All-Star Halloween Practice - Altered Schedule Or No?

[Adrirocks]

Here, if you practice on Halloween, you will miss all the legal hours to trick or treat-most of our teams practice from 6:00-8:00 or 6:00-8:30. Add that pretty much the minimum drive to go anywhere is 30 minutes and there's no time to ToT. Most suburbs limit ToT to 8:00 or 9:00, and if you go before you need to leave for practice, no one would be home!

I'm very glad the gym is closed on Halloween. We have a themed practice the Sunday before, and have a Trunk or Treat/party as a gym bonding activity after practice on Sunday.

legal hours to trick or treat? I've never heard of that before.

 

[CLynn]

My gym and the OP's gym unless we are at the same place

lol, nope and as of now ours is still on! I have been hoping that the team would do great this week at practice and we would get notice of the night off

This is the one night where CP wants to be with her school friends over cheer friends. Thank the cheer gods that the gym closes, so I don't have to make a choice ;)

Yup. My daughter loves being at the gym and outside of Halloween I can't think of another time where she wanted out of practice and I can't think of another time I was bothered she had to be at practice. It isn't just a choice to skip practice, it is a choice to potentially be thrown off the team.

 

[SL&AM]

lol, nope and as of now ours is still on! I have been hoping that the team would do great this week at practice and we would get notice of the night off


Yup. My daughter loves being at the gym and outside of Halloween I can't think of another time where she wanted out of practice and I can't think of another time I was bothered she had to be at practice. It isn't just a choice to skip practice, it is a choice to potentially be thrown off the team.

Have the coaches and or owner explicitly said that kids would be thrown off for missing 1 practice?

 

[BlockHead]

lol, nope and as of now ours is still on! I have been hoping that the team would do great this week at practice and we would get notice of the night off


Yup. My daughter loves being at the gym and outside of Halloween I can't think of another time where she wanted out of practice and I can't think of another time I was bothered she had to be at practice. It isn't just a choice to skip practice, it is a choice to potentially be thrown off the team.

Gyms demand loyalty from their athletes and parents. Athletes and families give up so much, both personally and financially, for these gyms. I would have a hard time feeling loyal to a gym that would not simply grant Halloween night off, because I feel that is robbing my child of a traditional holiday experience. Just reschedule the practice for goodness sake.

 

[cheermomforever]

Here, if you practice on Halloween, you will miss all the legal hours to trick or treat-most of our teams practice from 6:00-8:00 or 6:00-8:30. Add that pretty much the minimum drive to go anywhere is 30 minutes and there's no time to ToT. Most suburbs limit ToT to 8:00 or 9:00, and if you go before you need to leave for practice, no one would be home!

I'm very glad the gym is closed on Halloween. We have a themed practice the Sunday before, and have a Trunk or Treat/party as a gym bonding activity after practice on Sunday.

I have never heard of a Halloween time frame, schedule, for a town.....interesting!

 

[CLynn]

Have the coaches and or owner explicitly said that kids would be thrown off for missing 1 practice?

No, but all practices are mandatory. And it is stated policy that missing practice for any reason other than excused absences may result in your child losing their position on the team. So that can mean you are off the team, moved to another team or whatever.

 

[mamabear]

I have never heard of a Halloween time frame, schedule, for a town.....interesting!

Maybe it is an east coast thing? I have always lived in towns that try to regulate it.

 

[Adrirocks]

Maybe it is an east coast thing? I have always lived in towns that try to regulate it.

Might be! I grew up on the west coast and had never heard of designated trick or treating hours til this thread

 

[CheerBank]

No, but all practices are mandatory. And it is stated policy that missing practice for any reason other than excused absences may result in your child losing their position on the team. So that can mean you are off the team, moved to another team or whatever.

I remember living with that fear when my oldest cheered at our first gym. We came back home early from Thanksgiving. part II on Black Friday because there was a "mandatory" practice. Coaches canceled it last minute. Basically gave up February break so her team could practice at gym every day (except for the kids who scheduled vacation anyway). Let her go back in after an ankle injury way too soon which resulted in 2 ankle surgeries eventually. I wish I could go back and redo every single one of those moments. They added nothing to our lives but misery.

Shame on your gym for not cancelling practices on a kid holiday. Just make sure it is worth it to you long term to look back and see what you and your whole family gave up over the years. This one practice is not going to make or break a team but canceling it and letting the kids go be with their friends will probably go a long way in the way parents and kids view the program overall.

 

[Charley]

We have practice 6:30-8:30 Halloween but it isn't cancelled, although it's a themed training. As it's the training after nationals next weekend, it'll be fine if those who want to go trick-or-treating but as it's a senior team a majority of people aren't that interested anymore, and Halloween isn't really celebrated that much in NZ.

That being said Halloween seems to be a huge deal in the US and since it isn't mid competition season I would definitely let kids miss practice and would want the schedule to be changes if I was in that position :)

 

[5monkeysjumping]

Maybe it is an east coast thing? I have always lived in towns that try to regulate it.

I've lived on the east coast most of my life (mostly Boston area) and I've never heard of this.

 

[5monkeysjumping]

No, but all practices are mandatory. And it is stated policy that missing practice for any reason other than excused absences may result in your child losing their position on the team. So that can mean you are off the team, moved to another team or whatever.

Can you go late or leave early so you fulfill your commitment to being there while still allowing your kid to have Halloween?

 

[cheermomforever]

I've lived on the east coast most of my life (mostly Boston area) and I've never heard of this.

I live in CT and haven't either.

 

[SL&AM]

East Coast here and they have recommended times, but no laws trying to regulate it. Generally it's over by about 8-8:30, starts around 5:30-6 here.

 

[Alexx]

The area I grew up in in the midwest has set times for trick or treating. I think most places are 5-7? My town always had the longest hours that were 4-8.