Does Anyone Know Anything About Gymnastics Sponsorships?

she can still do gymnastics, right? just not the competitions?
that doesn't sound like the end of the world.
my bestie's daughter does gymnastics, and it IS expensive. they're not wealthy at all and have to sacrifice left right and center to get to the competitions. i don't think i'd do it unless i had a kid who was in world class contention. a family has to pick and choose what it's going to prioritize.
khairete
S.

So you want other people to pay for your daughter's activities?

Based on your Wow, do you realize how many girls "compete" in any number of sports at her age that don't even make it to college level let along Olympic level? Businesses do not sponsor individuals at your daughter's age. If she was good enough, like her coach saw something amazing they would be seeking out a sponsor for her rather than lose talent. Is that happening? Probably not. Sorry you can't afford something your daughter loves but that is an issue a lot of parents deal with, breaks your heart but not anyone else's responsibility to pay your way.

I'm sorry but sometimes you just have to do what you can pay for and if that means no gymnastics, so be it. It's not a necessity that your daughter be in competitive gymnastics.

Why should I or anyone else use money we earned to allow your child to do what she wants to do because she wants to do it?

There's lots of things I want to do but I don't do because I have financial priorities.

I'm very familiar with competitive sports and how pricey they are. We were participants in competitive sports and if at any time money was an issue, our daughter knew that she would not participate. It was never a given that she would sign up because it wasn't a need.

There is no "rule" that you have to be on the competitive team. Just do what you can afford to do.

Sometimes you just have to say no, not at this time.

Could she still take gymnastic lessons and just not compete on the team?

There are other leagues besides USAG. You might check with your local rec. center to see if they have a recreational league. That's what we did, mainly because it wasn't as many hours, but it was a lot less money too. Recreational leagues are actually quite competitive, because a lot of usag girls hate all the hours and migrate over...so there is some pretty stiff competition. If you're not going to the Olympics, you don't need to be in USAG.

I don't know but the harsh reality is - sometimes kids can't do things because the family can't afford it.
There are other sports/activities she can do.
If no sponsorship turns up or can help you out then you and your daughter will have to go in a new direction.
Sometimes that's not a bad thing.

A.,

This is tough. Sports are expensive. Unless your daughter is an Olympian to be? It feels like you are asking others to fund your daughters sport. My oldest plays LaCrosse. Expensive. Fees for the travel team are $650 per season and then tournaments are anywhere from $1K to $3k. Camps are just as expensive.

Are you asking for someone to sponsor your daughter or her team?

You need to go around your new town and possibly outside your town to see if they will sponsor her and/or her team.

You can do a "go fund me" account and post it on facebook.
You can do a yard sale and bake sale to get money - might not be the amount you are looking for but every penny helps, right?

If you can't do that? You need to sit back and look at your finances and see what you can cut and where - or if you can get a loan.

I have friends who have kids in gymnastics, and others who don't have their kids in programs that are overpriced and prohibitive. I've never heard of any program to sponsor a young child - people and organizations just don't set aside funds to pay for other people's kids. Unless your gymnastic program has scholarships (funded through fundraisers), which it sounds like they do not, I'd say that you're out of luck. These places know exactly how it is for families like yours - they make monthly payments that are manageable (if barely), and hope you'll be so loyal when the competition entry costs, costumes, etc. add up that you'll be too embarrassed or too hooked to fight.

I think you have to find something your child can enjoy that you can afford without breaking the bank or cutting into her college savings. I think it's a shame that you're already at the point of it "breaking your heart" - that's way too much emotional investment for an 8 year old. Do look beyond your gymnastics mindset to find the things that everyone else is doing because they can't afford the gymnastics either. Your daughter is young and has just been through a move, so she's making new friends anyway. There are plenty of terrific kids in the after-school robotics club or the town recreation department soccer club. Let your daughter find new interests, expand her horizons, and meet some new kids at the same time. It's okay that kids learn early on that they cannot do everything, that parents have to pay for the mortgage and the insurance and the groceries as well as set aside college and retirement money. Learning to save and to budget means learning to say no to what she wants right now, and that's a great lesson to start with her now.

I guess you could ask around town. Maybe if she had someone's logo on her leotard... Or maybe a Gofundme or something, although I don't know why anyone would want to support someone else's kid's sport. Is gymnastics really that expensive these days? It wasn't that bad when I was doing it. Maybe there's another gymnastics place in town?

Other than that, sometimes sports are just too expensive. My daughter could have possibly become a competitive ice skater, but I knew we couldn't afford it, so when my very athletic daughter asked to start ice skating I had to tell her no.

ETA, what's wrong with a rec league, as deedee suggests?

It sounds like the easiest way to start would be to look for "family sponsors". Think about how much money each of your relatives spends on a Christmas/holiday/birthday gift for your daughter - would it help if those "gifts" were gymnastics money instead of actual gifts?

At 8, your daughter is probably able to understand concepts related to buying one thing instead of another thing. If gymnastics is "what she loves", maybe a few years of her birthday/holiday gifts being entirely focused on money towards gymnastics would not be a bad idea.

Well if you "know" there are businesses and people that sponsor gymnasts then why are you asking here? My daughter was a part of two very successful competitive gyms and I personally never heard of such a thing (though it wasn't uncommon for one or both parents to work two jobs to support this very expensive sport.)

call a few business in the area and see if any have sponsored or would be willing to sponsor, worst answer you will get is a "no"

My 8 year old daughter is competitive so I know just how expensive and time consuming it is. Does the gym offer fundraising? It helps a lot! That and ask the gym what you can do ...I haven't done this but I've heard gyms will sometimes knock money off if you clean once a month or so other odd & end jobs.

People can be jerks. They probably haven't ever had to choose one thing over the other because they couldn't afford to do both. Sad.

I'd say you will have to just get a phone book from the local Chamber of Commerce and start going down the yellow pages starting with A.

I would also call all the local places the kids go to compete. The hosts. I found a couple of places that know everyone that has scholarships. Our kids get scholarships for all sorts of stuff. Soccer, football, tumbling, cheer, and more.

I am just curious how much it is. I know where I live things are inflated due to high rents for the studios or gym warehouse. Is it $500 a month or $2000 a month for gymnastics in your town (I really do not know.)? If it is lower, can she do fundraisers?

I know my kids are priced out for many activities even though they have a natural ability, because I can not afford it. Some moms have taken on a job or second job to pay for these expensive activities.

You are right there are sponsors, but I am not sure why they would sponsor an 8 year old unless she has a big youtube (or similar) following. The sponsors usually give money to get money.

Does you gym have ideas? She is so young that if the goal is to get a college scholarship (obviously no guarantee she will get one) they may say she could take more hours and not be on team (traveling/uniforms) until she is older. I do not know if this is something they would say, but a local coach you have a relationship with may be able to give you local advice. From experience I have seen the highest paying students get the most attention from owners of gyms. I know it might sound unfair, but I can see why an owner would want to pay attention to someone paying $2k a month vs $500 a month. I am not saying this to hurt your feelings, rather to relate.