All-Star Csp Tweet: No More Travelling For Cea Teams.

[amy1k]

We have several kids who work at fundraising events with their parents. My daughter is still too young, but her brothers have worked for her cheer bill (indirectly helping us afford their baseball bills ).

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

I have a question, mainly for the parents footing these bills.

I was never on a team that went to these grand, expensive competitions but my last couple of years we did a lot of competitions. I think my last couple of years the average was 14/15 a season. With around half out of state. So maybe my bill per year was ~$4000? Nothing in the range of some of these top level teams.

So my questions is at what point, if there is one, do you tell your child "listen, if you want to continue to do this, you need to help out because we cannot afford this on our own"? Im not really talking about "help out around the house more", I'm talking about making them fundraise, getting a job, helping financially with the payments. And clearly I'm taking about highschool students unless you wanna blur the lines of the child labor laws.

Fortunately, both of the gyms I cheered at had concession stands at the local university sports stadium and minor league baseball stadium that you could work as fundraising. In a way it was basically a job and instead of the paycheck going to you, it goes straight to your account at the gym via the booster club. I started working games when I was 14 (even if the age was 16 and older) because my parents made it clear that I needed to help out. My last two years I worked enough to pay for almost all of the money that went to the gym. Tuition, gym fees, competition fees, uniform, event shirts, make-up, whatever. My parents paid for travel and that's it.

I don't see why the older kids can't help out with these outrageous expenses. I know how busy it gets, I was on two teams, did tumbling classes, stayed on honor roll and payed for my cheer, but it's possible. If it's something the kids want to do, they should help with the expenses as best they can. And if it's something the kids are super invested in, they will find a way to make it all work. Why should the responsibility be placed solely on the parents?

I'm interested in people's opinions, go!

The thing with a job is when are the kids going to actually WORK?

You can't really walk into any interview for a typical high school job (retail at the mall, waitressing, fast food) and say:

"Well I really want this job but I have practice Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00-8:00p. Then tumbling from 4-6 on Mondays and Wednesdays. And stunt privates on Fridays from 4 to 5. Oh and I'll need these weekends off for comps..."

Stores/restaurants BARELY want to hire my high school cheerleaders due to the game schedule. None of them have jobs at this time because they are not realistically available when a job needs them, and that's competitive school cheer (with games, 2-3 nights per week of practice, and 3 comps per season.) I can't imagine Worlds team travel going over very well.

 

[Eyes On The Prize]

The thing with a job is when are the kids going to actually WORK?

You can't really walk into any interview for a typical high school job (retail at the mall, waitressing, fast food) and say:

"Well I really want this job but I have practice Tuesday and Thursday nights from 6:00-8:00p. Then tumbling from 4-6 on Mondays and Wednesdays. And stunt privates on Fridays from 4 to 5. Oh and I'll need these weekends off for comps..."

Places BARELY want to hire my high school cheerleaders in April when they're only practicing 2 days a week.

There are jobs out there that will permit it, not many, but there are.

It also puts pressure on the child to prioritize what parts of cheer are the most important. Practices are important. Competitions are important. Are tumbling and and stunt privates absolutely necessary? Maybe not. Maybe we can skip those every other week to make time to work a couple more hours at work.

ETA: Also, maybe you won't get the job you "want". Maybe you have to settle for something that you don't want but will still allow you to work. Like @kristenthegreat said, "you can't always get what you want."

 

[SL&AM]

I have a question, mainly for the parents footing these bills.

I was never on a team that went to these grand, expensive competitions but my last couple of years we did a lot of competitions. I think my last couple of years the average was 14/15 a season. With around half out of state. So maybe my bill per year was ~$4000? Nothing in the range of some of these top level teams.

So my questions is at what point, if there is one, do you tell your child "listen, if you want to continue to do this, you need to help out because we cannot afford this on our own"? Im not really talking about "help out around the house more", I'm talking about making them fundraise, getting a job, helping financially with the payments. And clearly I'm taking about highschool students unless you wanna blur the lines of the child labor laws.

Fortunately, both of the gyms I cheered at had concession stands at the local university sports stadium and minor league baseball stadium that you could work as fundraising. In a way it was basically a job and instead of the paycheck going to you, it goes straight to your account at the gym via the booster club. I started working games when I was 14 (even if the age was 16 and older) because my parents made it clear that I needed to help out. My last two years I worked enough to pay for almost all of the money that went to the gym. Tuition, gym fees, competition fees, uniform, event shirts, make-up, whatever. My parents paid for travel and that's it.

I don't see why the older kids can't help out with these outrageous expenses. I know how busy it gets, I was on two teams, did tumbling classes, stayed on honor roll and payed for my cheer, but it's possible. If it's something the kids want to do, they should help with the expenses as best they can. And if it's something the kids are super invested in, they will find a way to make it all work. Why should the responsibility be placed solely on the parents?

I'm interested in people's opinions, go!

Not all gyms allow fundraisers.

 

[cheerKT]

There are jobs out there that will permit it, not many, but there are.

