Parents Hours/tuition/assessment fees/leotard

[proud-gym-mom]

Level 5 - 16 hrs/week - $250/month
Leo, warmups and bag every other year ~$300
Each meet fee is around $80 and we do about 8 meets including states per year (optional fundraisers to help offset these costs)
Assessment for coach's fees $140/year (group fund raising to keep these costs as low as possible)
Parent's Assoc is $30/year admin fee
Privates (optional) $55/hour

We have a pretty active booster club and do A LOT of fund raising in order to keep the assessments down. We also only do 1-2 out of state meets. We do 2 car washes (mandatory participation) and in the past have done a big golf tournament that generally made $8000 each year in the past. We have also started requiring pre-team to join the booster club and are now including them more in team activities/parties and the last home meet of the year (previously they didn't compete until Level 3 or Xcel Bronze).

One of our best new optional fund raisers is the Great Lakes Scrip Program. Any money raised we allow to be credited to that gymnast's account so that really helps our parents with the cost. We'll also do Brax Spirit Cups, Little Ceasar's pizza, Mary Kay etc. as optional individual fund raisers and what ever the parent's want to sell goes to their gymnast's account for meet fees etc. My goals is to cover at least half of DD meet fees this year through optional fund raising!

 

[purpleleomom]

Level 2 (more of a rec team so it's quite a bit less expensive) $160/mo for 5 hours per week, Leo $80, 6 meets ~$350, all local.

 

[Becauseisaid]

I'm just curious if we are being unreasonable or if this is normal practice to charge a flat fee and not nickel and dime each and every expense. Is it ok to simply charge a fee to compete?

I don't think you're being unreasonable, but I can absolutely see the parents' side in this. Our gym estimates the cost of the chosen meets, coaches fees for meets, summer and winter camp, and leotard/warm-ups. That cost is then split up into 10 monthly fee amounts and this is what we pay throughout the year as team fees. The actual cost of the meets and coaches fees are then taken out of our team fees account. At the end of the competitive year, all team fee accounts are reconciled and parents either pay what is still owed, can receive a refund, or chose to roll-over the excess amount to the next competitive year. EVERYONE with excess money rolls it over.

I think the issue you are experiencing is with clarity and communication. Can your parents see - at any time - the exact cost of things? You say that the money is used for more than just meets, but do you show a continuous tally of expenses per gymnast? Do you keep accounts for each gymnast? Being able to show a parent EXACTLY where their money is being spent would go a long way toward quieting the grumbling.

 

[RangerDad]

Level 3 Team
Team Training: $250 month - 9 hrs/wk
Privates: $200 month - 1 hr/wk
Ballet: $100 month - 1 hr/wk
Assessment: $300 a season
Leotard: $250



"Strive for perfection, Achieve excellence"

 

[Deleted member 18037]

L4, 7-8 hrs a week, we could do more but don't. Our tuition averages out to about 14 dollars per hour. Leo was a 150.00 We have no boosters, no fundraising, we pay as we go. Meet fees have been anywhere from 60 to 100 bucks, coaches fees divided up among girls who attend meets, could be 25 dollars for local, 100 for away. Various additional costs, team parties, end of year Leo, coaches gifts, team pic and year book. Camp days cost additional. Privates additional. Individual coreography more.

When all is said and done 6 to 7 grand a year, including our travel and admit fees.

 

[QueenBee]

Level 5 is 16 hours a week, $400 a month, $500 for competition leo, warmups and bag. Yearly Assessment (coaches fees, meet fees, etc) around $1800. This sport is expensive. With travel expenses, we probably spent under under $9000 this year.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

L4, 7-8 hrs a week, we could do more but don't. Our tuition averages out to about 14 dollars per hour. Leo was a 150.00 We have no boosters, no fundraising, we pay as we go. Meet fees have been anywhere from 60 to 100 bucks, coaches fees divided up among girls who attend meets, could be 25 dollars for local, 100 for away. Various additional costs, team parties, end of year Leo, coaches gifts, team pic and year book. Camp days cost additional. Privates additional. Individual coreography more.

When all is said and done 6 to 7 grand a year, including our travel and admit fees.

Wow, $14 per hour - and I am feeling overcharged at the equivalent of $4.70 per hour !

 

[Smartiegirl]

Lev 7 $430/month for 16 hours a week. We paid 420.00 in coaches fees for 8 meets plus 180.00 for the leo.

 

[skschlag]

Wow, $14 per hour - and I am feeling overcharged at the equivalent of $4.70 per hour !

I agree. We are at about $5 an hour, but I am anticipating a tuition increase. Mainly because we are finally going to get more hours for the boys, but also because they lowered the price last summer when we didn't have a coach.

 

[MILgymFAM]

So, we ended up paying $16 per hour for DD1, with meets fees pay as you go. She has had six meets this season (about $100 each), plus still has states and regionals upcoming. Her assessment was only $100 but doesn't include regionals. She is changing gyms in two weeks and I am looking forward to it dropping to $6 an hour. I don't know what their assessments for next year will be.

DD2's tuition (for T&T team) breaks down to $10 per hour. She is also pay as you go with meets. Her gym doesn't do assessments at all (they include that in tuition). She has had four meets so far (between $60-$100), with states and regionals left.

Where I really lucked out was uniforms. Total for both girls I paid about $280, including leos, warm ups, and bags. Don't know the new leo's cost yet, because I have been told there are some used available.

That puts us over $5,000 for six months of gym, but that's for two girls on teams. Obviously that doesn't include things like gas, hotels, spectator fees, etc. Those would add well over a thousand more... Writing it out is so depressing.

 

[curlygirls]

Just finished L6 season. Tuition is $395 for 18 hours per week. Team fees are $900 per year. Meet fees are pay as you go, about $600 per year. Leo/warm-ups $650.

 

[raenndrops]

I know this is an old thread, but I just calculated the Hourly rate for our team... $2.33 an hour for most girls, but since we don't go all the hours, we are really paying $4.38 an hour... but if you factor in a Y membership (have to be a member to be on the team) most girls pay $3.10 or less per hour.

 

[duyetanh]

We pay 5.32 an hour for 16 hours; startng
Monday it will be somewhere under 5 bucks an hour for 20 hours. Leo she got to wear 2 years in a row, so we paid nothing this year. Her warmups still fit her too. Same bag also. It does help when your kid doesn't grow much... 1500 in fees to booster and remaind er leftover is credited back, we always have a credit and heck yes I roll it over.

 

[Muffinsmom]

Good grief...I feel especially poor now. Tuition is $399/mo for 7.5 hours at Level 1. Plus all the extras for meets and whatnot. Going up to $513/mo for 15 hours in the summer. How do some gyms get away with charging this much more than others?

 

[3gymgirlsmom]

Wow fees are high?
I have a preteamer 5 hours
Lv 4 - 9 hours
Lv 6/7 training - 12 hours

We pay 350$ a month for all kids
Then about 60$ a meet and Leo's for the older girls were 60$ I think but we have used the same one for 3 years so it's been a bit

And we don't have coaches fees, they just get ther hourly pay for the meets

 

[juststartingout]

Level 5- $255 per month for 15 hrs practice
assessment fees around 850 due Aug 1st
meet fees run from 70-125 a piece and we do 8 or 9 a year
we need new warm ups this year, they gave us an estimate of 150-200
mandatory summer camp around 300
and everyone does privates 240 a month, I plan to do less of these after summer so it will go to 140