WAG Leotard prices?

[strawberries]

Our leo this year (same for compulsory and optional) was over $400. I've learned to think of it this way - DD will wear for 2 years, which will be 12-14 times maybe more. If she were in dance, there would be several costumes worn once for recital, one for picture day and maybe dress rehearsal times 2 years!

Gymnastics is not cheap, it is what it is.

I have no problem with the cost of gymnastics training. I would happily pay more if it translated to improvement in training. But the leo that is worn has little to do with the quality of skills performed.

I like your dance analogy, but actually have the same issue there.
Dance recital costumes also have little to do with actual quality of the dance. I have a daughter who does high level dance. When I evaluated studios for her, one of my questions was about the cost of recital costumes, because it was a predictable indicator of how seriously they took dance.

 

[raenndrops]

Our leo this year (same for compulsory and optional) was over $400. I've learned to think of it this way - DD will wear for 2 years, which will be 12-14 times maybe more. If she were in dance, there would be several costumes worn once for recital, one for picture day and maybe dress rehearsal times 2 years!

Gymnastics is not cheap, it is what it is.

Coming from a dance background, that might make it seem reasonable... however, coming from a baseball background - $45 for a uniform worn 2 - 3 games a week for 2 - 3 months... so about 20 - 25 times, even our leotards and warm ups are "expensive" in my mind, even though we are getting three seasons out of them. And I lucked out that YG was able to wear OG's old leotard and I could sell YG's old leotard and warm up to exchange for a new used warm up.

 

[Vivianflips]

Thank you all for your replies! I had no idea that it was normal to pay $100-$300+ for a comp leotard! Hopefully my Leo and warm ups won't cost to much, my mom just might have a heart attack if they do! Xcel at my gym is only set to go to two meets this year (which may change) so it would be sad to buy an expensive leotard and use it less than 10 times! My gym buys new leotards every two years.

 

[sce]

My gym just got new leotards this year, the L3-5 ones cost $300! So out of my (and my mothers!) own curiosity, is this an average price for a compulsory leotard? I'm competing xcel this year and have been assured we'll be getting more affordable competition leotards! (Xcel, compulsory, and optionals will all have different leotards at my gym)

No, this is not average, it is the high end esp. for a compulsory leo.

 

[gymmiemom]

Our compulsory leo's are around $100. Optionals are about $200. It's a big deal in our gym to get that optional leo with more bling Warm ups are $100 as well. Very reasonable.

 

[Mrs. Puma]

Our comp Leo was $130, and I haven't heard about warmups yet. I know there is different ones for compulsories and optionals, so I'm not sure if the optional one was more. Im still waiting to hear about warmups. I can't wait to get the new leo! I'm psyched for the season

 

[Rapunzel]

My wedding dress cost less than that!

 

[Iwannabemargo]

I am continually amazed at the cost of gym in the US - just wow

 

[kitkat]

Our competitive leo's typically run under $200. My daughter is L10 and the most I have ever paid for her leo is $205.

My gym just got new leotards this year, the L3-5 ones cost $300! So out of my (and my mothers!) own curiosity, is this an average price for a compulsory leotard? I'm competing xcel this year and have been assured we'll be getting more affordable competition leotards! (Xcel, compulsory, and optionals will all have different leotards at my gym)

 

[JessSyd]

I don't mean to side track but I just don't get forced purchase and wearing of a practice Leo.
.

I agree. A cheap practice leo is one of the few ways for families to keep costs down.

Also I think there would be a mutiny at my daughter's gym if they had to wear a uniform to train. They all have to wear uniforms to school so having to wear uniform at gym where they spend the rest of their time, would be too much. A girl has to squeeze some colour and bling into her days somehow.

 

[notthatmom]

I was shocked at the price of the company Leo's at first too (I think DD's will be $375). I was a competitive figure skater and our costumes (multiple per year) far outweighed the cost of this one Leo that she will wear for 2 years/seasons. So when it all comes down to it I guess it makes sense. Would I rather pay much less for that? Of course! But, at least I won't have to pay for another one until 2 seasons later.

