Any parents of competitive cheerleaders?

[Minnie824]

I have a question. We're new this year to the competitive cheerleading, and starting to plan our first out of town competition. Well, the place we cheer thru has reserved rooms at a hotel. Some of the team members didn't really like the hotel and went on our own to stay at a nicer place. Well now, we come to find out theyre telling us we HAVE to stay at this other hotel, we're obligated to. Note, the competition is NOT at this other hotel. Has anyone had an experience with this before? Do we really have to stay at the hotel they blocked, and why are we obligated to? Like I said this is new to me, so if this is common, ok. Otherwise, I don't really want to have to stay at the not so nice hotel. Thanks for any info.

 

[kidzmom3]

in our gym it is required that everyone stay together. This is to not only promote team feeling, but also be sure that everyone is on time, in full uniform, hair and makeup done correctly.

 

[barkley]

might be that they had to guarantee so many rooms to get a certain rate OR someone making the arrangements only gets their room comp'd if they bring in so many sold out rooms (when i did sales at a hotel it was'nt uncommon for the organizers of group bookings to either get a room comp'd or we bundled in the cost of their room to the rates for the other rooms, so those 20 other roomers were essentialy paying for them).

i'm guessing whoever made the group resie is the one obligated, and unless your contract (with the organization or buisness) requires you to stay at their chosen location you have the right to stay elsewhere (what would happen if someone could stay free at a friends or family members-would the group still make them cough up for a hotel room?).

 

[Jennasis]

Every team competition I have ever been a part of required the team members to stay in the same hotel. If anyone had even suggested they were "going someplacce nicer/better" the coach would likely have booted them from the team. It's called a TEAM competition for a reason. You do everything together...eat, sleep, practice etc.

 

[Mom21]

My .02 worth. As the mom of a competitive athlete (has done gymnastics, cheer, now trmp/tumbling), we have been required to stay in the hotel at some (cheer being the main one). However I spoke with the owner and was able to book on my own. I told her I wanted to use points as I couldn't afford it otherwise. Usually a Marriott. I used my points, earned my own points, etc. Another bonus is that if we booked with the group we were on a hall with them. Can you say loud and not pleasant--slammong doors--laughing--you know, normal stuff?! So by booking on my own, we were usually not near them (I requested away from cheerleaders and hotel didn't know I was with them). My dd was able to be with her friends in the evenings; we attended the meetings and practices in the hotel; she had fun until bedtime; however, we had a quiet night sleep and I got the reward points on my own card.

Edited to add: My dd was in a huge gym so the few times I decided to stay in another hotel, no one knew (don't ask; don't tell). I did always have my dd there for the evening activities. She was just as much a part of the team as if we had stayed in the same hotel.

 

[donnajon]

Our gym doesn't care as long as you show up for the team meetings when you are supposed to. We are going to Cheersport in Atlanta and my sister and I booked another hotel that is half the cost because of using her Hilton rewards. It is just as close to the venue but in the opposite direction. The coach said as long as we showed up for the team meetings, she didn't care. What does it matter where you stay as long as you are where you need to be for the competition?

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

Our swim team blocks rooms but we are able to stay wherever we choose.

 

[Teacher03]

Every team competition I have ever been a part of required the team members to stay in the same hotel. If anyone had even suggested they were "going someplacce nicer/better" the coach would likely have booted them from the team. It's called a TEAM competition for a reason. You do everything together...eat, sleep, practice etc.

This is ridiculous IMHO. My daughter was involved with competition either with dance or cheerleading for over 13 years, and the studio she danced with tried this. Not because of team unity, but because the owner got her room for free if so many stayed at the chosen hotel. My money, my daugther, my choice. If I didn't mind staying at the chosen hotel, I would. Sometimes I needed something cheaper, sometimes I wanted something nicer. My daughter didn't mind, and soon others felt the same way. When she switched to strictly cheerleading, her coach didn't care where you stayed as long as you were where you were supposed to be. We were all capable moms and could do our daughter's hair, be on time, etc.

