Parents Meets

[XcelMom08]

When it comes to traveling outside of your local area for meets - any cost-saving tips/advise that you have learned along the way? Do you come the day you are only competing or are you stay the whole time (ex: if it is a 2 day meet) to support and/or is it required?
From talking to the coach, a meet schedule will go out later in summer. Can you telll we are new to this yet? It seems the first meet will be out of state and she said she was making some changes this year to attend more smaller meets too. ‍
Coaches make the decision on which gymnasts goes to which meet correct? How far in advance do you know which meet your DD will attend?

I guess in just trying to prepare and budget for the season in advance if that is possible. Or even save a ballpark figure for the season. Don’t get me wrong we knew competing does cost more of course. I would like to do what I do best and plan in advance if possible.

Thanks in advance!

 

[WV Gym Mom]

Much of this is going to be different at every gym - ask some seasoned parents, or ask to see last year's schedule for an idea...but to cover basics - normally you will be given a schedule that has the meets, which levels are going, and the weekend they are scheduled. At my gym, they also post the meet fee/any team fee/ and due date. (We also have a coaches fee we pay every year that covers coach expenses). You won't know until about two weeks before each meet (sometimes earlier for travel meets) exactly what time you are competing.

For meets that you need to travel too, you will normally only have to be there for your competition time. Some people team up with others to share travel/hotel rooms, etc. A good idea is if you are booking hotels, use the hotel websites and book their refundable, no deposit rates for the whole weekend, then you can cancel the days you don't need when you figure out when you need to be there. This way you don't get stuck with higher, last minute rates or sold out hotels.

Finding hotels with kitchens/or at least fridge and microwave, and bringing food for the hotel (snacks, water, microwavable soups, etc) will also save, of course.

 

[Sandpapertongue]

Agree with everything WV Gym Mom posted above. This was our first season with lots of meets and a few travel ones.

Meets are expensive. The meet fee for our meets were usually between $60-115 per meet. We did 8 meets, plus states. Plus the coaches fee. I had a bit of sticker shock when I got the list of fees. (Plus we had new uniforms this year which was another $800!!)

Not knowing the session time until 1-2 weeks before is super frustrating. But I guess that’s just how it goes.

 

[skschlag]

Coaches do decide the meets, although in some cases, you may be able to choose which of those you attend or don't. If it is travel, you could still have to pay for some of the expenses depending on how your gym does that. Hopefully your gym gives you a full run down on everything and not just one cost for it all. The costs for meets could include meet fees (the cost of attending the meet), coach fees, and coach travel expenses.

I usually booked the whole weekend. I would try to look and see when the level usually competed, but if flights were required, sometimes I just had to book to save that money and stay all weekend. If I could change later with no additional costs, I would.

In addition to things mentioned above:

Ways to Save:
Book a condo/BnB with 2 other families, share a car, etc.
book hotels with free breakfasts and/or an evening reception.
Use credit cards with points/miles.
Join hotel/car rental loyalty plans and earn points.
If driving, bring food with you.
If flying, find a grocery store even if you don't have a kitchen.
Check ALL hotels near the meet, or within driving distance, NOT just the host hotel
If flying, check the price of staying further away and getting a car versus using uber/lyft and staying closer.

It is expensive but can be fun. We loved going to watch other sessions when we could (and depending on the cost of admission). Otherwise, we tried to explore new cities when we traveled.

 

[XcelMom08]

Agree with everything WV Gym Mom posted above. This was our first season with lots of meets and a few travel ones.

Meets are expensive. The meet fee for our meets were usually between $60-115 per meet. We did 8 meets, plus states. Plus the coaches fee. I had a bit of sticker shock when I got the list of fees. (Plus we had new uniforms this year which was another $800!!)

Not knowing the session time until 1-2 weeks before is super frustrating. But I guess that’s just how it goes.

All this helps a ton! I agree it will depend on gym of course. I was just trying to ballpark a sport budget now
Was yours a a new uniform for each meet? Jw.

 

[skschlag]

All this helps a ton! I agree it will depend on gym of course. I was just trying to ballpark a sport budget now
Was yours a a new uniform for each meet? Jw.

no. Just a uniform for the entire season. The only time D got a new singlet or warm ups was for Winter Cup and Nationals.

 

[Sandpapertongue]

All this helps a ton! I agree it will depend on gym of course. I was just trying to ballpark a sport budget now
Was yours a a new uniform for each meet? Jw.

Oh my, no no, we don’t even get new uniforms every year, they are too expensive.

 

[PeanutsMom]

I agree with all posted above.

My additional insight.. book a hotel with a free breakfast especially if you have early morning sessions. It saves gas (going out to find breakfast) and time. They usually have eggs, yogurt, something that will stick with the kids for a while.

We try not to rent a car and just uber if travel meets or stay at "host" hotels which are generally close to the venue.

 

[josie55]

If possible, book more than one hotel reservation. For example, book one that is Friday - Sunday, and another just for Saturday night. The reason is that you might not know until two weeks before when your child is competing (and which/how many nights you need) and hotels often will not honor the original rate when you change the reservation. So changes end up costing a lot of $. If you book a few versions and then cancel what you don't need, you can protect yourself against rate increases. Also, always book everything fully refundable, even if the cost is higher. You never know when things are going to change (most likely due to an injury, but could also be that the coach changes the plan for your child). And if you're up for it, check the rates the day before and if the rate (even if nonrefundable) has decreased, nab the lower rate!