Parents Alternatives to JO?

[Pebma 58]

Hello
We’re new to gymnastics. My 11yr old daughter is about to start her first competition season in level 3. While we’re hapoy for her we are a bit concerned that we will not be able to keep up financially. When she was invited to join Pre Team I asked a lot of questions and was told in total including wed spend around $2,000 a year for level 3, but now that all the competition fees, uniform cistd are coming in - all st once , and travel costs were looking at $5,000 for just this year. We live in California and we do not make lots of money. I’m going to school for a career change so only one income. Basically having a panic attack here as I know it’s only going to keep getting more expensive as she goes up in levels. I’m feeling like this is a sport only for the well off and it makes me sad to think we won’t be able to sustain this after this season and she’ll be devastated. I’m also not super excited about having her spend more hours in the gym she goes up into the higher levels. I want her to have a life outside the gym and we as a family want a life too. I tried to guide her toward Excel but she has friend in higher levels who she admires and they made Excel seem ‘less than’ or for those who weren’t good enough for JO. What kind of alternatives would allow her to still enjoy gymnastics that won’t cost us our life savings and strike some balance between doing a sport she loves, having a life and family time.

 

[Tbrov]

Our gym (in California) provides reduced tuition based on need. You may want to ask about that?

 

[Pebma 58]

Thank you. I wish we were at your gym. They do offer to break up the meet fees into payments but they charge $ 200 more for it. Kind of defeats the purpose.
I emailed and explained that this was much higher than what they quoted me and that its going to be a hardship on us financially to pay all that at once.
The response was essentially
‘ sorry the prices are higher this year, but thats what it costs’

 

[gymgal]

Tough position. Even though she has a negative view of Xcel, I would still look into it for her. Reality is she either transfers to that or she has to quit all together. Find a gym that treats their Xcel teams well, not like 2nd hand gymnasts. You could also look into AAU but I don't know how popular that is in the western states. Also look at other gyms (once the season is over) to see if there are some that just compete locally and have lower hours. Not all gyms are alike. Find the one that fits YOUR family

 

[GymDadWA]

If your daughter has a negative opinion about Xcel all the other options would garner a similar response.

Does her school have a gymnastics sports program? A lot of high schools do, but some middle schools do as well, at least a tumbling team which does floor. That should be a lower cost option with less of a negative stigma attached.

I guess the other thing is to remind your daughter is that she is doing gymnastics for herself not for her friend and that everyone has their own journeys. By doing Xcel she will get to do things like have her own personalized routines from day 1 rather than having to do compulsory routines for a few seasons.

 

[Pebma 58]

Tough position. Even though she has a negative view of Xcel, I would still look into it for her. Reality is she either transfers to that or she has to quit all together. Find a gym that treats their Xcel teams well, not like 2nd hand gymnasts. You could also look into AAU but I don't know how popular that is in the western states. Also look at other gyms (once the season is over) to see if there are some that just compete locally and have lower hours. Not all gyms are alike. Find the one that fits YOUR family

Thanks! What is AAU?

 

[Sk8ermaiden]

Finding a YMCA gym or a gym that does Xcel as a low-key program sounds exactly like what you need. Lower cost and far lower hours. Just make sure you ask prices and hours for upper levels, because some gyms with Xcel still do high hours and travel.

 

[Pebma 58]

If your daughter has a negative opinion about Xcel all the other options would garner a similar response.

Does her school have a gymnastics sports program? A lot of high schools do, but some middle schools do as well, at least a tumbling team which does floor. That should be a lower cost option with less of a negative stigma attached.

I guess the other thing is to remind your daughter is that she is doing gymnastics for herself not for her friend and that everyone has their own journeys. By doing Xcel she will get to do things like have her own personalized routines from day 1 rather than having to do compulsory routines for a few seasons.

thanks! I will keep working with her on this viewpoint but not sure if the cost is any more affordable. She’s in 6th grade and they only offer regular PE classes. The middle and high schools here do not offer gymnastics. I wish! We’re a fairly small town ( 59,000) and this is the only gym close by.

 

[gymgal]

Thanks! What is AAU?

It is another organization for gymnastics. JO and Xcel are through USA gymnastics. AAU is a completely different organization. It has levels like JO and xcel. Gyms who compete AAU tend to keep the meets more local, less expense on the uniforms, less hours, etc. It's pretty popular in parts of the east but like I said, not sure about the west. https://aaugymnastics.org/

 

[momnipotent]

Trampoline and tumbling might be another option to look into.

 

[Thegymnasticsmomlife]

Hello
We’re new to gymnastics. My 11yr old daughter is about to start her first competition season in level 3. While we’re hapoy for her we are a bit concerned that we will not be able to keep up financially. When she was invited to join Pre Team I asked a lot of questions and was told in total including wed spend around $2,000 a year for level 3, but now that all the competition fees, uniform cistd are coming in - all st once , and travel costs were looking at $5,000 for just this year. We live in California and we do not make lots of money. I’m going to school for a career change so only one income. Basically having a panic attack here as I know it’s only going to keep getting more expensive as she goes up in levels. I’m feeling like this is a sport only for the well off and it makes me sad to think we won’t be able to sustain this after this season and she’ll be devastated. I’m also not super excited about having her spend more hours in the gym she goes up into the higher levels. I want her to have a life outside the gym and we as a family want a life too. I tried to guide her toward Excel but she has friend in higher levels who she admires and they made Excel seem ‘less than’ or for those who weren’t good enough for JO. What kind of alternatives would allow her to still enjoy gymnastics that won’t cost us our life savings and strike some balance between doing a sport she loves, having a life and family time.

