Do you pay for gymnastics or cheerleading clubs 52 weeks per year?

[justplus4]

Hi, is this the same around the country? The local gym classes and cheerleading classes round here insist on you paying them for 52 weeks per year regardless of school holidays or illness (includes 6week summer hols). I have two young girls age 5 and 6 who will simply need a break (not to mention my break from driving there and watching every single week). Surely they are encouragaing kids to get fed up of going more quickly. Do people simple stop and rejoin again after a break? I'm told if I do this I might not get back in, and I'm also told they have 'bills to pay'....me too, and I need the money in holiday times for other treats! www.mumsnet.com/te/11.gif

Is this the same everywhere?

My dd1 goes to gymnastics. It stops for Easter, Summer & Christmas holidays, but goes through half term holidays .... I thought that was bad enough!! Seems quite odd to go on all year - don't the teachers want a break!?

I run drama classes and we stop for easter, summer and xmas though do run through half term. However I do offer the option of paying in 12 equal monthly installments rather than 3 installments per term.

Ds's taekwondo however runs all through the year except xmas week. Often there is a comp or a grading comeing up so stopping at that time would be detrimental his teacher feels.

My DDs do gymnastics and their club operates for 50 weeks of the year. They do competitive gymnastics, but I was once told (forget by whom) that if they don't do it for more than 2 weeks, they start to lose some flexibility. But, this wouldn't be an issue particularly if your child is not doing it competitively. But that is one of the arguments given for having year round classes (whether that is true or not, I have no idea - but it is what u was told )

DS taekwondo is 52 weeks a year - we pay for so many lesseons a month so you fit them in when you can and you can carry them over.

Swimming is 50 weeks a year. Gymnastics and trampolining was term time, they tried to make it 50 weeks and have just gone back to term time only.

Ballet is 40 weeks

Thank you everyone very much for your responses.
My two boys goes to football and rugby respectively for the enjoyment, they get the main holiday breaks plus of course all summer off at end of season so at those points I don't pay and we can do other things. By the time each break has finished they are desperate to go back and get in amongst it - (just like school). The break gives them chance to miss it and really love the sport. (I'm not trying to produce world class athletes).

I'd like the same for my girls without having to skip lessons I've been made to pay for. Whats wrong with a normal healthy level of competition introducing some committment to them without lifelong all year through dedication to 'be the best you can be', honestly. I just want my kids to enjoy it.

Thanks for listening and to anyone with influence out there please come on...adjust your pricing and encourage breaks - they are just kids!

I pay 48 weeks for both gymnastics and swimming but they are actually on for 48 weeks. If they were on for 52 weeks I would expect to pay for 52 weeks regardless of whether my children were ill/on holiday/wanted a week off. The clubs do have 'bills to pay'. I wouldn't expect to be charged for 52 weeks if they weren't actually running for 52 weeks and , like another poster, I pay 12 equal payments rather than paying less over Christmas/Easter/summer when they have time off.

I agree with you about breaks. I don't mind the the taekwondo because we can adjust attendance, and its really flexible. Swimming, and trampolining really annoy m. This is partly because they are also so busy with waiting lists that you can't just dip out for a while.

"...adjust your pricing and encourage breaks"

I don't think this is going to happen for gymnastics. Most good clubs have waiting lists, so if you don't want to pay for your place, someone else will have it.

Also the cost of the premisses and equipment is immense, and it's not cost effective to have it standing idle for school holidays.

We always paid quarterly for gymnastics, and you just have to accept that their will be times (holidays, illness, car breaks down etc) where you will not be able to go, and factor it into the cost.

We pay 51 weeks of the year for gym, week off for Christmas! Swimming is 48 weeks, Rainbows is term time only. My dd quite likes to do these things in the holidays as well so it works fine for us. A few people do take the risk of missing the summer 10 weeks at gym but they don't always get their place back.

Also, we are lucky at gym, if we miss a session, through holiday or illness we can make it up at another time during the 10 week 'term'.

Some things my dc have done are term time, and some are all year round (usually a couple of weeks off at Christmas). I actually like the balance. When my hyperactive ds didn't have some structured activity in the holidays, his behaviour deteriorated a LOT - we ALL appreciated the fact that swimming kept going .
At the end of the day though, the club has it's costs for the year, and can divide them up any way they like - so at dd2's cubs for example we pay £8 per month for 11 months of the year (not August).... sometimes that means it's due in the Easter holidays or something, but, because everyone is putting in the same each month, then there are no extras. At dd1's Scouts however, the operate a 'Pay £2 when you turn up' system. This means there is not enough money in the pot when they have to pay their annual membership, so you get a bill for nearly £30 per child on top of the weekly subs. The children who turn up each week are subsidising the ones who drop in and out ~ not sure that's fair.

Thing being, the rent is due, and possibly staff to be paid (at gym, not Scouts) whether you turn up or not. If you prefer things to be on a 'pay per go' system, then the weekly amount will have to be higher to allow for the fact that the overheads need to be paid on weeks when there are not many there. Ultimately, the "customers" have to cover the "bills"

Recreational Gym: About 42 weeks a year, the breaks seem to come at almost any time, but especially summer & Xmas hols. The club has a competitive branch that misses fewer sessions.

Swimming is 50 weeks/yr & they seem to miss a lot of lessons anyway just because of illness, injury, parties or other conflicts that pop up.

Competitive gym here is open 51 weeks and we pay monthly. Ours has world-class gymnasts training alongside grass-roots and so has bills to pay year round and also there is the flexibility issue. If they had six weeks off they wouldn't be able to move when the got back! The rec classes are term time only though.

Gym about 46 weeks a year, we got one week off at Easter, we get August off and a bit at Xmas. Swimming runs all year except a couple at Xmas, ballet term time minus a bit if the teacher wants a slightly cheaper holiday, likewise piano lesons.