All-Star How Much Should One Year Of Allstar Cheerleading Cost?

[MissCongeniality]

I don't think anyone is a fan of STP but, if we are going to complain about it, I think it is important to direct our complaints in the right direction. Two years ago, Dallas approved a 2% tax hike on their hotels, it is almost at 15% with state and occupancy tax, add on top of that any fees. Of course, city officials want to guarantee a certain amount of hotel rooms for these events, and hotels have agreed to help them earn tax revenue via their tourist. New article from a couple of years ago....

Dallas Hotels Agree to New Tax on Guests to Promote Tourism | NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

My quoted rates were pre tax (as stated). so the price increases I experienced (as well as those others experienced) were not inclusive of any increased occupancy tax (which when added on just makes the grand total even higher)

 

[catlady]

My quoted rates were pre tax (as stated). so the price increases I experienced (as well as those others experienced) were not inclusive of any increased occupancy tax (which when added on just makes the grand total even higher)

I understand that but, doesn't it make sense that the higher amount you pay, the higher amount the city receives? The best way for cities to receive tax revenue without putting the burden on their residents is through their tourists. Would you rather get 15% on $199 or $299? Actually the state gets 7% of that but, the city is getting the rest. If the demand is high for hotel rooms, then hotels can charge top tier pricing and know someone will pay it. Hotel corps would much rather see you and I given tax hike then have the burden put on them. Then the city demands a certain amount of rooms to use their convention center and they have their new art museum paid for.

 

[EmmytheFlyer]

You only compete 3 times?

Those are the travel ones we know of so far. Outside of those I use my free IHG points for rooms. There may be one or two more. We are in Chicago area and there's a ton of local comps here.


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[njallday]

if NCA has a waiver to opt out, why arent more programs/teams doing it then. i never had to deal with STP when i was in allstar cheerleading simply because i aged out before allstar cheer developed into a big thing. But STP just sounds like a big rip off to me in general, regardless of the sport.

The waiver is on an individual basis with proof of either: living within 90 miles of the venue/have a relative within 90 miles of the venue, having hotel points that you are able to use, or being current/previous military and showing proof that the military discount is cheaper than the STP rate. You can't just sign the whole team up for a waiver. There's paperwork and it's on a case by case basis. If approved by the EP, they give you a waiver # to be put on the form they turn in with everyone's hotel information.

 

[HighPonyFTW]

I don't believe this is true. I had two athletes up until last season and I was able to list both of them in one room. STP is crazy, but having to book a hotel room for each child would be beyond crazy!!

Unless they're old enough to check in by themselves. My cheerleader is 9...

 

[UCFKnights07]

The waiver is on an individual basis with proof of either: living within 90 miles of the venue/have a relative within 90 miles of the venue, having hotel points that you are able to use, or being current/previous military and showing proof that the military discount is cheaper than the STP rate. You can't just sign the whole team up for a waiver. There's paperwork and it's on a case by case basis. If approved by the EP, they give you a waiver # to be put on the form they turn in with everyone's hotel information.

Oh ok. But stp does sound like ripoff when i read further into it. Like why should i be forced to stay in a 400/night hotel when i could stay at a days inn for 90/night down the street (for example purposes). I get its to help the event in itself to pay for the fees of running an event. But i cant imagine a place like nca not making enough money off admission and team entry fees alone to pay it off.

 

[MissCongeniality]

I understand that but, doesn't it make sense that the higher amount you pay, the higher amount the city receives? The best way for cities to receive tax revenue without putting the burden on their residents is through their tourists. Would you rather get 15% on $199 or $299? Actually the state gets 7% of that but, the city is getting the rest. If the demand is high for hotel rooms, then hotels can charge top tier pricing and know someone will pay it. Hotel corps would much rather see you and I given tax hike then have the burden put on them. Then the city demands a certain amount of rooms to use their convention center and they have their new art museum paid for.

I guess I am missing your point... unless it is that everyone is happily taking a piece of the pie that is the ridiculous $ cheer families will pay for things...including the cities. That doesn't change the fact that the actual hotel room cost has gone up astronomically for this competition in recent years and it is as simple as looking at room rates on other weekends (including those with large conventions in town) to see that cheer families are being gouged. Hey, I work in finance so I will just chalk it up to Econ 1 - supply and demand ...but I think we all know that isn't the whole story here.

