All-Star Mandatory Versus Optional

[xpressjag]

Hey everyone, what is your gym doing to keep costs low such as what is mandatory and what is optional? Is your warm ups, practice wear and certain trips being cut?

 

[Underestimated]

i think starting next season warm ups are going to be optional for the jr - sr teams at my gym. we dont really use them but if they want them they will be available. i know for the mini's its optional to cut the cost!

& looking into making in house bows ( i learned how to make them) because honestly paying $25.00-28.00 IMO is a little rediculous. so once i start making them we will cut the cost by half if not more!

also we do in house choreo. & music.. so the parents dont have to shell out thousands of dollars for that. sometimes with music you want to make changes and cant get them in time because you cant get a hold of the dj or he wont have enough time to make the changes so instead we can just make the changes where we need them & whenever we need them!

 

[King]

Hey everyone, what is your gym doing to keep costs low such as what is mandatory and what is optional? Is your warm ups, practice wear and certain trips being cut?

Interesting this being brought up. I was talking about cost cutting measures the other day (because that gas thing next year is gonna hurt!).

We do a lot to cut costs as is. Have only one major travel competition (Dallas, Chattanooga is drivable if you like). Have a really good bow lady who does excellent work but doesnt charge an arm and a leg. Limit the amount of team shirts you are required to buy (but if someone wants to sponsor one for the team that is allowed). We have warmups that are available, but they arent mandatory. There are alternatives to the official stingray wear, but they have to follow some guidelines. You can wear black swishy pants, for instance, from anywhere. We get the same uniform for every kid because its easier to find replacements and trade around if some come out funny sizes and we tend to go with a nice balance of look and cost.

 

[yojaehs]

I find it funny how important music and bows have become, being that neither are the reason a team has won or lost a competition. I know kids love it but I think prices have gotten a little ridiculous but it seems to be the fad of the moment.

 

[King]

That is true. Would all the Worlds winners still have won with music that costs half as much? I think so.

 

[CheerMomNTx]

We have warmups, leggings and backpacks that are optional.

 

[cheerKT]

All teams at all 3 ACX gyms (except international) wear the same uniform. The gym pays for each team an official team t-shirt. Any other shirts (other than practice gear) isn't required. Warmups have always been optional.

They also do a uniform swap at the end of each year. You give offer up your uniform at the end of each season if you outgrew it or are not returning. In coming girls or people that need a new size look through them, and if yours sells you get to keep the profits. You can do the same with warm ups.

 

[kickdblcj]

Interesting this being brought up. I was talking about cost cutting measures the other day (because that gas thing next year is gonna hurt!).

We do a lot to cut costs as is. Have only one major travel competition (Dallas, Chattanooga is drivable if you like). Have a really good bow lady who does excellent work but doesnt charge an arm and a leg. Limit the amount of team shirts you are required to buy (but if someone wants to sponsor one for the team that is allowed). We have warmups that are available, but they arent mandatory. There are alternatives to the official stingray wear, but they have to follow some guidelines. You can wear black swishy pants, for instance, from anywhere. We get the same uniform for every kid because its easier to find replacements and trade around if some come out funny sizes and we tend to go with a nice balance of look and cost.

Oh god I don't even want to think about it. Every time I do I practically break into tears lol. I'm already spending 140 dollars a week on gas and its only around 3.35 in my area.

 

[Num1Stunta]

I find it funny how important music and bows have become, being that neither are the reason a team has won or lost a competition. I know kids love it but I think prices have gotten a little ridiculous but it seems to be the fad of the moment.

Yes! A friend of mine just got back into coaching after being away from it for 15 years. She thought I was absolutely crazy when I told her that cheer bows cost that much. She and I have always made our own for about $60 per 20.

 

[StarshipTrooper]

How about a 529 plan? But the way I figure, gym costs, tuition, clothes and such are less than 20% of spending. Gas is gas, do it or not, or car pool. The trips, for us Atlanta x 2, Indy, Myrtle Beach, Orlando and Dallas are where the money is in cheer. Sort of the entitlement spending of the cheer budget, accounting for at least 70% of expense for our level 5 teams. Only way to significantly lower costs in K-Vegas is to limit travel to large competitions.

 

[yojaehs]

How about a 529 plan? But the way I figure, gym costs, tuition, clothes and such are less than 20% of spending. Gas is gas, do it or not, or car pool. The trips, for us Atlanta x 2, Indy, Myrtle Beach, Orlando and Dallas are where the money is in cheer. Sort of the entitlement spending of the cheer budget, accounting for at least 70% of expense for our level 5 teams. Only way to significantly lower costs in K-Vegas is to limit travel to large competitions.

WOW, you guys do some serious traveling, we only go outta state twice and only one "requires" flying.

 

[King]

How about a 529 plan? But the way I figure, gym costs, tuition, clothes and such are less than 20% of spending. Gas is gas, do it or not, or car pool. The trips, for us Atlanta x 2, Indy, Myrtle Beach, Orlando and Dallas are where the money is in cheer. Sort of the entitlement spending of the cheer budget, accounting for at least 70% of expense for our level 5 teams. Only way to significantly lower costs in K-Vegas is to limit travel to large competitions.

WOW, you guys do some serious traveling, we only go outta state twice and only one "requires" flying.

We are lucky in that Atlanta has some decent competition in and around it. I think it tends to be why pockets of cheer develop.

 

[StarshipTrooper]

We are lucky in that Atlanta has some decent competition in and around it. I think it tends to be why pockets of cheer develop.

Really, you are correct about the location of Atlanta. The lower level teams do not travel as much. I think with Sarah, Maddie and myself to travel, cheer costs about 25k a year, no fooling and the gym is not even 2k of that amount. But of course, the eating/bar tab for me is 20k of that total.

 

[King]

I won't get into a WHOLE discussion on this, but it is also one of the reasons I prefer a universal scoresheet. If you are judged the same way everywhere you go plenty of people could see how they stand in the country when they cant travel that far away (IE a team in Alaska could see if their score of 90 out of 100 is competitive with the rest of the country)

 

[StarshipTrooper]

I won't get into a WHOLE discussion on this, but it is also one of the reasons I prefer a universal scoresheet. If you are judged the same way everywhere you go plenty of people could see how they stand in the country when they cant travel that far away (IE a team in Alaska could see if their score of 90 out of 100 is competitive with the rest of the country)

I don't think anyone could argue with that being a good reason for Universal Score sheet.