 

[curlygirls]

Our gym keeps things affordable for compulsory levels by using tank leotards. These usually cost between $60-80. Our long sleeve optional level leotards are $245. We do have a practice leotard that costs $45. The girls only have to wear it once a week, so they still have several days per week to express their individual style. The gym likes the practice leotard for team building and identifying the team to rec parents (usually leads to questions, interest, etc.)

 

[cbifoja]

Our leos this year are $250. I don't mind paying it because they are gorgeous and our girls will look really nice. I like how nice our girls look on the floor with all of their sparkles. The Xcel and compulsory teams have cheaper leos with the Xcel team having a tank Leo to keep costs down.

Warm ups are about $135 and include a belonged out jacket with plain pants and leggings. All girls on our team wear the same warm ups.

Someone mentioned not understanding the point of required practice leos. Our gym asks each team member to purchase a team practice Leo and I don't understand why people balk at a $30 Leo after all the bigger expenses. The girls wear their matching leos to camps, clinics, and exhibitions and I would be kind of embarrassed if my kid was standing in a group of girls with matching leos and mine didn't have that same Leo. But I admit to caring a lot about that kind of stuff.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

I agree. A cheap practice leo is one of the few ways for families to keep costs down.

Also I think there would be a mutiny at my daughter's gym if they had to wear a uniform to train. They all have to wear uniforms to school so having to wear uniform at gym where they spend the rest of their time, would be too much. A girl has to squeeze some colour and bling into her days somehow.

We don't have school uniforms and I think that the girls actually think that their matching practice leos (each group of girls have a different one) are cool thing! They are not required to wear it all the time but most still do. Some kids don't even have any other practice leotards. It's easier for parents this way because the closest place to shop leotards is 500 km away. If they all shopped online they would all have to pay for the shipping also, which is not cheap because almost none of the leotard companies are Finnish. We use k-bee leotards for practice and they are very reasonably priced. The girl vote and choose their favorite one. At competitions there is usually used leo selling and most kids get their other leos from there.

 

[kayjaybe]

For those of you that use a practice leo, do you have several of them? Or wash it nightly? Dd practices 5 days/week so she has probably about 8+ leos at any time to make sure there is always a clean one available.

 

[gymisforeveryone]

No, our kids don't have many practice leos, just one. I guess the families have a washing machine running every night anyway so they just wash the leos after every practice. Those girls who practice very much, like 5 or 6 days a week, have other leos to use though. But girls who practice like 3 times a week, they might use the group leo every time.

 

[Rapunzel]

Who is taking the bulk of the profit? Do the club get a %, or is it all with the Leo manufacturer?

 

[raenndrops]

Who is taking the bulk of the profit? Do the club get a %, or is it all with the Leo manufacturer?

The leotard companies have a list price for the leotards. They tend to offer discounts for quantity orders - the more you buy, the bigger the discount at most companies I have dealt with.
Some clubs charge the parents the list price plus tax... others charge the discounted price plus tax PLUS a set percent or an amount to round it up to something "even".
I think the leotard companies are making the most money since they charge so much money for so little fabric - and GK sells fabric swatches for 25¢ each ... so, if you purchased enough fabric swatches to make a full leotard, it would cost less than even a basic GK leotard with various colors - lol.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

as someone who makes leos I will just say that they are very labour intensive. Yes they have small scraps of material, but each of those scraps has to be precisely cut, then stitched, then finished, then the bling has to be applied, quite often by hand. The material costs are low but the labour costs are high.

That being said the big companies use press dyes to cut and batching to make large orders so time savings are there, and despite the work involved $300+ is exorbitant.

 

[1canadiangymmom]

I was shocked at the price of the company Leo's at first too (I think DD's will be $375). I was a competitive figure skater and our costumes (multiple per year) far outweighed the cost of this one Leo that she will wear for 2 years/seasons. So when it all comes down to it I guess it makes sense. Would I rather pay much less for that? Of course! But, at least I won't have to pay for another one until 2 seasons later.

unless she grows out of it, or they change the Leo next year? I have had to purchase a new one every single year for the last 5 years, even though we keep ours for 2 years