Once again, JMHO.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My guess is that they are not going to get a group rate if all of you don't stay there.

As far as what you do, don't know what to tell you but I probably would not make a big deal out of it since you are new to cheer.

Not saying it is right but staying together for the first thing might be a good eye opener for you.

 

[mhsjax]

Every team competition I have ever been a part of required the team members to stay in the same hotel. If anyone had even suggested they were "going someplacce nicer/better" the coach would likely have booted them from the team. It's called a TEAM competition for a reason. You do everything together...eat, sleep, practice etc.

We pretty much stay together, but we have never had a problem with the hotels either so I don't know if it would be a problem, I suspect it would be. However, that is as far as it goes. Once the practice is over we are free to come and go and eat where and with whomever we choose. As long as we are back on time. I wouldn't want to be the one who was late(if you know what I mean. lol).

 

[Jennasis]

This is ridiculous IMHO. My daughter was involved with competition either with dance or cheerleading for over 13 years, and the studio she danced with tried this. Not because of team unity, but because the owner got her room for free if so many stayed at the chosen hotel. My money, my daugther, my choice. If I didn't mind staying at the chosen hotel, I would. Sometimes I needed something cheaper, sometimes I wanted something nicer. My daughter didn't mind, and soon others felt the same way. When she switched to strictly cheerleading, her coach didn't care where you stayed as long as you were where you were supposed to be. We were all capable moms and could do our daughter's hair, be on time, etc.

Once again, JMHO.

Some of the best memories/stories I have are about the wacky hotels we stayed in during competitions. The one where the water ran brown and cold. The one that had the biker convention going on at the same time. The one where the only channels that worked on the tv were Telemundo.

For the OP, you'll jusst have to go with whatever the rules of the gym/your team are. As you can see, there is no universally accepted truth. FWIW, I called up my friend who coaches a cheerleading team and asked her. She said that she requires the team to stay together (she always looks for a hotel that is both nice and affordable). I asked if anyone has ever tried to book elsewhere and she mentioned one mom who wanted to do it. Grandparents and such were coming along to the competition and they wanted to stay at some other place (Four Seasons, etc...) and the mom wanted the kid to be able to spend time with grandma. Coach said "absolutely no".

However, she knows plenty of other coaches/teams who allow seperate accomodations and one team that actually makes the team find their own accomodations altogether.

 

[Teacher03]

Some of the best memories/stories I have are about the wacky hotels we stayed in during competitions. The one where the water ran brown and cold. The one that had the biker convention going on at the same time. The one where the only channels that worked on the tv were Telemundo.

For the OP, you'll jusst have to go with whatever the rules of the gym/your team are. As you can see, there is no universally accepted truth. FWIW, I called up my friend who coaches a cheerleading team and asked her. She said that she requires the team to stay together (she always looks for a hotel that is both nice and affordable). I asked if anyone has ever tried to book elsewhere and she mentioned one mom who wanted to do it. Grandparents and such were coming along to the competition and they wanted to stay at some other place (Four Seasons, etc...) and the mom wanted the kid to be able to spend time with grandma. Coach said "absolutely no".

However, she knows plenty of other coaches/teams who allow seperate accomodations and one team that actually makes the team find their own accomodations altogether.

ITA, we do have great memories of staying all together. I just resented being told we HAD to stay together. Sometimes dance competitions nationals lasted one week and it was often had to be used as our family vacation, so we wanted to stay where we wanted for whatever reason. Our director was not happy about it, but she accepted it. Plus she nickeled and dimed us to death, and we knew what she really wanted was the free room. But wherever we stayed, we usually had other families with us, so it was fun!

 

[jrmasm]

Not cheer but at soccer tournaments the teams are frequently required to book through a specific travel agency as a condition of going to the tournament. That means everyone stays together in the hotel the travel agency assigns your team. Check the rules of the competition.

