Parents Sticker Shock

[kamgymmom]

I want to see pictures, too! I honestly can't remember how much our competition leo was..this will be our second year with this one. We're on year three of wearing our warm-ups..woohoo! Our gym does try and be as reasonable as possible with their design choices. They also re-sale things that don't fit to other gymnasts and apply that to our accounts which is helpful. I'm thinking we may be in for design changes next year, so we'll see what happens then!

 

[bookworm]

Every time you add a row of rhinestones, the cost increases by 50 bucks a leo so if your leo sparkles away, you pay through the nose ...and also if it's a custom leo, add to the cost per leo as well...so our 300 leo has a ton of rhinestones AND was a custom designed by the HC (which doesn't look much different from what you see out there in my opinion...) AND has a liner in it (adds to the cost) ...believe me, I long for the days of the $150 leo..

 

[gymjourneymom]

Just want to add a personal vent...I wish my DD would coordinate her growth spurts with the every 2yr new competition leo/style change at her gym! I've already bought her a new competition leo past 2years. 1st one was leo style change year & 2nd one was the same leo, but in a larger size because she had a huge growth spurt. And now this year for the 3rd year in a row...another new competition leo!!! Because we are at style change year again even though her leo from last season fits perfectly!!! GK must love me!!!

 

[flipper's fan]

$225 as shown

 

[Deanna]

The comp leos at our gym are 180 new. Nothing too fancy, but does have some bling on it. Kadee is kinda inbetween sizes right now, so we ended up going with the smaller of the two sizes because the larger size the legs gap open on her. Anywho, I got a used one from another gymmie who out grew theirs. So it cost me 75 bucks. Not bad. Got a used warm up suit also, and paid 75 for that as well. Wasnt able to get a used gym bag, since everyone pretty much just keeps theirs (you dont grow out of your gym bag).
Well I think for the most part I did really good. And Im really happy about the leo. I got it for less than half price, wore by one girl, one season. The warm up was okay, WAS happy with the price (was under the impression the warm up was around 140ish). Got it home, it was filthy, looked like the parent NEVER washed the thing. Well I spent two whole days delecatly washing this blasted thing, trying to make sure that the stain remover i was using was only on the white part of the leg (main part is black) so as not to damage it in any way. Finally I get it cleaned and Im now happy with it.
Well this week when I went to get Kadee from practice there was a paper in her folder with the order form for those that still needed to order leos, warm ups, and bags. I didnt really pay much attention till I got home, and then I see that the bag brand new is 35 which is about what I had thought it to be..cool, I can swing it. That the leo was indeed 180..yay me, I got a good deal. Then I almost fell over. The warm up was only 80. I paid 75 for a used one, that was filthy. If I had known it was only going to be 5 more, I sure as heck would have gone that route.
Its not the gym that sells the used ones, its the parents. And maybe when they bought theirs it had cost them the 140 that I was under the impression it was supposed to cost. But it just agrivated me.
They say there is a sucker born every second. I guess I was that sucker that second. I should have checked into things a little more instead of being so quick to make sure I got a used one so I didnt have the expense of the new one. I'll know better next time...lol

P.S I love the idea of us posting pictures of our comp leos. I would LOVE to see everyones. It would be interesting to see how similar some may look or how different. Are we going to do that in this thread, or start a new one? A picture of it on, or just layed out? Warm ups too? LOL, Im such a kid sometimes.

 

[Linsul]

$225 as shown

That is so pretty, I love it! I don't have a comp leo gripe, but I do have a DD who fancies herself a collector of the Nastia leos. She's between sizes so things are awkward right now. I went to work yesterday, and was informed by the front office staff that DD had piled some leos up from the pro shop for me to buy The one she really wanted she left on the hanger, presentation is important when demanding I suppose rofl. Since she's between sizes I bought the one pictured and figure it will fit by Christmas!

 

[pixie flips]

Hello all! Thanks for the replies and for commiserating with me


Pixie's comp leo's have always been in the $80.00 range for the long sleeve ones and $45.00 when she wore the sleeveless ones. Those leos were made by GK Elite. Last season the gym changed leos and warm-ups to Alpha Factor. Honestly, the quality imo, is not at great as the GK comp leos. The inside of the AF leo was not as finished and was "stiff and itchy" according to Pixie. But that's beside the point.

Last season the Alpha Factor leos cost us the same as they had been when they used the GK leos, $80.00. They are going with Alpha Factor again this season but with an extra $100.00 added to the total. The leos this year have quite a lot less sparkles than they had last season, too. So, that isn't the reason for the price hike.

When Pixie got her grips, at the beginning of summer, we were told we needed to pay $80.00 for them. The gym orders all the girls their first pair of grips. When she got them they came with an order form/receipt. The receipt had the grip company's website on it and I went to the site to order a back-up pair and saw that they were actually only $35.00.

One of the other moms told me that the speculation (going around) for the price hike is due to the renovation that the gym is going through. Which seems to make a lot of sense to me. I just think it's really bad timing on the gym's part to start adding extra for profit. Yes, it's nice to have mostly new equipment and mats in the gym. Yes, it's nice to have the gym expanded. I understand these things cost money. I just think with the state of the economy and the tuition hike this season, it's just bad timing.

