also a fraction of yours and reflect only what appears to be actual and reasonable travel expenses for coaches. I could be wrong because I've never asked, but I don't believe our coaches are paid hourly for meets, I think it is just part of their regular salary as an expected part of their job, otherwise it would probably be a lot higher.

Thank you so much for responding. What you said was exactly what I was thinking. I’m blown away! The team moms and I are going to request a meeting to to ask for more transparency into the extremely high coach fee & Leo, tuition, etc. Instead of overcharging for these things, we could do fundraisers for the gym if they need more funds. Honesty = Trust

 

[BayAreaGymMom]

Your tuition cost is in line with what the gym my kids go to charge (also in CA).

 

[NYGymfamily]

We are on the other side of the country. So I'm not sure if my judgement is exactly comparable. Tuition is quite high, we pay about $650 for a high level Xcel training 18.5 hrs per week.
Leo $400
Warmups $150
Backpack $75 (we are not required to get a new one DD using same one)

Meet Fees
$125
$105
$115 (Travel Meet)
$100
$239 (Travel Meet)
$110
$95
$100 (States)

$1000 in meet fees
$800 coach fees
$1800

Plus flights, hotels, meet admission fees, obligatory meet swag, probably add at least another thousand to that. Aside from tuition, your prices are quite reasonable, gymnastics is an expensive sport.

 

[Coach Kate]

The individual meet fees seem correct, that's what it costs to enter meets these days. Uniform charges are expensive, but very plausible. But the tuition and coach fees seem off the charts insane to me. Obviously you are CA and that is probably more expensive, but your tuition is on par with my high level optional daughter who does 20 hours per week, our xcel girls pay less for less hours. Our coaches fees are also a fraction of yours and reflect only what appears to be actual and reasonable travel expenses for coaches. I could be wrong because I've never asked, but I don't believe our coaches are paid hourly for meets, I think it is just part of their regular salary as an expected part of their job, otherwise it would probably be a lot higher.

Just speaking to this - as a coach, I was never on salary, I always made an hourly wage for regular hours. For meets, we had a session rate, so we would make a set amount for each session of a meet we worked. You are correct that paying hourly for meets would get out of hand, especially because that would have been overtime! For meets like state where we're coaching by age groups, even coaching just two levels had me working close to 30 hours over 8 sessions. Almost all of that would have been overtime pay!

 

[raenndrops]

Tuition Total Breakdown
Due on the 5th (if after, $25 late fee)
Two 4 hour classes a week
• $445 a month
$111.25 a week
$55.62 a class (4 hours)
$13.90 an hour
• Team Registration Fee $50.00
• Team Leotard: 450.00
• Team Warm Ups: $200.00
• Team Bag: $50.00

Xcel - 11 girls on team
Each athlete will pay these fees:
Not divided amongst team
• Heart of A Champion (Pasadena 23 miles)
Meet fee - $125
Coach fee - $155
• Muscle Beach Open
(El Segundo 25 miles)
Meet fee - $135
Coach fee - $155
• Dream Big Invitational
(Fullerton 50 miles)
Meet fee - $120
Coach fee - $155
• San Diego Classic
(San Diego 144 miles)
Meet fee - $125
Coach fee - $250
• Victory Classic
(Los Angeles 20 miles)
Meet fee - $135
Coach fee - $160
• State meet
(TBD)
Meet fee - $135
Coach fee - $250

Total meet fees $775
Total Coach fee 6 meets $1125
Total for both $1900
⁃ Pay $380 a month added into tuition for months of
Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan.