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

My daughters both starting competing competatively last year. That was actually the first year they started competative cheering. I am a single mom on a tight budget so I asked if they needed someone to do the hotel booking. I felt that if I could be the one in charge, i could pick the best hotel value. I was able to block off rooms, but there was no amount of rooms required to get the best deal. The cheer coor and her assistant opted for a suite and so didn't a few other moms. Our first competition was only an hour and a half away so some of them opted to drive up that day. It has never been required to stay at the hotel. Most parents know that i really look for the best value.
One thing on staying together, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is dressed and ready to go when they are supposed to. Some parents ( I say parents because our girls are between the ages of 8 and 9 and need assdistance gettign ready) do not care about what time the girls have to be ready. They seem to follow their own schedule.

 

[goofy!]

I have a question. We're new this year to the competitive cheerleading, and starting to plan our first out of town competition. Well, the place we cheer thru has reserved rooms at a hotel. Some of the team members didn't really like the hotel and went on our own to stay at a nicer place. Well now, we come to find out theyre telling us we HAVE to stay at this other hotel, we're obligated to. Note, the competition is NOT at this other hotel. Has anyone had an experience with this before? Do we really have to stay at the hotel they blocked, and why are we obligated to? Like I said this is new to me, so if this is common, ok. Otherwise, I don't really want to have to stay at the not so nice hotel. Thanks for any info.

As others have said, all gyms run things differently. At our gym, it is absolutely mandatory that you not only stay at the same hotel, you book through the gym's designated travel agent.

And it really has nothing to do with group rates or free hotel rooms or anything of that sort.

When you sign on at our gym, you agree to being on "cheer time" during a specific time at the competition. That means from say, midnight Thursday to midnight Sunday. You represent the gym while there, so staying together is one way that the gym controls that image. You can say "my child, my decisions" but if (a minority) they get wild together, it will first and foremost reflect badly on the gym. You are part of the team, so you stay as a team.

But mostly, we stay all together because it is pretty intense with all the meetings and extra practices that go on during the day. We usually have about 600 people traveling, so organizing that many people has to be a nightmare for the gym staff.

We usually have a ballroom reserved and it is filled all day with update meetings, as an organizing place to go over to the venue (all our cheerleaders walk or bus together to the venue as a team), and many other things. And not only are you responsible for your own practice and competition times, each team is assigned one or more teams that they are required to go support. So, we are meeting in the ball room and heading over to the venue numerous times of the day. It would be impossible to pull this off if you had to wait for kids to arrive from different hotels all the time.

There are often last minute changes to meeting times, so if you are not in the hotel, it would be a nightmare for the staff to try to contact tons of hotels for the cheerleaders to come over for the meeting. It just makes organization much, much easier for the gym staff.

And back to the gym image thing. Each team is usually in a room block together. The room numbers are assigned by the team and they do know who is in each room. We have very, very strict rules on hotel behavior and respecting the other guests of the hotel. Your coach will do bed checks at 10pm to make sure you are in your room and quiet. And there better not be any complaints about your room Hopefully, you will never find our cheerleaders running down the halls cheering or doing stunts on the front lawns or in the lobby. You represent the gym while you are a guest at the hotel and the competition, so appropriate behavior is expected and strictly enforced.

As a parent, I LOVE it. I love that our coaches are not just focused on winning at any cost and will put sportsmanship and respect over that win. (and we do pretty good at holding our own at national competitions )

It is actually fun to all be together too. It is fun to walk outside and see your fellow teams lining up to go to the venue. It is fun to see fellow teammates walking down the hall and issue the "good lucks." It really makes you feel part of the bigger picture of the gym.

But mostly, it is simple logistics that necessitates keeping all 600 people together.

We have kids going to Cheersport and NCA this year. See you all there!

 

[goofy!]

