Parents OMG I can't believe it

[pixie flips]

I'm curious about the booster clubs too. We don't have one at our gym and am curious as to their function and benefit.

Our gym hosts 3 meets a year. They are all pretty big meets too. Our gym has hosted state meets and Westerns and our annual invitational. The parents have to donate a $10.00 food fee to each meet and sign up to work each one as well.

I'm just wondering (aloud) if a booster club would eliminate a "gym tax" that we seem to have been hit with this season.

 

[flipper's fan]

Our fees are generally 20-50 dollars per gymnast over the actual cost of the meet entry fee. It is supposed to pay for the coaches' time and expenses but it sure must add up when 30 kids go to a local meet! However, I think they just average it because we don't get hit with much higher fees for out of state meets that require airline tix and hotels and have fewer gymnasts attending.

At the old gym where we had a booster club, we offest most of the coaching fees and travel expenses with fundraising so the coaching fee was only $10/kid/meet, no matter where it was or how many kids were going.

 

[Gymdad2]

Hi Bogwoppit,

Our booster club puts on a yearly meet for compulsory gymnasts (L4, 5 6). The meet's name does have the gym's name in it, but it is completely separate from the gym and the gym has no financial interest in, or control over, the meet. Our owner is very supportive of the booster club and the meet and we gladly accept input from the owner, but all decisions are made by the club. The meet runs for 2 days (5 or 6 sessions total) and there are 30-40 in each session so approximately 150 - 175 entrants. We average $10,000 from entry fees, then there is admissions, program sales and ads and gym banners and concessions which add to the total. Out total gross might be 15,000, but out of that we pay facility and equipment rental, (we rent a local high school gymnasium and cafeteria) judges fees, printing and advertising costs, awards, insurance and other incidentals. We net 4,000 - 5,000 on a successful meet. All of that money goes into the booster club general fund which is totally controlled by the membership and is primarly used for entry fees and coaches fees for our girls to attend meets. One year after our meet our gym moved into a new facility and the booster club helped buy some new equiment for the gym out of our meet income. All of the work in running the meet is done by booster club members (membership on team requires membership in the club, and all members are required to work some session(s) of the meet) plus setup and cleanup.

 

[flipper's fan]

I'm curious about the booster clubs too. We don't have one at our gym and am curious as to their function and benefit.

Our gym hosts 3 meets a year. They are all pretty big meets too. Our gym has hosted state meets and Westerns and our annual invitational. The parents have to donate a $10.00 food fee to each meet and sign up to work each one as well.

I'm just wondering (aloud) if a booster club would eliminate a "gym tax" that we seem to have been hit with this season.

A booster club is a 501 c 3 charitable organization that allows you to fundraise and maintain tax exempt status. You really need the blessing of your gym to do it. It has to have a mission, and ours was to promote gymnastics competition. Therefore, the booster club handled all the meet registrations, travel arrangements and raised money by hosting meets. We paid the coaches a stipend for coaching at meets and expenses for their food and travel and they got a 1099 from us at the end of the year so they could figure their taxes. Thats the wiki version. There is a lot more to it and different groups do things differently.

 

[pixie flips]

Seems like there is so much more involved and I'm realizing just how lucky we really are that the gym is corporate owned. We don't have to pay for coaches fees as they are on payroll. The gym is owned by the company and upkeep and equipment is taken care of. Our tuition is lower than many I've read about and we don't have to do any fundraising.

Maybe I shouldn't complain about having to pay the extra "gym tax" this season. And just be happy and accept it.

When you don't know anything else, sometimes it hard to appreciate what you have.

Thanks for the explanation.

 

[Bajanswife]

Quit whining you lot ... I'm currently trying to find $1,500 for just one meet!

Seriously .... not sure we can do it, she may have to skip this one.

 

[pixie flips]

Quit whining you lot ... I'm currently trying to find $1,500 for just one meet!

Seriously .... not sure we can do it, she may have to skip this one.

Oh my! That's one expensive meet!!
There's no way I could do that.

That's more that my house payment and utilities bills for one month, lol!
Maybe you can have a garage sale next weekend??

 

[Ingwe]

Ah, so the meet fees are $50 and then the gym is adding their own fees on top! Still that is a lot when a whole team is going, those coaches must be having a PARTY!!!

That figure was just an example but yes, there is the real meet fee and then our Gym adds on top of it. Weird, right?

I understand adding something on top of the fee but for curiosity sakes I just looked up a meet that we are going to, the enrty fee per gymnast is $75 (there is no team entry fee) and our Gym is charging us $190. that's a pretty big mark up if you ask me.

 

[Ingwe]

Quit whining you lot ... I'm currently trying to find $1,500 for just one meet!

Seriously .... not sure we can do it, she may have to skip this one.

Now that is an expensive meet.

 

[pixie flips]

the enrty fee per gymnast is $75 (there is no team entry fee) and our Gym is charging us $190. that's a pretty big mark up if you ask me.

I understand your feelings about the mark up. Pixie's gym did a $100.00 mark up on comp leos for the first time this season.

If they had been up front about the reasons for doing so, it'd still be a bitter pill to swallow, but at least I'd know the reasoning for it and wouldn't feel cheated.