Break down of coach fee
$1125 x 11 girls = $12,375
$12,375 / 6 meets = $2,062
Coach gets $2,062 per meet

Travel cost estimate
$2,062 (coach fee per meet)
⁃ $50 gas?
⁃ Shouldn’t need a hotel since in the area (maybe San Diego & State meet so will add $250 hotel)
⁃ Food $75 (20 breakfast, 25 lunch, & 30 dinner)

$2,062 (coach fee per meet)- $375 (gas, hotel, food) = $1,687

$1,687 / 12hr meet = $140 hr seems crazy

Some questions: Does only 1 coach go to the meets? We have 2-4 coaches go to our meets. I am not seeing a Team/Level fee for the meets listed. I know that around here, to be eligible for team awards at most meets, there is a fee per level with enough girls to make up a "team" to help cover the cost of team trophies/banners/whatever ... in addition to padding the wallets of the hosts. I have seen this fee range from $50-$75. Could this be included in the coach's fee? (San Diego Classic does not have a Team/Level fee ... however, it is a 3-day meet ... coaches are encouraged to stay at the host hotel ... lodging needs booked well in advance, before the meet schedule is out ... and the host hotel starts at $219 + taxes of 12.8% and fees of $25.56 a night = a minimum of $272.59 a night x 2-3 nights is $545.18 - $817.77) Just a few things to consider

 

[Gymgirl84]

I'm just so happy we don't live in the US (we are in Europe). But it is so much cheaper here. I'm also a gymnastics coach and I don't think I could afford gymnastics for my daughter in the US (salary might be higher there too, though).

 

[gymnasticsmama]

We don’t receive a specific breakdown like that, so you are lucky to get that kind of transparency.

I think it’s reasonable for coaches to need hotels for meets that seem “local”. Our coaches tend to stay over even for meets that are only ~20 miles away and when athletes aren’t staying over. If they are coaching one session until 9 pm and warmups for the next session start at 7:30, it makes sense for coaches to stay close to the competition site versus doing a long early or late commute in traffic. They’re on their feet all day and you want them rested and alert during the meet. It’s easy to lose perspective on the long hours coaches put in during a meet weekend. As a parent, just one session feels like eternity, especially if compulsory music is involved!

Understandable about the hotel stay. The breakdown was my breakdown. They only send a list of what the fees are for entry and coaches fee per meet. I just felt I needed to do the breakdown math of what it came out to as the rate seems pretty insane. I was a competitive gymnast from 5-12 years old and quit at level 9. In my day there were no coaches fees. Everything was included in tuition. My daughter is just starting out and bronze xcel team with 11 other girls that are paying the same amount for one coach it sounds like. They have only had one coach training them so far. I just want to see what other beginner level parents pay for coaches fees . If there amount is close to the same, then all good. If not, then the parents are wanting more transparency from the gym as to where all of that money is going. Is it going straight to the coach, or to the gym? $825 a month for 8 hours of practice e a week and 6 comps seems a bit steep.

 

[gymnasticsmama]

Your tuition cost is in line with what the gym my kids go to charge (also in CA).

Are you in the San Fernando valley or Bay Area? Just curious

 

[StephensMom]

This seems really high to me mostly based on this only being for a lower level. I’m assuming that based on you saying it’s 8 hours per week. That seems like high tuition and uniform fees for only 8 hours a week! Most gyms in our area (Vancouver, BC) have the girls in lower levels (compulsory or Xcel) use a sleeveless leotard that usually costs under $150 Canadian and then you might spend another $200 on a track jacket or something. Still nothing compared to what you are paying! Our coach’s fees for competitions is also way lower. Competition fees themselves are very similar. I expect costs like this for higher levels but would have a hard time paying that for compulsory or the lower Xcel levels. What are the costs for optionals at your gym??

 

[NutterButter]

Caution to you and the rest of the parents on approaching gym leadership. I can't imagine this will be received in any way other than 'you can leave if you don't like it'.

 

[Milomom]

We are paying about $1300 in meet fees+coaches fees for 7 meets (includes states) - plus we have to volunteer and fundraise. We usually have more than 1 coach at each meet but it depends how many girls are competing. For states last year, my level 3 daughter was competing alone but had 2 coaches with her (I think because they had other sessions back to back so the coaches just stayed the whole time). I figure the meets are like overtime pay for them - they don't get any less practice time during the week leading up to a meet. I would want over time pay if I was working like that.

 

[Dahlialover]

everything looks totally normal except for your monthly tuition, which is quite high.

