All-Star Competing For Free

[CheerBank]

Exactly like the gym we came from. They still like to declare they're the most successful gym in the county.

...yeah, at JoBobs Janktastic Backyard Competition.

We've taken seven teams to Cheersport over the last two years....five of those teams either got gold, silver, bronze medals or a bid to worlds.

Sadly , my CPs were on the two leftover teams that didn't place top three *coughseventhandtenthcough* but at least we got beat by unknown people with no skills....

....like Brandon!

(that was sarcasm by the way. Brandon was perfection in my daughters division, they should've gotten TWO jackets) and I'd rather lose to them at cheersport than win JoBobs BBQ special.

I'm sorry we didn't meet up at the JoBobs comp. At least we know our teams weren't competing against each other! I liked the sani-wipes they gave out as a participation prize, although some of our moms were complaining that because their cp's crossed over to two teams they should have received double the number allotted per participant ;)
If my first gym had been beaten by Brandon, they would have somehow turned it around and blamed the judges. They were just that good of course.

And now back to the thread...sorry for the hijack.

 

[newcheerdad]

In theory, every team should pay the exact same fee, no matter what, in the interests of fairness and honest competition.

In reality, I'm pretty sure that deals get cut all the time. If you're a big gym with a lot of teams, or a name gym, or a gym with teams that would be advantageous for an EP to have at their competition, then the gym has leverage to ask for a better deal.

I honestly don't see anything wrong with this. It's no different, to me, than getting group rates at a hotel or getting a discount for buying in bulk that might be different than the "advertised" rate.

 

[cupieqt]

newcheerdad I have no problem with discounts and deals. I take advantage of early bird pricing and multi-comp discounts, etc for my gym to try and save the parents a few dollars.

Charge someone $1 before you let them compete for free though. I just think letting anyone compete for free is shady business. It's all about the perception. If another coach tells me they only paid $25 per kid when we paid $75-150 then I'm like "wow! How'd you get such a great discount? That's awesome!" and then they tell me EP called them up bc they needed some teams to fill out division's, I'm thinking "good deal, we needed the competition."
If the same coach tells me they're competing for free, same scenario otherwise, I'm pissed. We just spent $7,000 and you just got invited for free? Yell no.

 

[coach12]

newcheerdad I have no problem with discounts and deals. I take advantage of early bird pricing and multi-comp discounts, etc for my gym to try and save the parents a few dollars.

Charge someone $1 before you let them compete for free though. I just think letting anyone compete for free is shady business. It's all about the perception. If another coach tells me they only paid $25 per kid when we paid $75-150 then I'm like "wow! How'd you get such a great discount? That's awesome!" and then they tell me EP called them up bc they needed some teams to fill out division's, I'm thinking "good deal, we needed the competition."
If the same coach tells me they're competing for free, same scenario otherwise, I'm pissed. We just spent $7,000 and you just got invited for free? Yell no.

my sentiments exactly!!!

 

[tumbleyoda]

Just throwing this out there. For those that are in favor who are not EP's because as we know their business model may dictate they have to do this - how many teams in your division get to compete for free and you have to pay before it becomes a problem? The reason I ask is many threads that we have on these and other boards saying that it is not a real competition unless you have more than 3 or 4 other teams you are competing against. So are you willing to give allowances for as many teams in your division to get free entry and you pay?

I think we focus in on it is not so bad if it is only one team/one program. Not always the case.

 

[xomckenzieee]

I'm gonna look at this from a completely different view point so I apologize if this is kind of off track.

Take college... a college needs to fill it's "quota" of ethnicity or whatever. It will begin offering scholarships and money to kids who fill that quota. Is it necessarily fair to those who don't fit in that quota but have worked just as hard? No, not at all but that's life and how it works.

 

[WorkToWin]

I'm gonna look at this from a completely different view point so I apologize if this is kind of off track.

Take college... a college needs to fill it's "quota" of ethnicity or whatever. It will begin offering scholarships and money to kids who fill that quota. Is it necessarily fair to those who don't fit in that quota but have worked just as hard? No, not at all but that's life and how it works.

yeah i think its totally unfair don't even get me started on this LOL

 

[xomckenzieee]

yeah i think its totally unfair don't even get me started on this LOL

Trust me... it irks all my buttons too.

 

[12stepCheermom]

Trust me... it irks all my buttons too.

Or allows people in...for free...that actually dont have the academics to be there.....but they run really fast, or hit a ball really well, so they build fake classes for them to stay eligible when they can't actually hang with the academics. And the NCAA says that's all hunky dorry.

What? #sorryforthehijack

 

[kristenthegreat]

Or allows people in...for free...that actually dont have the academics to be there.....but they run really fast, or hit a ball really well, so they build fake classes for them to stay eligible when they can't actually hang with the academics. And the NCAA says that's all hunky dorry.

What? #sorryforthehijack

And then they get a degree from a college that they didn't really earn and one injury puts them out for life and THEN what do they do?!! *gaaaah*

Anyway-I think tumbleyoda has a point. When we give examples here- it's always about ONE team, or that ONE time, or this ONE person. What I'm wondering- instead of asking a WHOLE gym to compete for free, why not just offer the refund to the first gym? Are they afraid they won't get anyone then? Maybe this is another reason to limit the amount of competitions offered..

 

[BlueCat]

And then they get a degree from a college that they didn't really earn and one injury puts them out for life and THEN what do they do?!! *gaaaah*

...probably something better than if they had not gotten the chance to go to college in the first place.

The economics of scholarships, discounts, and other discriminatory pricing structures are not remotely as simple as they are being made out to be here. They are often loss-leaders for the schools/businesses that end up generating more than enough revenue to offset their costs.

Other examples of discriminatory pricing with varying levels of political correctness.

Ladies night​

Discounted medicine to 3rd world countries​

Minority college scholarships​

Tax incentives​

Senior citizen discounts​

 

[cupieqt]

BlueCat thank you for that. I've never been against kids getting a leg up out of a hard situation that will dramatically improve their quality of life.

This has nothing to do with the expensive world of all star cheer. Not everyone can afford cheer or travel baseball, etc.

This isn't charity cheerleading. It's an elective, extracurricular activity that costs money and everyone is aware of that when they sign up. I have kids every year that want to sign up but can't due to costs. It stinks but that's the way it is.

 

[xomckenzieee]

Other examples of discriminatory pricing with varying levels of political correctness.

Ladies night​

Discounted medicine to 3rd world countries​

Minority college scholarships​

Tax incentives​

Senior citizen discounts​

Basically LIFE'S NOT FAIR... one of the first things my mom ever taught me.

 

[kristenthegreat]

...probably something better than if they had not gotten the chance to go to college in the first place.

That is true- but if they have a degree but didn't really learn the skills that go with it, does it really help? I mean, I could go into a whole schpeal about the American College System and it's worth, but that's a book :D

On topic- I do wonder why they don't offer to split the bill if someone wants extra competition. Or if they ask the gym before making the offer..

 

[BlueCat]

That is true- but if they have a degree but didn't really learn the skills that go with it, does it really help? I mean, I could go into a whole schpeal about the American College System and it's worth, but that's a book :D

On topic- I do wonder why they don't offer to split the bill if someone wants extra competition. Or if they ask the gym before making the offer..

My views on formal education don't fall in line with most people's. I don't want to derail the topic, however.