Help - Cheerleading Uniforms

[Daxx]

Ok, in an earlier post, I mentioned that I'm the new coach for our newly formed Cheer/Pep Squad. I am in need of uniforms ... and the cheaper, the better! I will prob. have the girls do some fundraising to pay for uniforms. They don't have to be fancy ... but I don't want them looking like they came from the Salvation Army Thrift Store, either!

Any advice?! TIA!

 

[LittleMissMickey]

What age girls are you buying the uniforms for? Is there any support from the school for the purchase of them? What kinds of fundraisers are you considering?

Also, do the girls need to have skirts and shells for the first year? I know we sometimes cheered in our practice shorts and tanks (sleeveless polos or something cute) or warm ups (for colder games).

 

[tiggger1]

http://www.discountcheerleading.com

they have some nice uniforms for cheap. Im not sure about your school but we had a uniform fee plus we we had to get our own hair ribbons, socks, shoes and lolipop pants. We had to pay $50 to use the uniform for the season. not sure if that would fly where you are from but you could buy a decent uniform from here. order the right size for the kids on the team and it can be theirs. have them fundraise to raise cash. and then if they want to return the uniform at the end of season re inburse them $25, so you can have some for next year....if not they can keep it... and do the same next year, in a few years you will have enough sizes for the team and you wont have to buy new ones...

 

[tiggger1]

this place here is even cheaper
http://cheerdeals.com/stock_uniforms.htm

 

[Daxx]

I don't know if we have uniforms or not ... I don't even know if we've had cheerleaders in the past!!! How sad is that?!

Long story short is our school has a new principal who is totally into school spirit and is all for a cheerleading/pep squad. Our old principal went by the "minimalist" theory (no clubs, only Basketball team, etc.). Since I've only been w/the school for 5 yrs., I don't even know if there was a past cheerleading squad and I'm looking into it now. So, as far as uniforms go, either we don't have any *or* the uniforms are prob. severely outdated!
Figured that while I'm looking into things w/the new principal, I could get a jump start on pricing out new uniforms just in case.

As for money, not sure what the school would be willing to dish out. My guess is that there's not a lot of extra cash for extra things like cheer uniforms. Thus, the less expensive, the better. Am not sure what we'll be doing for a fundraiser for uniforms. Thankfully, we're not in immediate need of uniforms, so we'll be able to fundraise a bit (hopefully) before.

As for charging a "rental fee" for the uniforms, the families in my school are at or a smidge above poverty level and don't have loads of extra pocket money, so more than likely, it'd be small fee that would be returned when the child returns the uniform.

As far as age bracket, we're looking at grades 5-8. We only have a BBall team and are in a cold, winter climate for BBall, so I think we'll need something under the shells?! Don't want my girls to freeze!

 

[Stacerita]

A shell style top and a simple skater skirt might work out well. Skater skirts are pretty cheap and shells aren't that expensive. You mentioned that you are in colder area, wear turtle neck under the shells. And if the shell is really plain, have the turtle neck be a contrasting color. Simple polos can also look nice. I would just make sure I keep it simple and not go over board with stripes, trim or embroidery.

I would also not get any names or years put on the uniforms or just keep the school name. That way they can trade down to new girls or resue them theirselves. It saves to use uniforms for a few years. I would also check out local dance shops. They sometimes carry skater skirts and simple tops.

Fundraising is hard. Easiest thing for that we did for cheerleading was car washes. No need to put money out for that. Its all profit. Doing fundrasing where you sell candy or lollipops stink because you have to put out money to start or if you dont sell it all you are stuck. We did lots of car washes over the years.

Feel free to PM with any questions. I was involved in cheer from the time I was 10 till I was about 24. I cheered in local, high school and college. Plus I coached for many years while in high school and college. And I also did judging at compititions and try outs. So if you have any questions just ask.

 

[Daxx]

I am truly hoping that the school has something as far as uniforms go but am not holding my breath. Even if we have uniforms, w/my luck, only 2 girls will find uniforms that fit and I'd have to get new ones to begin with. Fundraising is really tough in this area, too. I am just thinking of telling them that there's a fee to cover uniforms if you want to cheer. Perhaps it will weed out those who aren't so interested in doing it? Anyway, we have a school theme tray auction coming up and maybe they'll let the cheerleaders could raise funds by have their own basket to fundraise with. I know that they'll be selling tickets for upcoming events (ie: spaghetti dinner) at the theme tray, so why not let the gals join in w/their fundraiser, too?! It's not like it's going to take thousands of dollars away from the other fundraiser!