(what would happen if someone could stay free at a friends or family members-would the group still make them cough up for a hotel room?).

At our gym - wouldn't be allowed. You have a specific time you have to be checked in at the hotel and a specific time you can check out of the hotel. You can visit your relatives (or WDW or any of the sites) before or after those times.

We have plenty of opportunities for fund raising to help defray the costs if needed (bingo, working major league sports concession stands, scripts, etc), so there really shouldn't be any excuses that you can't cough up the money.

I work bingo 2x per month and it completely covers all hotel and travel costs. Not much effort to cover your expenses. So, since there are opportunities to cover your costs, I don't think the gym rules that we all stay together unreasonable at all.

 

[goofy!]

One thing on staying together, it doesn't necessarily mean that everyone is dressed and ready to go when they are supposed to. Some parents ( I say parents because our girls are between the ages of 8 and 9 and need assdistance gettign ready) do not care about what time the girls have to be ready. They seem to follow their own schedule.

It does at our gym

 

[cats mom]

We've been involved with competitive cheer, dance, gymnastics, volleyball and baseball over the years and this is one of those things that varies wildly from team to team.

Any travel team/club should make their expectations clear before anyone ever signs a contract though. In my experience the well run teams that have been around for awhile generally do this. Unfortunately not all teams/coaches are well organized.

Our kids have been on teams that travel together, stay together, and parents are lucky if they get in a brief hello sometime during the competition; to teams where parents are totally responsible for everything travel related and just have to have the kids at the competition at the appointed time. I can deal with either of these extremes, or even something in between, as long as I know going in what's expected. It's the unorganized make it up as we go along nonsense that really bothers me.

Good Luck with your decision OP.

 

[donnajon]

I work bingo 2x per month and it completely covers all hotel and travel costs. Not much effort to cover your expenses. So, since there are opportunities to cover your costs, I don't think the gym rules that we all stay together unreasonable at all.

Can you tell me more about your Bingo fundraiser? How do y'all do this? We are always looking for new fundraisers that don't involve selling junk! We've tried contacting the local sports venue person but she wont take or return our calls. With three kids doing all-stars, I can use all the help I can get!

 

[goofy!]

Can you tell me more about your Bingo fundraiser? How do y'all do this? We are always looking for new fundraisers that don't involve selling junk! We've tried contacting the local sports venue person but she wont take or return our calls. With three kids doing all-stars, I can use all the help I can get!

Three - OUCH!

I also refuse to constantly hit up our friends and neighbors to buy junk because of sports choices our family makes for our kids.

Our parent group runs 2 nights at a local bingo hall. I don't know if this is common in other states, but here, most bingo parlors have non-profits come in and run the games and keep a portion of the proceeds.

We run one weekend night and one weekday night. We do all the labor including running the front office, selling the pickles, working the floor and providing the caller.

In our state, we have to be a non-profit to get a bingo license, so our parent group set up a 501c3.

Each cheerleader that is part of the group has an individual account. Payouts are quarterly and per IRS 501c3 rules the profits are divided equally between all accounts.

Our payouts average between $450 and $1000 per quarter per cheerleader. You have to commit to a full year participation, so you will get 4 quarters of payouts. The year runs from July 1 to June 30th. You work around 27 - 32 sessions a year. The weekend night is two sessions and the weekday night is one session. So, you usually only work 2 nights per month. Not a bad deal really.

You can work in the bingo starting at age 14, so many of the older cheerleaders do some of their own bingo as long as it doesn't interfere with school or practice. Otherwise the parents cover it.

During this economic downturn, payouts have actually gone up. It is thought to be because people are looking for anyway to make extra money and the enticement of winning some is a draw for many.

Unfortunately, there are only so many spots available to do bingo. Last year, the parent club had spots open. This year, they added a few more spots and still had more requests to do bingo than spots were available. However, those that didn't get into the bingo membership could do the NFL football games.