Parents Do gymnastics scholarships exist?

[pullover]

I have a good friend who has a daughter who clearly has a gift for gymnastics. She is almost 5 and very strong, coordinated, etc. They have been holding off on enrolling her in a class b/c of the cost (they live in a very pricey area which doesn't help). She has recently started taking a pre-preteam sort of class that meets once per week for 1.5 hours. They don't really think they can pay for much more than this -perhaps 2 classes but not the sort of hours that are needed to go the team route. Does anyone ever get a scholarship, reduced fees, etc? How does this work?

 

[Quadqueen]

Some YMCAs offer scholarships, but a YMCA gym will not get her far in the long run, if that's what she wants. You would be hard-pressed to find a "scholarship" or any financial assistance at a private gym. It's an expensive sport, and only gets worse as they move up the levels.

 

[lhmom]

I have heard of some gyms that have booster clubs where parents can work different fundraisers to reduce costs. But I have yet to hear of a gym that gave scholarships or reduced fees.

 

[Quadqueen]

^^True, some gyms do give parents a lot of opportunities for fundraising which can cut down their costs. It's a lot of work though, and to me wouldn't be considered a long-term solution to the problem.

 

[SurpriseGymMom]

Haven't heard of any but I second the booster club. One of the kids on our team does a LOT of private fundraising to help with her costs.

 

[MaryA]

I know that our gym has helped girls with families in financial difficulties, but generally it is in a situation where a girl is already on the team and a parent loses a job or something. And unfortunately those girls often quit anyway because, even if you aren't paying tuition, the expenses of meets and travel are pretty high.

Yes, I would say look into a YMCA program. A lot of times they charge on a sliding scale, and even their "full" price is cheaper than a private gym.

The only other option I know of would be one we take advantage of on a regular basis... The much-coveted Grandma Scholarship! When Grandma asks what little Susie wants for her birthday/Christmas, tell her a gymnastics class.

The booster club that others are talking about is just for team members, and at this point you are just talking about classes, right? And yes, the fundraising a family does through the booster club can sometimes offset meet fees, comp leos, etc. but generally not tuition.

 

[GymGirl's Mom]

Does mom work outside of the home? If not, maybe she could look into working at the gym to pay for fees- teaching preschool classes, working at the desk, CLEANING!! There are ways to defray the costs.

 

[Midwestmommy]

Yes, work-- I have a friend or two who clean at a gym or work at the desk to earn money and help defray the cost. There isn't generally "free" like folks are used to at public schools, where lots of families get free meals, free after school care, free sports and activies....stuff that the rest of us have to pay extra for. But if they are creative there may be opportunities to help earn money in order to defray some of the costs. Some sports professional sports teams also offer programs where parents/relatives can work some games and then what they earn goes toward their kid's sports costs (I know some dance parents who do this). Also, the booster club may have some limited scholarships for the booster club annual fee.

 

[wnl256]

I've also heard of parents working at the gym to offset the costs. Obviously this will be very dependent on the gym, and likely only for parents of team girls (not rec and probably not pre-team).

 

[mommyof1]

Yes, work-- I have a friend or two who clean at a gym or work at the desk to earn money and help defray the cost.

There is a girl in my daughter's preteam group whose mom took a part-time job (not at the gym) specifically to pay for gymnastics. The mom has a t-shirt that says "I pay, she flips."

 

[raenndrops]

Some YMCAs offer scholarships, but a YMCA gym will not get her far in the long run, if that's what she wants. You would be hard-pressed to find a "scholarship" or any financial assistance at a private gym. It's an expensive sport, and only gets worse as they move up the levels.

I take offense to this. I know of girls that have been in YMCA gymnastics up through L9 (in my district) and L10 Nationally that have gotten college scholarships and / or compete for College Teams! The University of Alabama has a Freshman that came from a YMCA program. Not all YMCA programs are built the same... just as not all private clubs are built the same!

As for financial assistance at a private gym, some gyms offer assistance if a parent will work in the office or clean the gym as some other posters have mentioned. I have a friend who worked at her daughters' private gym and for 2 girls on team, she paid less than $100 a month.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Non-profit gyms would be most likely. My girls are both on scholarship at our gym. It isn't a full scholarship, but it makes the fees manageable, and made putting my DD (12) onto team more affordable than the rec classes had been. I had been told that there is no such thing as a gymnastics scholarship, but I was told that about dance before this, and my girls had a dance scholarship where we lived last. Research, research, research. It's out there somewhere.

 

[Quadqueen]

I take offense to this. I know of girls that have been in YMCA gymnastics up through L9 (in my district) and L10 Nationally that have gotten college scholarships and / or compete for College Teams! The University of Alabama has a Freshman that came from a YMCA program. Not all YMCA programs are built the same... just as not all private clubs are built the same!