 

[catlady]

I guess I am missing your point... unless it is that everyone is happily taking a piece of the pie that is the ridiculous $ cheer families will pay for things...including the cities. That doesn't change the fact that the actual hotel room cost has gone up astronomically for this competition in recent years and it is as simple as looking at room rates on other weekends (including those with large conventions in town) to see that cheer families are being gouged. Hey, I work in finance so I will just chalk it up to Econ 1 - supply and demand ...but I think we all know that isn't the whole story here.

Honestly, what you said that I highlighted above is the story. The only purpose of convention centers and city ball fields are to bring in tax revenue from events, business and tourism. We all know that these cheer events have already been identified and labeled in all of these cities as the TOP revenue producing events for them. In other words, us cheer people have been labeled as the top 1% (think Bernie Sanders economic policy) when it comes to these city's money making events. So, the city forces events, where they can, to guarantee a certain amount of hotel rooms to get the venue date they want. What does guaranteed room occupancy do? It drives hotel prices into the premium price tier. What does top tier pricing mean for the city, more city tax revenue coming in via occupancy tax and hotel corp tax. Then, if the event doesn't get the amount of rooms they were promised, the EP's don't get the rebate from the city, and the EP doesn't get the guarantee they'll get that particular date they want next year. They know these EP's of sports are working with very small windows and have to get certain dates. In the game of politics, cities have the upper hand because they know these sport EP's are very limited on dates and space requirements. Call their bluff? Where do these sport EP's go and get another large city venue, for the date they need, that doesn't require STP? For those events that don't require STP, my guess is their attendance is much lower and they aren't hitting prime venues or venue dates.

Our hotel prices haven't gone up any with STP but, with that said, the Omni, Marriott's, Sheraton's, etc. that we use are about 10 miles away from the venue.

 

[TheVipersMom]

Escrow fees

Choreo $580
Action spirit camp $300
Competition fees $1525
Music $205
Spirit gifts/shirts $180
Bow $30
Gym fee $50 (this is for athletics tape, ibuprofen, tampons, icy hot, bobby pins, hair rubber bands, bandaids- all the stuff the kids come and use every time they walk in the gym)

Total of those is $2870

They ask for an escrow deposit of $500 on the day of parent meeting (first practice after teams are posted is the day of parent meeting)

So that brings escrow down to$2370

And the remainder of the $2370 is divided into 7 equal payment of 338.57 to be paid June- Decemeber



You pay the monthly escrow fees in addition to your monthly tuition which i believe is $165 (I may be making that number up- idk what it is exactly because people who have been at the gym have been grandfathered in to their original rate when they started.

The only fees not in the escrow is
Our practicewear $162 and that is also paid the day of the meeting.

Our uniform due July 29-
Estimated at $495 (some were a few bucks more some were a few bucks less- we pay varsity directly for our uniform so we are paying exactly what it cost.

And we pay an additional $30 usasf fee on September 1st.


$5537 is the total for the year


We do 10 competitions
Plus
2 teams will then go to worlds
The rest will all go to summit.

4 of the competitions are local.
The others require hotel stay.

I usually pay around 119 a night for most hotels, I paid a little more for NCA but I stayed at the aloft right by the convention center and it was no where near the prices people are paying for Omni or Hyatt and I don't have a problem sharing rooms so I really don't pay that much at all.



Honestly the only price that has went up is music, we never paid that much at all. We have great music done by awesome people and we always send it back and have things added or changed, even when they change a count in the stunt they send it back to put the sound effect right where it should be.


Also every t shirt the gym makes or designs your kid will get so nationals shirts and whatever shirts are given to your kid when we order them. And you will not be asked for a penny for gift bags at comps. That's all collected up front, the gifts the kids receive are gym wide. That way no team is different. I love not being nickel and dimed to death.

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[336Teal]

I haven't been to Cheersport in a while, but even back in 2011 it had STP. For reference (in case it helps with the STP discussion) the rate in 2011 for the Marriott Marquis Atlanta was $149/night + taxes and $28/night parking. 2 nights minimum. Not sure what the Marquis is for cheersport weekend today.

Last season Marriott Marquis Atlanta was $164/night with somewhere between $25-$35 for parking.

