Are meet fees refunded for injured gymnast?

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mariposa

Proud Parent
Proud Parent
Just wondering what everyone's experience has been with getting a refund from a meet when a gymnast is injured and it is after the refund period. The gymnast will have a doctor's note saying she is unable to compete due to injury.

Thanks!
 
My daughter was in a giant cast hand to armpit, had a doctor's note, and no refund at one meet, but another meet refunded it on the spot. The first meet they were like, "sorry, no refunds."
 
depends on the meet. usag states that the policy for refunds must be published. most meets give a refund when a doctor's note is provided. and even after the fact.
 
Some meets have a deadline. To be sure you should try to get a refund as soon as you think you need one. Most meets in my region will say two weeks or something to drop out with a refund but a lot will waive that with a doctor's note or just explanation from someone they know at your gym (depends obviously on how big the meet is, etc).
 
Thanks everyone. Both are pretty big meets (both held over 3 days), so not sure if that will be more in favor of getting a refund or not. Guess we will find out.
 
Most meets will not give a refund after the scratch deadline-some will replace one athlete with another from your gym at the same level however. They still have to run their meet: pay for the facility, judges, etc even when a few kids scratch. The meet's expenses do not change if one or 2 kids scratch each session-and usually all the trophies/ medals/ tshirts/ goody bags have already been ordered-so if you dont get your $ back-at least your DD will still get the goody bag!:)
 
It depends on the meet. Invitationals where they have lots of "stuff" Usually after the deadline they don't because they have purchased the "give aways", trophies, judging expenses etc. so the money is spent and isn't available for refund.

It will also depend on the people running it. If it's announced there are no refunds after a certain date then usually they stick to it even if there is a cast involved because I could get a note too for a bad cold etc. What "illness" with a doctors note will be enough to get the refund?
 
Most meets will not give a refund after the scratch deadline-some will replace one athlete with another from your gym at the same level however. They still have to run their meet: pay for the facility, judges, etc even when a few kids scratch. The meet's expenses do not change if one or 2 kids scratch each session-and usually all the trophies/ medals/ tshirts/ goody bags have already been ordered-so if you dont get your $ back-at least your DD will still get the goody bag!:)


Excellent point gymcoach34...as someone who ran a large meet i can tell you that the scratch date is set for just this reason and as unfortunate as injuries are, sometimes a refund cannot be granted because the monies have already been spent on the venue, judges, awards etc. I think with a bigger three day meet you will have a more difficult time getting a refund because their costs will be a lot higher and their motivation to give your money back will be less.

And we did allow substitution of an athlete at the same level if we couldn't refund the fee...
 
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We had a girl with a broken foot last season...she was not able to be refunded the money for any of the meets, but she went to the meets anyway and sat with the team, also she did get the goody bags!;)

Is Abby ok?
 
On a money level, it makes sense, I totally get that. Just on a personal level, when you are struggling to pay for meets, it doesn't. LOL.

Abby is okay. She hurt her back last week (landed a front layout with her lower back arched weird) and it is still hurting. Her symptoms are very much what a child would have with spondylolysis (lower back stress fracture) and so I am thinking she will be missing at least the meets in January because they are at the beginning of January. X-ray was normal though and I took her out of gym this week, so she will have a break until Jan. 3. Hopefully she will be feeling better by then. A CT Scan is next on the list, so hopefully that will be clear and if she is pain free by that first week, then I will feel okay letting her start back at gym. But she probably still won't be ready to compete.

That said, she was going to go and cheer for her friends anyway, so now she can just wear her stuff, go around with them, scratch each event and hang with them I guess. And get her "free" t-shirt! (I say that because she always says that and I am thinking, it is NOT free, baby).

Thanks for asking guys. :)
 
On a money level, it makes sense, I totally get that. Just on a personal level, when you are struggling to pay for meets, it doesn't. LOL.

Abby is okay. She hurt her back last week (landed a front layout with her lower back arched weird) and it is still hurting. Her symptoms are very much what a child would have with spondylolysis (lower back stress fracture) and so I am thinking she will be missing at least the meets in January because they are at the beginning of January. X-ray was normal though and I took her out of gym this week, so she will have a break until Jan. 3. Hopefully she will be feeling better by then. A CT Scan is next on the list, so hopefully that will be clear and if she is pain free by that first week, then I will feel okay letting her start back at gym. But she probably still won't be ready to compete.

