WAG What do you guys in the US pay for meet entries?

[gymisforeveryone]

I'm not from US and our national gymnastics federation has set a maximum fee of 30 euros that clubs can charge. So every competition that we have went to has been 30 euros per gymnast. Would you like it if there was a maximum fee set up by USAG (for example)?

They only give out medals or occasionally trophies for top3 here. In some meets they give away t-shirts, water bottles, hair spray, hair accessories, candy or something like that, but it's not mandatory and gyms that offer those do it because they want to make sure that kids love the meet and tell their parents and coaches they want to come back next season.

 

[mommyof1]

I wish they would do away with the meet leos and t-shirts and charge slightly lower meet fees. For years we have been drowning in free t-shirts from all of her summer camps. Now the meet t-shirts and leos are taking the waste to a whole new level. But my daughter loves the meet tees and leos, even though there aren't enough days in the week for her actually to wear them all.

 

[QueenBee]

While I usually don't love the meet t-shirts, we did love the Circle of Stars sweatshirt that was the gymnast gift, as well as their free admission policy for spectators.

 

[suebee]

Dd has never gotten a meet leo. She has gotten lots of other things - T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, stuffed animals, hats, and other various things I cannot think of now. But I think she would be over the moon about a leo!

 

[MeetDirector]

Leo's and such are really a minor part of the meet expense. Equipment and facility rental are always going up and really drive the meet entry fee. Care to guess how much it costs for a set of equipment for a weekend? How much a facility costs for a weekend? Security and custodial for a weekend? The leo's and shirts are the "goodies" that get people coming back to a meet year after year. Good swag means high marks from the gymnasts which translates to a return engagement.

 

[Redford]

And reading threads like this always has me marvelling at how different one and the same sport can be run in different countries... It also makes me wonder (again and again) how you people afford this stuff.
(In our city we pay 3-5 Euros for individual and 15 Euros for a team competition. )

 

[Iwannabemargo]

£10-£20 here in the UK - thats $14-$28, no goodie bag, sometimes a T-shirt, medals 1-3 and ribbons 4-6

 

[cbifoja]

Care to guess how much it costs for a set of equipment for a weekend?.

Don't want to guess but I am quite curious.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Leo's and such are really a minor part of the meet expense. Equipment and facility rental are always going up and really drive the meet entry fee. Care to guess how much it costs for a set of equipment for a weekend? How much a facility costs for a weekend? Security and custodial for a weekend? The leo's and shirts are the "goodies" that get people coming back to a meet year after year. Good swag means high marks from the gymnasts which translates to a return engagement.

This makes me even more curious because the meets we have been to which are hosted AT the gym itself, on their own equipment, haven't been significantly cheaper than the big ones at convention centers and the like. Maybe $5-10 cheaper. I would say our experience has been about 50/50 onsite meet (at a gym) vs off site (hs or convention center).

 

[coachmolly]

This makes me even more curious because the meets we have been to which are hosted AT the gym itself, on their own equipment, haven't been significantly cheaper than the big ones at convention centers and the like. Maybe $5-10 cheaper. I would say our experience has been about 50/50 onsite meet (at a gym) vs off site (hs or convention center).

That's what I'm curious about. The $90 meet I mentioned up thread is hosted AT the host gym, no rental equipment necessary and no facility fees. Will probably be totally run by parents. Only $10 less than our meets at outside facilities with rental equipment and all the extras. Waiting to see what spectator admission looks like. Free admission might make up for the steep meet fee! Do they just charge it because other meets do and they can?

 

[mom2newgymnast]

My dd's level 3 meets were all around $60-75. Other than the state meet, which did cost a little more, they were all held at the host gym on their equipment. Some of the meets they did have to rent bleachers, etc. 2 of the meets they got t-shirts, the rest were just small gifts like a lunch bag. No leotards. A couple of the meets gave trophies for 1-3 AA, the rest gave medals. They all were 50% on events and 100% AA for medals. I think almost all of them gave team banners instead of trophies.

 

[MeetDirector]

Don't want to guess but I am quite curious.

For planning purposes, a capital cup set (2 of everything, 1 floor, mats) is $8K- $10K plus transportation costs. Meets with more than one "gym" like Chicago, do the multiplication. Then you need a crew to set it up since the truck driver is the only thing that comes with the equipment. A crew of about a dozen should do you.

This makes me even more curious because the meets we have been to which are hosted AT the gym itself, on their own equipment, haven't been significantly cheaper than the big ones at convention centers and the like. Maybe $5-10 cheaper. I would say our experience has been about 50/50 onsite meet (at a gym) vs off site (hs or convention center).

Don't forget, if a meet is held at a club's facility, there are still costs to pay for that facility plus a "loss of normal business" cost from other activities having to be cancelled. Staff has to be paid too. Yes, its less costly to do a meet at a club's facility and the "excess" money can go to awards and such as well as the dreaded profit for the club/host.