 

[rdavis4]

Mini 1 team:
Monthly tuition: $120 (includes two one hour, fifteen minute practices plus one hour tumbling class a week) x 12= $1,440
Weekly privates (30 minutes): $100 a month x 12 = $1,200 (obviously not a necessity, but most do it)
Uniform: $413
Practice Wear: 2 spanks, 2 sports bras, 2 shirts: $150
Choreography: $85 (price depends on level/age; our level 4 and large coed 5 are $215)
Shoes: $100
Booster Club Dues: $20 ($35 for youth 1 and up; they go to more comps)
Music Fee: $85 (gym wide)
Team Jacket: $85
Bag: $60
Bow: $35
Makeup: $35
Total cost to gym: $3, 708.....less than I thought, and this includes an extra $1,200 that isn't required. I feel this isn't too bad, tuition increases the older you are/the higher the level and choreography/booster club increases, but otherwise everything else is the same price. We keep our uniforms, bow, and practice wear/jacket two years (and our uniform and practice wear/jacket are on off years so you aren't purchasing them the same year unless you are brand new if that makes sense).

Comp fees (five comps for mini and we received a discounted price on one comp since we are a large gym going to a small comp for the first time this year): $355 (includes $5 coach fee per comp) We go to three one day comps (one is local, the others are within a 2-3 hour driving distance and we are required to meet at the gym in the morning and drive up the day of. Youth teams and up ride the bus, mini and tiny parents drive their children) and two two-day comps. Our youth and up teams add two more comps, ACA and NCA so the price is obviously higher for them, and they also have an additional bus fee to pay for all comps except the one local.

Hotel fees (team hotel): $292.88 for Athletic Championship
$375. 79 for ASC in OKC

Total comp. costs including hotels: $1323.67

Total Fees for one year: $5,031.67 not including gas, food, spectator entry fees....etc.

 

[cheermom19]

We pay (Senior Coed 4)
-$500 Non-Refundable Deposit (Which includes Gym Registration, Team Summer Camp Training, 2 Practice Uniforms, Choreography and Music.)
-Then we pay 11 monthly payments of $295 (Which includes EVERYTHING ELSE, so Tuition, Uniform, Competition Bow, Makeup Kit, 1 Pair of Practice Sneakers, 1 Pair of Competition Sneakers, 1 Personalized Warm-Up Suit, 1 Personalized Backpack and All Comp Fees

Total =$3,745 for Everything Except Travel/Lodge.

We do 4 National Comps- 1 Driveable, 2 w/ the possibility to drive or fly and 1 fly-away
Then we do 3-4 locals in which we exhibition.

 

[cheermomforever]

You guys are brave to add up costs. I don't want to know what I spent in the 10 years she did it and now with the 11th year.....but now 1/2 the comps of the other teams, luckily.

 

[~El]

so I'm on a university cheer team in the UK which makes things a lot different. Our season runs early October - late March (yep super short i know) and we did three comps in the 15-16 season. Here's the breakdown (prices are all approximate, dont remember them exactly):

society fees (including try out and training t-shirt): £55
training/comp fees (3hrs per week, plus optional 1.5hrs tumbling. 3 competitions, and transport to comps): £150
uniform and bow: £110
shoes: £50

those were the compulsories, so about £365 or just under $500.

there was also
showcase t-shirt (optional): £10 and some other optional training clothing that i didnt buy, some food at comps: maybe around £20 for all 3? i took snacks lol.

the most expensive part for me was actually the transport to and from the gym. not enough people on my team had cars so we tended to get taxis, which ended up costing approx £10 ($13) a week, which i guess would add up to about £200 ($263).

so in total for my cheer season i paid around £600 ($790) for EVERYTHING. And we all complained about it being too expensive. This thread definitely puts things into perspective :eek: Next year will actually be cheaper because i have uniform and shoes, so should go down to around £450 ($593)

 

[Cinn124]

Tuition (includes comp fees): $3300
Uniform: $500
Practice Wear: $400
Coach's Fees: $200
Privates/Tumbling: about $3500 for the year.

That's $7900 without travel costs. We have 4 two day comps that require hotels. One of them requires a flight. None of this includes Summit.

ETA: practice wear includes 3 sports bras, 2 pairs of Nike pros, tank top, personalized backpack, personalized Nike warm up jacket & shoes. Makeup and bows are included in tuition.

Throughout the year the teams get more practice wear like for summit plus tshirts and other things which is also included in tuition.