As for financial assistance at a private gym, some gyms offer assistance if a parent will work in the office or clean the gym as some other posters have mentioned. I have a friend who worked at her daughters' private gym and for 2 girls on team, she paid less than $100 a month.

Sorry - did not mean any offense...this was based on my own experience of Y gyms. If there are lots of Y kids who have had success regionally or nationally, I haven't heard of them. That's great that one is at the University of Alabama. I guess I shouldn't even have brought it up, as she was only talking about rec - I forgot she wasn't talking about team.

YMCA gyms are a much more affordable option, that is for sure.

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

Sorry - did not mean any offense...this was based on my own experience of Y gyms. If there are lots of Y kids who have had success regionally or nationally, I haven't heard of them. That's great that one is at the University of Alabama. I guess I shouldn't even have brought it up, as she was only talking about rec - I forgot she wasn't talking about team.

YMCA gyms are a much more affordable option, that is for sure.

Sorry - did not mean any offense...this was based on my own experience of Y gyms. If there are lots of Y kids who have had success regionally or nationally, I haven't heard of them. That's great that one is at the University of Alabama. I guess I shouldn't even have brought it up, as she was only talking about rec - I forgot she wasn't talking about team.

YMCA gyms are a much more affordable option, that is for sure.

 

[exgymnastmomx3]

The REALITY of it all is that yes, the family can probably come up with some money somehow to pay for some classes. HOWEVER, if she is talented, like the poster said, she will be asked to team. There is where the issue will be. It will snowball from there. I have lived it and seen it time and time again. Yes, there are ways to minimize the expenses by gym choice, working, etc., but it's a matter of lifestyle choice and IF one wants to enter a world where you are sacrificing all for a sport. I think people need to understand what they are getting into when they start with a "few" classes.

 

[2G1B]

I haven't heard of anything like a scholarship for the rec level. But I know in our area there is a not for profit gym and the HC will totally work with parents if they can't afford tuition costs. He does provide extra shifts for them to work at meets and will put that towards tuition expenses; but he will also reduce tuition if the family needs it. It does it on a case by case basis.

For booster fees, our booster club is working on coming up with a scholarship fund to help families as needed with the booster side of things; but I'm almost positive it will not be able to go towards tuition. The gym would have to decide to do something from that side.

 

[MILgymFAM]

Just wanted to clarify that my DDs both receive the scholarship- one for team, one for rec.

 

[bookworm]

Sorry to be blunt but if your friend is strapped paying for 1 class of an hour and a half a week and doesn't think she could handle more, pull the plug now before she gets really into it.

Just ballparking figures but on team it costs me $400/mo tuition ( 4800/yr) ; 1400 in team fees/yr (meet/coaches) and around 4000 in travel each year as an optional...roughly 10 grand a year is where she's headed . It would be a kindness to the daughter to steer her towards something her family can afford (town programs, school programs, cheaper sports)

 

[MILgymFAM]

I am sorry, but as a mom in a lower-middle income family, I say no. I teach my kids not allow themselves to be told that anything is only for people with money. If you want something, or your children have dreams, the only way to get to them is to keep on trying. I have seen so many posts that say it isn't about natural talent, that it can be learned, etc, but apparently what it boils down to is that it can be bought. Yes, it's easier for people with disposable income- what isn't, but I truly believe anyone can find a path if they want to. We may not have a lot of money, but in my family we have plenty of determination, and I hope no one ever tells my kids their path is blocked because of our socioeconomic status.

 

[kandkfunk]

I am sorry, but as a mom in a lower-middle income family, I say no. I teach my kids not allow themselves to be told that anything is only for people with money. If you want something, or your children have dreams, the only way to get to them is to keep on trying. I have seen so many posts that say it isn't about natural talent, that it can be learned, etc, but apparently what it boils down to is that it can be bought. Yes, it's easier for people with disposable income- what isn't, but I truly believe anyone can find a path if they want to. We may not have a lot of money, but in my family we have plenty of determination, and I hope no one ever tells my kids their path is blocked because of our socioeconomic status.

Great attitude! My only word of caution is that people need to make sure they understand the repercussions of the path they find. Once you hit high school, you need to make sure you are not violating any NCAA rules in regards to scholarships or being "paid" to compete. Even if a child has no plans to compete gymnastics in college, they could damage their ability to compete in another sports.

I am no expert in this subject by any means. I only know there are rules that must be followed. We had a girl at our gym receive a scholarship to attend the local University's summer gymnastics camp. It was ok since she was an 8th grader, but they said it would be her last year to receive the scholarship because she was entering high school.