Parenting a competitive gymnast is a great responsibility,
which sometimes becomes is a financial challenge for the family. Parents, who
want their child to participate in rhythmic gymnastics competitions, are
curious about the costs of raising a competitive gymnast. To help parents evaluate
future costs, IK School of Rhythmic Gymnastics in Miami offers the assessment
of cost in this blog post.
So, how much does it cost to raise a competitive
gymnast in Florida? Mostly, it depends on a gymnast’s level. For families who have
kids doing rhythmic gymnastics, there are two primary costs: tuition fees and the cost of competitions.
Selecting a
Gym
The first thing you should do to enroll your
child in competitive rhythmic gymnastics program is to choose a coach and a gymnastics
school. There are some important things about the gymnastics school for a
competitive gymnast. To register gymnasts for a competition, a school must be a
member of USA Gymnastics (USAG) – the national governing body for gymnastics in the
United States. By September 2015 there were 128 clubs registered as members of USAG, including
11 rhythmic gymnastics school in Florida.
Another important thing is the equipment of the gym.
Proper training facility includes rhythmic gymnastics floor area, high ceilings, and
ballet bars.Finding a great coach is also very important, because
coaches become role models for competitive gymnasts, since they spend a lot of
time together, both working hard to succeed, celebrating new victories and
achievements and overcoming failures.
Estimated expenses –
$4225 – $9150 per year:
- Annual membership fee is $50 – $70, depending on school location and repute.
- Tuition fee typically depends on gymnast’s level and weekly amount of workouts. Beginners usually have 3 training sessions per week, lasting 1 – 1 ½ hour. As gymnasts move up into higher levels, they spend more and more time in the gym. Depending on the school, gymnasts of highest levels spend up to 6 days a week in the gym, training 3 hours a day and more. Accordingly, monthly tuition fees start from $160 for beginners, and reach $550 – $600 for gymnasts of highest competitive levels that make $1440 – $5400 for the school year.
- Gymnastics summer camp costs $180 – $230 per week. Gymnastics camps start in June, after the school is over and last 10 – 11 weeks, until the beginning of the new school year. So, if your child is intended to participate in all sessions, total summer camp costs would amount to $1980 – $2530 for 11 sessions. Having more hours for training during the camp time, coaches can focus on the balanced development of all muscle groups and introduce new tricks to gymnasts.
- Uniform fee is $25 – $50, if a school requires gymnasts to wear a certain kind of clothing during workouts.
- Performance leotard – $250 – $450. The final price of a leotard depends on design and brand, or the level of complexity and the quality and quantity of crystals in case of buying handmade leotards. To optimize costs, parents of rhythmic gymnasts often buy used leotards and sell them after the competitive season is over.
- Apparatus – $245 – $395, includes $50 – $100 a ball, $20 – $55 a rope, $60 – $90 a ribbon, $35 – $60 a hoop, $80 – $90 clubs. Parents typically have to buy new apparatus each year, as the child grows. If your buy used apparatus mostly available in gymnastic schools, you can cut apparatus expenses up to 30 – 50%.
- Additional equipment – $180 – $200, including 4 therabands, $5 each; $5 – $10 wrist & ankle weights’ 6 – 7 gym shoes, $25 each.
- USAG annual registration fee for competitive gymnasts is $55. Each autumn USA Gymnastics members register their athletes, who are intended to take part in rhythmic gymnastics competitions at USAG.
Taking Part in
Competitions
For competitive gymnasts a year starts with Rhythmic Invitational
Competitions, which are organized by gymnastics clubs across the USA. Invitational
competitions are a kind of review of a gymnast’s skills and are mandatory for
further participation in state, regional and national rhythmic gymnastics
competitions. A gymnast can take part in more than one invitational competition
during the season, so those who can afford participating in several
invitational competitions have an opportunity to get valued experience and
improve their public performance.
Gymnasts in USA are responsible for their own travel
cost to all competitions. Entry fees may vary depending on the level, location
and the number of days a competition lasts. For example, entry fees for
participation in the 2016 Las Vegas International Invitational vary from $80 for Level
3 to $145 for Level 10. Parents of gymnasts are also responsible for the
coaches’ travel, meal and hotel expenses. These expenses are usually divided
among all the athletes registered for the event.
Estimated expenses are $700
– $1600 per event, depending on a gymnast’s level and the number of days
the event lasts (mostly 1 or 2 days):
- Competition entry fees depend on the host of competitions – from $60 – $80 for Level 3 athletes up to $140 – $150 for Level 9/10 athletes. All entry fees are non-refundable.
- Travel costs depend on many factors, including the distance to be traveled, way of traveling, event location, the number of days, a competition lasts. Starting from Level 5, rhythmic gymnasts mostly compete for 2 days. The approximate travel cost for a two-day competition is $770 – $1300 (for a gymnast and the accompanying person), including $400 – $600 for plane tickets, $200 – $300 hotel expenses, meals $100 – $200, car rental $70 – $200.
- Admission to the competition facility for an accompanying person is $12 – $20.00 adult/day.
- Coaches’ compensation fees are $20 – $150, depending on the location, number of days a competition lasts, number of school gymnasts participating in competitions, number of accompanying coaches.
The process of progression to a National Competition requires
a certain amount of meets to be attended, depending on the gymnast’s level. You
can find general information about required meets and championships for each
level in our previous article. Level 3 gymnasts
attend at least 2 competitions per year, athletes from 4 to 8 Levels are
required to attend 4 meets per year, and levels 9 and 10 have to attend up to 5
events. Accordingly, the estimated cost of participation in competitions is
from $1400 per Level 3 gymnast up to
$8000 per Level 9 and 10 athletes.
Going Further
For top-performing rhythmic gymnasts USAG offers
additional opportunities of developing athlete technique and physical
preparation through organization of training camps. Among them are Rhythmic Youth Elite Squad camps (Early Spring, Late
Spring, Fall), Rhythmic Youth Squad camp (fall), Future Stars camp. All these camps are by invitation only.
Estimated expenses are
$645 – $705 for 5 – 6 days of training:
- Entry fee is $525 – $535. The fee covers meals, accommodations, transportation, and training.
- Travel costs $120 – $170 for airplane tickets.
Why choose IK
Gymnastics?
IK School of Rhythmic Gymnastics is a place for both recreational and competitive gymnasts to receive
highly professional training and improve physical development. IK is a place
where the best gymnastics coaches in Miami make every effort to create the best
rhythmic gymnastics experience for your child. We create young champions in a
positive atmosphere that enhances self-esteem and confidence.
Our award-winning
Competitive Rhythmic Gymnastics Program is designed for those girls, who want
to participate in competitions. We offer rhythmic gymnastics classes for Levels
3-10, including ballet training. IK School of Rhythmic Gymnastics provides our
gymnasts with proper training facilities, such as rhythmic gymnastics floor
area, high ceilings, and ballet bars. IK Gymnastics competitive program
includes floor training and exercises with ball, rope, ribbon, hoop, and clubs.
We invite you to visit our rhythmic gymnastics school
facility in sunny and vibrant Miami! Our rhythmic gymnastics school is
conveniently located in North Miami, a 10-minute drive from Aventura, Sunny
Isles Beach, Bal Harbour. Visit www.ikgymnastics.com
for schedule and details.
More info:
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