But, what can you do? I think I was caught off guard more than anything.

Well, it's paid for. Had to buy a new gym bag too which was $40.00. At least they are using the warm-ups from last season which btw were less than the leos this season. I can't imagine what they'd go for if we had to pay for them this season with the new "club tax" added. haha!!

 

[bogwoppit]

Oh I would be so unhappy about that. In fact be would be enough to make me talk to many parents.

If the owners want to make some money they need to organize some fundraisers, unless they are non profit.

That grip thing would piss me off to no end! That is absurd!

 

[Bella's Mom]

Oh I would be so unhappy about that. In fact be would be enough to make me talk to many parents.

If the owners want to make some money they need to organize some fundraisers, unless they are non profit.

That grip thing would piss me off to no end! That is absurd!

Agreed! If you are upgrading your gym, it seems like that should either come from money the owner has set aside to invest in the gym or at least be up front and charge an "equipment" fee or something like that.

The grip thing seems a bit dodgy to me.

 

[Bella's Mom]

That is so pretty, I love it! I don't have a comp leo gripe, but I do have a DD who fancies herself a collector of the Nastia leos. She's between sizes so things are awkward right now. I went to work yesterday, and was informed by the front office staff that DD had piled some leos up from the pro shop for me to buy The one she really wanted she left on the hanger, presentation is important when demanding I suppose rofl. Since she's between sizes I bought the one pictured and figure it will fit by Christmas!

Love the Nastia leo too. Blue and black and so pretty together.

And your DD cracks me up! How nice of her to pile those leos up so you don't have the additional task of having to sort through all the leos. You daughter is SO kind to give you this convenience.

 

[cher062]

That is about what I've always paid for a leo some where between 160 and 190 depending on the style. Usually the more sparkles they have the more expensive.

Seriously though even at $80 they are way over priced. Heck there isn't even a 1/2 yard of material in the leo. If I could get the fabric I could sew it myself for alot less. I sew and know the prices of fabric and the fabric they use isn't the most expensive.

 

[Bella's Mom]

Seriously though even at $80 they are way over priced. Heck there isn't even a 1/2 yard of material in the leo. If I could get the fabric I could sew it myself for alot less. I sew and know the prices of fabric and the fabric they use isn't the most expensive.

As the mom of a leo junkie, this is SO depressing.

 

[Monkeygirlsmom]

woohhhh that is a sticker shock!

we paid 50$ and have sparkle and they are GK.

 

[LittlePhantom]

I think I am going to hug our coach tomorrow...

We have to buy one competitive leo and warm up...new both items are about $120 each, however through emails we organize to sell down as our DD outgrows hers. The warm ups have not changed, so I bought one used (half price) then sold it down and bought another used at the start of this season as the jacket got too small. I was also lucky that I got a leo for half price, and will hopefully sell it down at the end of the year and get the next size up. Our girls always look great, and since they only wear the leos perhaps 20 times a year...they last and can be sold down to smaller girls. They do change them up but only every few years!

 

[Jennemmy]

The optional leo at our gym is also $325. They are beautiful but delicate. A few needed repairs in the first week! Compulsory is very reasonable at $50. No sparkle but if you don't stick with it, you won't mind. And the compulsory girls tend to move pretty quickly thru to 6, which gives you time to save for the pretty one. Our grips run $35 (dowels), no bag or warm-up. Our fees are cheap for the state at$240 for 9 hrs but we pay a yearly fee equal to our level. 5 =$500 and so on. That is a major gripe for the parents.

 

[Bella's Mom]

we pay a yearly fee equal to our level. 5 =$500 and so on. That is a major gripe for the parents.

That would be a major gripe here too. We have a yearly registration fee of $50 along with our monthly tuition. But that Level Fee is insane. So an L10 gymnast's parents would have to cough up an extra thousand bucks just for..... I'm sorry, I lost my train of thought. What do you get for that extra grand? Fairy dust? A free fall of the beam?

Seriously, I would switch gyms if my gym tried to pull that unless they could justify and exlain what that fee went towards.

 

[pixie flips]

Oh I would be so unhappy about that. In fact be would be enough to make me talk to many parents.

If the owners want to make some money they need to organize some fundraisers, unless they are non profit.

That grip thing would piss me off to no end! That is absurd!

I guess it's just a bitter pill to swallow having never been this way before with the gym. It is corporate owned so we've been really lucky in the fact that we always have new mats and equipment.

The gym is small however and does need to be expanded. The entrance is a nightmare. You literally can not walk through when class is let out. In order to pass somebody has to walk out the door to make room. And as far as the gym is concerned there is only one vault and it lands into a foam (in-ground) pit. So to move from L2-4 they have to arrange the mat in front of the vaulting table. And for L5-7 they have to put a big landing mat on top of the foam pieces. And the lower levels are always getting kicked off the vault by the optional girls. Same with bars. So, the expansion is needed.

As I said previously in the thread it's just the wrong time to start adding all these extra "gym taxes". Especially knowing that the gym has a yearly revenue of 2.5 million.