That said, she was going to go and cheer for her friends anyway, so now she can just wear her stuff, go around with them, scratch each event and hang with them I guess. And get her "free" t-shirt! (I say that because she always says that and I am thinking, it is NOT free, baby).

Thanks for asking guys. :)

Sorry to hear about this. Kids heal up so quickly though, I wouldn't count her out for those meets just yet. But, if she needs to sit them out and collect the "free" shirts, that's not the end of the world either. She's so young and has so much time! Healing thoughts coming your way!
 
It depends on the meet. Some refund if the injured gymnast has a doctor's note while others do not. I hope it's not Abby who's injured
 
It depends on the meet. Some refund if the injured gymnast has a doctor's note while others do not. I hope it's not Abby who's injured

It is, but she will be okay. I was really freaked out and almost 100% convinced it was spondylolysis, but I now I am calmed down and more leaning toward it just being muscular. Sometimes reading too much on the internet is NOT a good thing. And my love for medical knowledge made me even more obsessive about reading everything and anything about the possibilities. Bad combo!
 
...Sometimes reading too much on the internet is NOT a good thing. And my love for medical knowledge made me even more obsessive about reading everything and anything about the possibilities. Bad combo!

I do that, too! Hope she heals up really quick!:)
 
It is, but she will be okay. I was really freaked out and almost 100% convinced it was spondylolysis, but I now I am calmed down and more leaning toward it just being muscular. Sometimes reading too much on the internet is NOT a good thing. And my love for medical knowledge made me even more obsessive about reading everything and anything about the possibilities. Bad combo!

hi mariposa!

for the record. spondylolysis is not a gymnastics death sentence. in fact, almost all gymnasts get a vertebrae or 2 that "kiss" each other over the course of their career.

it's spondylolisthesis that ends a career. and should. it is a very unstable and unpredictable condition of the spine.

just wanted to clarify as the 2 are easily confused.:)
 
Dunno,

Thanks! I have read so much about it (probably too much). I actually went from:
a)completely freaked out and feeling guilty for even letting her DO gym and not sure I would let her return if she did have it, to
b)totally convinced she had it (spondylolysis) and was reading all about how gymnasts recover from it and then was sure she would be fine if she had it, but felt confident that if she wanted to keep doing gym she could and would, to
c)where I am not sure what is going on, but feel "at peace" with the possibility of it not just being a muscle strain. She knows what it might be and has handled missing practice, the possibility of missing meets/her season, etc, really really well for a kid. :)

It has been a (self induced) roller coaster ride, but I learned a lot and prefer to err on the side of caution. Even if she has to miss some meets and it turns out she had nothing, I feel okay about it and she does, too. I have always stressed to her that you only have one body, you have to treat it with the respect it deserves.
 
Have you thought about a chiropractor? My dd's has helped her with rolled ankles, "tennis elbow," hurt back, hurt neck, hip out whack, etc. No x-rays needed, and almost immediate results. She hurt her back at home and couldn't even do a kip, could hardly stand, and after one adjustment was back the next day doing giants. She rolled her ankle, and the Chiro. explained that one of the little bones in the ankle was out of place; she adjusted it and put it back, showed us how to tape for support, and next day she could tumble again. Many in our area only charge $1 per year (child's age), so after the first visit of $50 for assessment, I only pay $14 per visit. No medicines, x-ray radiation, etc. Just something for you to consider.
 
^^^ chiro's can be useful. but NO torsion/rotational adjustments to the low back for the condition described by mariposa. not until certain orthopaedic conditons are ruled out by ortho M.D.:)
 
GAGymMom,

I go to the chiropractor sometimes for my hips and have gotten complete adjustments before and I do feel they help. I think the good chiropractors often get a bad name from people having experiences with bad ones (usually ones that try to convince you you need to go for the rest of your life or that they can cure anything with chiropractic care). I have never taken my kids for some reason, a little scared I think, though I know that my chiro is great and she would be gentle and only do things necessary. I imagine as my gymnast gets older, we might use a chiro for certain things for sure.

Dunno,

Thanks for confirming that it isn't the time now to go to one!
 

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