 

[l.c.o]

Around here, for fall compulsories, meets fees range $30-40, depending on level. No big gifts, but kids usually get something little. We pay same fees across all meets (amount based on level), with the exception of states which is more. Of course, we pay coaches fees on top of this, plus athlete registration fees and booster club fees, which are separate.

Some gyms opt to compete some compulsories in spring with their optionals (no separate states or anything), and those meets fees are variable and more expensive as they're bigger invitationals that are usually held in convention centers, etc. And yes, usually have bigger athlete gifts (and bigger spectator fees, and bigger concession fees). Probably partially to make mom and dad feel better for paying higher fees. Most of these meets award to 50% on AA and events for all levels except level 2. Some do AA trophies, some do medals.

I wonder if there's a differential in actual costs in hotels vs. convention centers. I am a former program/events manager, and we could usually negotiate better rates in hotels vs convention center, as food/rooms offset space costs (but needed room and food guarantees).

Boys gym is a different animal and meet fees (even ones held in host gym) are more $. Awards are more variable meet to meet (different % of spots), but so far he's only been to meets that award AA for level 4. I'm told some will award events.

And I, too, am curious what the equipment rental fees are!

 

[MeetDirector]

As for choice of venue, yes hotels can offset meeting space costs with food an beverage, but for a hotel ballroom to work there must be a high ceiling (17 ft minimum). Boys meets in a hotel are very hard due to the ring tower. And boys meets have a higher equipment cost too (2 more events).

 

[MILgymFAM]

For planning purposes, a capital cup set (2 of everything, 1 floor, mats) is $8K- $10K plus transportation costs. Meets with more than one "gym" like Chicago, do the multiplication. Then you need a crew to set it up since the truck driver is the only thing that comes with the equipment. A crew of about a dozen should do you.



Don't forget, if a meet is held at a club's facility, there are still costs to pay for that facility plus a "loss of normal business" cost from other activities having to be cancelled. Staff has to be paid too. Yes, its less costly to do a meet at a club's facility and the "excess" money can go to awards and such as well as the dreaded profit for the club/host.

I can only speak for our home meet here, but there was no loss of business cost (only people to lose workout time was team). There were coaches to pay (like any other meet), but our team still pays entry fees so that should cover the coaches time. All other positions are volunteers, namely parents and older gymnasts and all the food and raffles are donated. Even the seating is donated.. There are judges to pay, of course, plus the cost of the sanction, and the medals (team trophies should be covered by the fees for team awards, right?). It can't be equal to the cost of renting a space and full equipment though. Please don't misunderstand, I don't mind if the gyms make a profit. Even a large profit. No one is forcing anyone to attend anything. I am more wondering if the meets held in huge spaces are making less money.

 

[Deleted member D3987]

lowest is $35 and highest is $125 currently. these are entry fees only for meets in the USA.

 

[Dr Maleficent]

In France we don't pay to enter competitions- there might be a small fee that the gym pays, but not the parents. Spectators pay 2-3 euros. All but national level meets are held in an existing gym, with parents as volunteers. I believe the French gym federation help the gym with costs but I may be wrong. Medals to top 3 AA only, in general (occasionally to 7 or so places AA but rare). No 'invitational' meets- there is department, then region then zone then national, with each being the sole qualifying event for the next. Definitely no goodies but you can usually buy great crepes cheaply!

 

[Iwannabemargo]

In France we don't pay to enter competitions- there might be a small fee that the gym pays, but not the parents. Spectators pay 2-3 euros. All but national level meets are held in an existing gym, with parents as volunteers. I believe the French gym federation help the gym with costs but I may be wrong. Medals to top 3 AA only, in general (occasionally to 7 or so places AA but rare). No 'invitational' meets- there is department, then region then zone then national, with each being the sole qualifying event for the next. Definitely no goodies but you can usually buy great crepes cheaply!

Cheers for that Mal, reminded me its pancake day, have to get making

 

[coachmolly]

I do not envy meet directors and their organizing committee. Not at all. I am, by nature, a planner/organizer but the whole meet planning process and all of the wheels that need to turn together to have a great meet just boggles my mind. We just got a meet schedule or an upcoming meet that's kind of a bummer (mixed level session so not as much competition), but I can't fault them at all because, looking at the meet schedule, it had to be the biggest pain to organize a mess of levels. So while I hate asking the parents to fork out another $100 for a meet, I will gladly take that over organizing it myself!

 

[Vivianflips]

This years meets have ranged $65-$95 which is pretty good in my opinion. This year my xcel team is only going to smaller meets and state though otherwise it would be more like $65-$120 as that's what optionals tend to pay. The first meet we went to gave out 1-3AA trophies and a small goody bag. None of the other meets do trophies, Leo's, or tshirts.