 

[AGM78910]

Hi Bogwoppit,

Our booster club puts on a yearly meet for compulsory gymnasts (L4, 5 6). The meet's name does have the gym's name in it, but it is completely separate from the gym and the gym has no financial interest in, or control over, the meet. Our owner is very supportive of the booster club and the meet and we gladly accept input from the owner, but all decisions are made by the club. The meet runs for 2 days (5 or 6 sessions total) and there are 30-40 in each session so approximately 150 - 175 entrants. We average $10,000 from entry fees, then there is admissions, program sales and ads and gym banners and concessions which add to the total. Out total gross might be 15,000, but out of that we pay facility and equipment rental, (we rent a local high school gymnasium and cafeteria) judges fees, printing and advertising costs, awards, insurance and other incidentals. We net 4,000 - 5,000 on a successful meet. All of that money goes into the booster club general fund which is totally controlled by the membership and is primarly used for entry fees and coaches fees for our girls to attend meets. One year after our meet our gym moved into a new facility and the booster club helped buy some new equiment for the gym out of our meet income. All of the work in running the meet is done by booster club members (membership on team requires membership in the club, and all members are required to work some session(s) of the meet) plus setup and cleanup.

Our gym does the same thing except that we do 2-3 meets a year at our own gym and pay the gym for use of the space. We pay them because they cannot hold other events such as birthday parties or cheer clinics during the meet.

The gym is not involved, it is all the booster club parents that run the meet and do set up and tear down. The profit goes into meet fees, coaches fees, and coaches travel expenses. Half of our team is optional and lots of meets are out of town so the travel really adds up. Because of this our booster club dues are about $100/year. The last club we were at we had to pay out over $800 a season in meet fees, coaches fees, and coach travel.

Note: A booster club does not have to be run as a non profit if they don't mind paying the taxes.

 

[flipper's fan]

Note: A booster club does not have to be run as a non profit if they don't mind paying the taxes.

Yeah but who wants to raise money for the government? lol!

 

[Gymdad2]

I think the reason some clubs decide not go the non-profit route is so they won't have to abide by all the IRS rules that go along with non-profit status - particularly the rule about how funds can only be allocated to all club members on an equal basis.

 

[cher062]

Quit whining you lot ... I'm currently trying to find $1,500 for just one meet!

Seriously .... not sure we can do it, she may have to skip this one.

HOLY COW!!!! What are you getting for that solid gold leos and trophies???

 

[NOG]

I understand your feelings about the mark up. Pixie's gym did a $100.00 mark up on comp leos for the first time this season.

If they had been up front about the reasons for doing so, it'd still be a bitter pill to swallow, but at least I'd know the reasoning for it and wouldn't feel cheated.

Our 1st gym did this (charged us double what the leo and warmup really cost) and didn't think that us tech savy parents could figure out how to find the true cost ! Needless to say, there were a lot of angry parents. The trust between parent and management was damaged beyond repair.

As for the markup on meet fees. Our actual meet entrance fee is probably 1/2 what we pay, but the rest is going for the coaches fee (hotel [if needed], food, travel expenses, etc.). For those who have large teams, this extra fee is significantly lower. Those that have smaller teams unfortunately have to pay more per gymnast - the hotel cost doesn't care that you only have 10 girls on team to cover the cost as opposed to 200 girls on team. Just the way of it.

 

[bogwoppit]

Thanks Gymdad and AGM, great explanations, it makes a lot of sense and it benefits everyone.

Do you find that the parents participate equally, or are work hours allocated by the booster club?

When you host a meet as a booster club, do your coaches come out to support you?

Thanks again, I learn something new every day!

 

[sportsmom22]

That is a lot of money to come up with all at once. OUCH! We get a list at the beginning of the competition season. It gives a general due date and amount for the cost of the meet--usually $40-$60, with higher levels costing a little more. The money is generally due about a month before the meet will be held. We also have a booster club. It cost $25 to join and then we pay $200 in 4 installments of $50 each. We pay this every other month during our competition season. This fee covers coaching expenses and the end of the year party/Christmas party. Our booster club has about 8-10 fundraisers a year. The money that you earn goes into your gymnasts account and can be used for anything except monthyly tuition. We have at least one home meet for girls and generally 2 for boys. These are held with the gym owners and the booster club members each benefitting. The booster club members can work shifts (timing beam, selling t shirts, concession, posting scores) and in return we get money back into our gymnast account for the number of shifts that we work (usually around $30 for a 2 hour shift). It really works out well, and you pretty much know how much the season will cost.

 

[AGM78910]

How our booster club works:

Thanks Gymdad and AGM, great explanations, it makes a lot of sense and it benefits everyone.

Do you find that the parents participate equally, or are work hours allocated by the booster club?

When you host a meet as a booster club, do your coaches come out to support you?

Thanks again, I learn something new every day!

There are no surprises about money at our gym because the head coach, and a booster club board member meet with every potential team family and explain how the system works. The parents also get a detailed hand out about payout or participation and what fees are due when.

Participation or payout is mandatory for team parents. In other words, parents can either pay out of pocket for meet and coaches fees or they can work the meets that we put on. One parent from each family works a session and also helps with setup and tear down. They can either sit at the judges table and do beam or floor timing, work concessions, or work the judges and coaches room. Work hours are allocated by the club. We have been at several clubs and this is by far the best way to do things because everyone participates equally.

We have a lot of fun at our meets and this is a great group of parents to work with.

The coaches also come and support us and help out as well, but they are not required to.

 

[Gymdad2]

AGM,

That just about the our booster club does our meet as well. If a family can't provide a worker for some valid reason then the are allowed to make a payment into the general fund instead. Many years ago I foolishly mentioned that I work with computers and I instantly became a score keeper. I have graduated to being head scorer now, and I worked all 6 sessions of our last meet. It was a lot of work but also a lot of fun. I have really enjoyed my years in the booster club and have made a lot of good friends over the years.

 

[cher062]

Well thank god for grandma!!!! She gave us $1500 to pay for the meets and use towards anyother unexpected expenses over the next few months.

I love my mother-in-law she is so good to the kids and helps us alot. I can't thank her enough