Parents Give it to me straight!

[MILgymFAM]

I wouldn’t say you should run, but I definitely wish I had known all the trade-offs we would have to do for this sport before I let us all get sucked in. Once your kid is on team and totally in love with the sport, it’s hard to take it away from them. We’ve spent an awful lot of money on gymnastics- and we aren’t wealthy. We’ve spent between $2,000 (Xcel bronze- three meets including states and regionals) and $23,000 (JO L6 and T&T L5, two kids) for a year. My kids were on free lunch at the time, so clearly we didn’t make enough money to throw any around. This past year we managed to reign it in to a more sensible $5,000 for one JO optional with a full season. Money aside though, I’ve given up so much of my time and my ability to work- I’ve spent upwards of 20 hours per week commuting to gym, and sat around through 22 hours of practice per week to boot. It can turn life consuming if you let it. So.. don’t run away, but go in with your eyes fully opened.. and don’t let it.

 

[SMH]

I have a new level 4- with monthly tuition, coaches fees, leotard/warmups and meet fees (all meets are in state) it costs about $3,500 per year. Upper level optionals at our gym train over twice as much as my level 4, and their tuition is only $60ish more per month than my level 4. They do have additional costs for travel meets and regionals/nationals etc, but the training costs are not much higher.

 

[amiandjim]

I have a new level 4- with monthly tuition, coaches fees, leotard/warmups and meet fees (all meets are in state) it costs about $3,500 per year. Upper level optionals at our gym train over twice as much as my level 4, and their tuition is only $60ish more per month than my level 4. They do have additional costs for travel meets and regionals/nationals etc, but the training costs are not much higher.

I’m coming to your gym...lol! We are twice that for level 4, although it’s our first year at the gym and it gets cheaper the second year. We do also have a booster club with a lot of fundraising opportunities.

 

[John]

This year it will be $7,000 tuition and team fees. This does not include travel, last year we did the Bahamas meet, that was a $3,500 trip.

@MILgymFAM summed up any advice I could give you. I thought gymnastics was for fun I had zero look into the sport before team was offered. Be thankful that team mom gave you the look inside, I can say I have done the same thing to for some new team parents over this past year. Once my daughter was in love with the sport I could never take it from her. This sounds harsh as I type it but I want to share that I do remind my daughter that at this commitment level she is committing a year of her life and nothing short of her personal best to that year. She is reminded this is her sport and she can retire when she has decided she can no longer commit. As the 6th year of team starts, this year, I can admit when she retires I will miss the sport more than I will be thankful that it is over.

 

[Kipkiparoo]

It's a gradual climb in hours and expense that really didn't hit us until level 3. I would recommend exploring a lot of different activities before your DD is practicing 9/10+ hours/week. This will give you both the opportunity to assess if gymnastics is the best fit for her long term. We only did swimming and gym when DD was younger...the commitment snuck up on us. I now wish we had explored dancing, soccer, etc. just to see what it was like.

School Year/Comp Season
Level 1 - 4 hrs/wk - $200/mo
Level 2 - 6 hrs/wk - $240/mo, their were some booster club fees...maybe around $200 + a comp leo
Level 3 - 9 hrs/wk - $280/mo, $700/year in booster fees, $150 comp leo & warmups + 1-2 meets with overnight travel
Level 4 - 12 hrs/wk - $310/mo, $700/year in booster fees, $150 comp leo & warmups + 1-2 meets with overnight travel

Summer Practice
Level 2 - 9 hrs/wk - $280/mo
Level 3 - 16 hrs/wk - $390/mo
Level 4 - 20 hrs/wk - $440/mo

 

[CLgym]

We are at about $11,000/year for Level 6 training 7. This is an estimate, of course. It is mostly tuition costs (almost $9000), but also includes meet fees (approximately $1000) and other expenses (such as competition leotard, warm ups, travel expenses, etc.) We are in a big city so probably higher tuition to offset higher city costs -- rent, salaries, etc. On the plus side, big metro area means there are an abundance of great meets within driving distance so we don't have a lot of expensive travel (airfare, hotel).

By comparison, one of my teenage boys is very involved in year-round baseball (multiple teams too). My husband keeps track of these costs more than I do, but I'm gonna guess we are are at about half the cost of the gymnastics. Worth noting that a decent baseball bat is gonna run you about as much as a competition leotard ($200-$300) and needs to be replaced about as frequently!

For me, however, the cost is the least of it. (I'm lucky for that, I know.) I find myself getting most tired with the time commitment -- time that takes away from family, friends, etc. I literally spend hours driving to/from the gym weekly, which means less time with my older kids. (Thankfully I don't have little ones who are strapped into the car seat and stuck in city traffic with me!) Even if my DD doesn't mind so much, I sometimes feel bad that she doesn't get to do as much "normal" kid stuff like play dates after school, etc. because she is always at practice. (I've seen a t-shirt that says "I can't, I have gymnastics..." which is the truth). I've watch the number of school friends and birthday party invites dwindle.

Here's the thing: Whether it is the cost or time or whatever, once you make the decision to do it, you can't hold it over the gymnast's head. I've seen that happen at our current gym in a few instances (along the lines of: "we sacrifice so much to pay for your gymnastics, you had better do well") and it's rough. These are often the parents who are scrutinizing every practice/performance/etc. It eventually makes for an unhappy gymnast, and unhappy gym parent.

The good news: You are still several years away from all this doom and gloom! And preschoolers can be fickle. Take this information with a grain of salt for now, and see what happens. Have fun!