 

[wandrewsjr]

Every gym I know would try to send at least 2 coaches to a meet with 11-12 bronze kids, as long as there is someone available. Just because they only have 1 coach in practice does not mean 2 won’t be sent to the meet, with the accompanying costs to cover their expenses and pay.

 

[gymnasticsmama]

Some questions: Does only 1 coach go to the meets? We have 2-4 coaches go to our meets. I am not seeing a Team/Level fee for the meets listed. I know that around here, to be eligible for team awards at most meets, there is a fee per level with enough girls to make up a "team" to help cover the cost of team trophies/banners/whatever ... in addition to padding the wallets of the hosts. I have seen this fee range from $50-$75. Could this be included in the coach's fee? (San Diego Classic does not have a Team/Level fee ... however, it is a 3-day meet ... coaches are encouraged to stay at the host hotel ... lodging needs booked well in advance, before the meet schedule is out ... and the host hotel starts at $219 + taxes of 12.8% and fees of $25.56 a night = a minimum of $272.59 a night x 2-3 nights is $545.18 - $817.77) Just a few things to consider

Thank you so much for this info. It truly helps. When there are 11 new gymnastic team parents and there isn’t transparency of what this huge amount of money is really going towards, questions will arise. I will reach out to the gym and let them know we are happy to pay what we need to, but it would help our brains to see what the breakdown really is.
It’s just one coach that the few is for and I know the tuition is higher than other gyms. I’m okay with that since I feel the training is good.

This seems really high to me mostly based on this only being for a lower level. I’m assuming that based on you saying it’s 8 hours per week. That seems like high tuition and uniform fees for only 8 hours a week! Most gyms in our area (Vancouver, BC) have the girls in lower levels (compulsory or Xcel) use a sleeveless leotard that usually costs under $150 Canadian and then you might spend another $200 on a track jacket or something. Still nothing compared to what you are paying! Our coach’s fees for competitions is also way lower. Competition fees themselves are very similar. I expect costs like this for higher levels but would have a hard time paying that for compulsory or the lower Xcel levels. What are the costs for optionals at your gym??

thank you for your response That’s exactly what I was thinking. With the prices being this high for low level, I don’t even want to imagine what the cost will be for higher level. It just seems absurd to me. What’s really sad is that there’s no way that a child from a lower income family would even have the chance of being on team here with these prices. I think we may look for a more fair priced gym.

 

[gymnasticsmama]

Every gym I know would try to send at least 2 coaches to a meet with 11-12 bronze kids, as long as there is someone available. Just because they only have 1 coach in practice does not mean 2 won’t be sent to the meet, with the accompanying costs to cover their expenses and pay.

True, maybe the cycle coach and the owner will both attend the meets. I still think $2,062 average per meet coaches fee seems crazy not to mention the $13.90 an hour for practices:
$445 a month
$111.25 a week
$55.62 a class (4 hours w/ 30 min snack break)
$13.90 an hour

Gymnastics is an expensive sport, but feel it shouldn’t be as much for beginner level. I’m trying to justify it all, but it’s hard.

 

[gymnasticsmama]

Every gym I know would try to send at least 2 coaches to a meet with 11-12 bronze kids, as long as there is someone available. Just because they only have 1 coach in practice does not mean 2 won’t be sent to the meet, with the accompanying costs to cover their expenses and pay.

True, maybe the cycle coach and the owner will both attend the meets. I still think $2,062 average per meet coaches fee seems crazy not to mention the $13.90 an hour for practices

Caution to you and the rest of the parents on approaching gym leadership. I can't imagine this will be received in any way other than 'you can leave if you don't like it'.

That’s what I’m afraid of. I feel if the entire team approached about the fees together, asking if instead paying upfront if we could pay a couple weeks before the meet to have a more accurate fee breakdown they’d have a hard time saying you can leave because they’re obviously needing the money. I heard from others (a little too late) that this gym being is the main reason so many families left the gym and went elsewhere. This year is a tester year for so many families to see if their young child is ready for the life of a gymnast I just wish it would be more reasonably priced starting out :/