Unfortunately, the prices & time commitment will only continue to rise. I currently pay about $15K per year & that does not include travel expenses for meets. My daughter trains 5 days a week June through August then 6 days a week September through May. Yes, it is expensive & there is a big time commitment. That’s why we have been homeschooling for the past 4 years. She gets done training by 2pm then does school after gym. She has plenty of time for after school activities. She currently takes art & dance. She has also done swim & softball in the past. I would definitely think long & hard about your decision. We only do this because of our daughter’s passion for the sport & because we are financially able to do it. My parents sure couldn’t have paid for this for me. Also, I was not raised in an area with access to gymnastics so knew nothing about this world. Best of luck!

 

[NY Dad]

USAIGC is a less-competitive alternative to USAG with some gyms in CA.
Here's a directory: https://www.usaigc.com/clubinformation.cfm

The hours are probably lower (especially at the higher levels) and, I assume for many gyms, it's less expensive. If you're interested and any of the gyms listed is an option, I'm happy to provide some more information.

But... this is not an inexpensive sport. As your dd moves up and hours increase, so will the cost, no matter where she trains.

 

[3rd_time_around]

It is another organization for gymnastics. JO and Xcel are through USA gymnastics. AAU is a completely different organization. It has levels like JO and xcel. Gyms who compete AAU tend to keep the meets more local, less expense on the uniforms, less hours, etc. It's pretty popular in parts of the east but like I said, not sure about the west. https://aaugymnastics.org/

Not really. Our AAU is the same cost except for the mrmbership fee and meet entries are a little lower (not a lot). We travel all over the state and there are travel meets if the gym wants to. Tuition, uniform, and meet fees are pretty much the same as well.

To the OP: $5000!!!!!! I almost choked I was so surprised. That just seems excessive for any level.

 

[3rd_time_around]

thanks! I will keep working with her on this viewpoint but not sure if the cost is any more affordable. She’s in 6th grade and they only offer regular PE classes. The middle and high schools here do not offer gymnastics. I wish! We’re a fairly small town ( 59,000) and this is the only gym close by.

Most high school gymnastics teams are made up of girls who train at gyms and then compete for the high school. It’s the rare high school that offers gymnastics training at school.

 

[raenndrops]

I agree that if you are in an area with YMCA gymnastics teams, that may be an option. Don't know if you are SoCal or NorCal, but SoCal has several gymnastics teams ... and many of them also allow the gymnasts the option to compete at YMCA Nationals (which will be in Long Beach in 2020). It would be a good way to keep her in JO but with less expense ... Plus, YMCAs offer scholarships that apply to both your membership AND activities. If her gymnastics is the ONLY reason you would get a membership then you could get her a youth membership instead of a family membership.

 

[gymgal]

Not really. Our AAU is the same cost except for the mrmbership fee and meet entries are a little lower (not a lot). We travel all over the state and there are travel meets if the gym wants to. Tuition, uniform, and meet fees are pretty much the same as well.

To the OP: $5000!!!!!! I almost choked I was so surprised. That just seems excessive for any level.

Obviously, this is dependent on the varying gyms. In our area, there are many gyms that use AAU as a lower hour, lower expense option. I simply offerered it as an option for the OP to check in her area.

 

[A's Mom]

Not really. Our AAU is the same cost except for the mrmbership fee and meet entries are a little lower (not a lot). We travel all over the state and there are travel meets if the gym wants to. Tuition, uniform, and meet fees are pretty much the same as well.

To the OP: $5000!!!!!! I almost choked I was so surprised. That just seems excessive for any level.

We spent over $5000 on JO3, and I don't think we were paying an usually high amount (judging by another thread on chalkbucket about monthly tuition). I wish we could keep it that low as she levels up!

 

[mommyof1]

We spent over $5000 on JO3, and I don't think we were paying an usually high amount (judging by another thread on chalkbucket about monthly tuition). I wish we could keep it that low as she levels up!

Yes, $5,000 per year is what we spent on L3 in a relatively low-cost area. I would not assume that Xcel is a lower-cost option than JO--where we've been, the only thing that's cheaper in Xcel is the leotard. Tuition is about the same as L3 but with fewer hours, and the competition expenses are similar.

A YMCA program might be exactly what you're looking for--lower hours and much lower costs. I would not let her do L3 this year if you aren't able to support the increased hours as she moves up. It would be absolutely devastating for her to fall in love with JO and then be forced to give it up when the hours became too much for the family. Better to let her start on a path that is sustainable in the long run.

 

[mls529]

Yep, in a large metro, we spent $5000 on tuition alone in level 4 (that was 4 years ago). Meet fees, leos, travel on top of that was at least another $2500.
My DD is now in Xcel Platinum, in a lower hour program. We now pay $4200 per year in tuition (yes for Xcel) plus another $1000ish in meet fees and leos. Travel is largely local, so that is under $1000.

If my DD stayed in JO, we would probably be at $10K a year at this point. Instead, we are in Xcel at $6K a year. Yes, it is a savings, but not as much as one would think. Of course, prices varying greatly based on area. In some areas, YMCAs are an option that are more economical, or in our area, the park district has a great competitive team program that is definitely less than club. I hate that this is such an expensive sport.

 

[moogacat]

Xcel is treated pretty well at our gym, but a lot of JO athletes do look at the Xcel girls as sort of "less than," unfortunately. That's not so much the case with girls who have chosen Xcel their whole career, but there are a few girls who moved from JO to Xcel, and they are unfairly treated as moving because they couldn't hack it in JO instead of the reality, which is they just wanted a lifestyle difference. As for cost, my daughter will be an Xcel diamond next year and we are at $3100 tuition, apx. $1200 meet fees and apparel, and less than $500 travel.