 

[TumbleTimes4]

We are right there with @SMH. Our monthly tuition fees are under $200 a month for a level 4 training 12-16 hours a week. We keep comp leos for 2 years and you only replace the warmups when they outgrow them. With comp fees and travel expenses (all of our meets are in state and don’t always require a hotel room), we spend about $3000 to $3500 a year.

 

[FlippinLilysMom]

I don't even want to know what we have paid out this past year, our monthly tuition is over $600 per month, we also have to pay for ballet (required that she take this once a week), travel fees for MANY travel meets (travel fees for myself and my daughter and also for one coach). I'm sure we are easily in for at least $15-$20,000 this year alone. And next year is looking to be even more costly...

 

[DebraNC]

When we were gym shopping a few months ago I had several parents engage me in conversation and I really appreciated the things they shared as most were coming from a place of sharing things they wish their gym had been more upfront on. Coaching fees/booster club fees was definitely a bone of contention with parents who's girls had just started xcel.

We're just going into our second year and live in a fairly low col area, monthly tuition stays at $255 for 12 hours during the school year and 15 during the summer.

 

[l.c.o]

I added up the costs once - never again

It was about $10-11k for my DD her first optional year (with travel costs). I don't remember exactly.

 

[mls529]

Gymnastics is expensive, no doubt. Other than hockey, I will guess it is the most expensive because as someone else said, you can't have parent volunteers as coaches. Even on Xcel, we pay nearly $400 a month for platinum -- compulsories in our area are a similar price. Optional levels are closer to $500 per month. So tuition alone is about $5k-$6k each year. When my DD did her first year of JO, we were just shy of $10k including the cost of 1 travel meet.

 

[gymnastmom05]

One of DD’s teammates had to give up Gymnastics last year. The cost was just too much for her family. Even with mom working at the gym (free tuition) the expense of competing (travel, meet entry, coaches fees/expenses, leotard etc) were more than they felt they could handle with an older child approaching college. I feel terrible for the teammate as she wasn’t ready to hang up her grips. She still keeps in touch with the girls but just like gymnasts and school friends, they still spend so much time in the gym, there isn’t much free time. Plus they live all over and no one can drive so getting together is hard.

We went into this sport with zero clue. Heck, I had no idea when my DD needed a new gym (we moved here) and was invited to join their pre-team that I was setting her up for something more than a few hours of “entertainment” each week. But, I just feel like all the pieces fell into place and am thankful she has found something she is so passionate about. Many people live their entire life without finding that. I just think people should follow their child’s lead. Give them the opportunities BUT also make sure you aren’t ignoring other aspects of your family life (and finances) and find a balance that works for it all. When you reach a point that your DD is old enough and a higher level, if they could take it or leave it, leave it! There are a few girls on my DD’s team that go to gym but don’t love it. My only requirement is my DD finishes the season once it’s already paid for (because I think this is part of learning commitment - one of those life lessons) and while how she places/scores isn’t important, I do expect her to work to the best of HER ability. Like others have said, it’s a lot of money for them to be irresponsible or ungrateful for the opportunity. Oh, and try not to imagine how much money you would have saved for college if the yearly expense went into their college account instead of Gymnastics.

 

[2kidsonaroll]

Thank you all for your honest replies. My husband works in finance and I’m in tech so we’re numbers people. Now let’s just hope he doesn’t try to take the gym money out of my wine budget...sounds like I’m gunna need it

 

[skschlag]

Thank you all for your honest replies. My husband works in finance and I’m in tech so we’re numbers people. Now let’s just hope he doesn’t try to take the gym money out of my wine budget...sounds like I’m gunna need it

Oh..wine is a line item IN the gym budget....lol

 

[VIG]

State of MA maybe 300-700 per month depending on level and schedule. Excludes Leo, warmups, travel to meets and viewer entrance fees as well as other clinics, etc.

Here is a sample schedule/fee chart posted online for a Boston area gym (not ours)
http://www.exxcel.net/downloads/Team_Schedule/2017/2017_2018_Team_Schedule.pdf

 

[bogwoppit]

State of MA maybe 300-700 per month depending on level and schedule. Excludes Leo, warmups, travel to meets and viewer entrance fees as well as other clinics, etc.

Here is a sample schedule/fee chart posted online for a Boston area gym (not ours)
http://www.exxcel.net/downloads/Team_Schedule/2017/2017_2018_Team_Schedule.pdf

Ouch, those monthly costs are painful.

 

[TumbleTimes4]

I wish they would include a couple of spectator tickets with the meet entry fees. I know entry fee would be higher, but somehow I feel like it would be less painful that way. Or better yet, give out spectator tickets instead of meet gifts!

I also wish there was a way to keep spectator costs reasonable for parents. $29 for one ticket to watch a level 3 session is just ridiculous to me. Her state meet wasn’t even that high.

 

[RTT2]

Ouch, those monthly costs are painful.

They are extremely expensive, even for the area.

 

[RDTmom]

They are extremely expensive, even for the area.

Agree! Not our gym. We’re in the same area and definitely much cheaper than that. I don’t know that our level 7 boys (which is the highest we currently have) pay as much as their level 4 boys do.

 

[skschlag]

Agree! Not our gym. We’re in the same area and definitely much cheaper than that. I don’t know that our level 7 boys (which is the highest we currently have) pay as much as their level 4 boys do.

My L10 working out 24 hours a week does not pay as much as their level 4 boys!