It also puts pressure on the child to prioritize what parts of cheer are the most important. Practices are important. Competitions are important. Are tumbling and and stunt privates absolutely necessary? Maybe not. Maybe we can skip those every other week to make time to work a couple more hours at work.

ETA: Also, maybe you won't get the job you "want". Maybe you have to settle for something that you don't want but will still allow you to work. Like @kristenthegreat said, "you can't always get what you want."

The key for me was always starting in the summer, working a lot and saving up. If you're a good, valuable employee your management is (usually) more likely to let you cut way back on your hours or come off the schedule entirely for a while. During school competition season I would generally only work Sundays (since we practiced every day, games on Fridays and competed on Saturdays) and then add another shift or maybe two back in during allstar season, when we would practice 2-3 times a week and compete once or twice a month.

It's tricky, but definitely doable.

Or you could always start a gofundme.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

Outside of MAYBE babysitting, I cannot think of a job for a teen that is going to really accommodate a Worlds team schedule.

Even with babysitting, you still need to be available for clients.

No one really keeps a sitter on the "sitter list" if every time you need her she's like "oh sorry I have tumbling!"

 

[crazzyeyesassypants]

Not all gyms allow fundraisers.

Really!? How come?


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[Tator tots]

Then, throw in the extra practices before big competitions and.......

 

[quitthedrama]

If you live within 2 hours of a college or concert/sports venue then your gym has a prime opportunity to help their customers. Both gyms I have been at offer an excellent booster club with multiple fundraising opportunities. My oldest has worked from the time she was able, and she does every spring/summer event that is offered to her. You work your tail off, but it helps offset costs significantly. If a gym is truly concerned with rising costs, this is a great way to help make the travel, uniforms, etc more affordable.

 

[cheerKT]

High school kids I can kind of understand. It's the college aged kids with no jobs and plenty of free time (that is usually spent partying) asking for cheer money from strangers online that just gets me.

(but that's another topic for another time)

 

[SL&AM]

Really!? How come?


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When CP's old gym got rid of the booster club it also got rid of all fundraising.

 

[amy1k]

Really!? How come?


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It could have to do with now having or wanting a booster club. I don't think you can do fundraisers without one (at least not easily or legally). I'm not super educated on this, but fundraisers are for non-profit organizations and gyms are typically for-profit.

 

[CloMom]

THIS. It blows my mind. One of our main factors in choosing a gym was travel. I can manage one flying comp a year and it takes planning. With our high school also traveling to Orlando, next year is going to be tricky. I'm actually somewhat grateful that Summit bids are so elusive around here...so it's less likely that I'll have to make two trips. There is at least one girl on our current high school team who went to Florida for HS nationals...and is going to UCA AND the Summit this year. I just can't imagine.

I kinda hate the whole Summit bid craze. My cp (s3) was hoping and praying for a Summit bid this year. I was hoping and praying the opposite. And I was one of those parents who said my cp wouldn't go unless it was paid. Simply, I can't afford it.
Knowing that it is a possibility that I might one day have to pay for trips like Worlds, I cringe at the idea of shelling out tons of money at this stage in the game to say we went to Summit. I hate the thought that one day my child might have to walk away from the sport she loves more than anything in the world because of cost. But it's not unrealistic at the rate things are going right now.
We are lucky to live in an area where lots of competition travel isn't necessary...I just hope that it continues that way and that it doesn't become necessary to travel for brand name events multiple times per season.

 

[Ashley]

Outside of MAYBE babysitting, I cannot think of a job for a teen that is going to really accommodate a Worlds team schedule.

Even with babysitting, you still need to be available for clients.

No one really keeps a sitter on the "sitter list" if every time you need her she's like "oh sorry I have tumbling!"

You just have to work at a place that has enough employees that requesting your time off isn't a big deal. I wasn't on an all-star team, but I only worked weekends in high school because of my cheer schedule, and getting the weekend off was never an issue for me. I worked at a supermarket. Come summer, I worked as much as I could and saved up. I ended up having a really nice nest egg when I went to college.

There's a teen on my open team (granted, over 18, but she started working there before she was 18) who also works at a grocery store. She never has a problem getting time off for comps or worlds as long as she gives sufficient notice.

I'm not saying it's easy to find one, but it's not impossible. Even if the kid can't contribute to much more than maybe her meals at the convention center or buying some of the practice wear, that's better than nothing. I got to cheer at the pro bowl my senior year of high school and spent a week in Hawaii. My parents paid for the trip, but spending money was all my money, I bought all my meals there.

Anyway, my parents stopped paying for anything cheer related once I went to college. They stopped buying my camp outfits or whatever else I needed. But I didn't start all-stars until I was a junior, so not quite the same.

 

[oncecoolcoachnowmom]

If you live within 2 hours of a college or concert/sports venue then your gym has a prime opportunity to help their customers. Both gyms I have been at offer an excellent booster club with multiple fundraising opportunities. My oldest has worked from the time she was able, and she does every spring/summer event that is offered to her. You work your tail off, but it helps offset costs significantly. If a gym is truly concerned with rising costs, this is a great way to help make the travel, uniforms, etc more affordable.

We did this in college (working minor league baseball concessions!) You are so tired by the end.