Pay to Play high school sports - what does that fee cover?

[KrisM]

Our high school is not pay to play and they are always promoting that as a great thing. DS1 is a freshman and will try out for the bowling team. It has a total cost of $225, but there are fundraisers to help cover that. The kids are bused to away matches (6), the lane fees are covered, and they get uniform shirts. As far as I know that is the only cost, other than personal equipment.

I don't know what any other sport has for fees. Marching band cost us about $300 for 4 nights at camp and the uniform shoes and cleaning deposit.

I know a lot of schools are pay-to-play with a general fee of $300 or so (around here) for the entire school year, but I'm not sure if that means it covers all the costs of the sports or if there are still extras. I'm just curious if pay-to-play ends up costing more or less overall.

[SnuggleBuggles]

It's not a thing at our school. Never heard of it, in fact. Our school district is very financially diverse and a great proportion are not financially secure- so many kids qualify for free/ reduced lunch that everyone gets free lunch (and breakfast and dinner). So, that would never fly. Kids are given everything they need to participate in activities and sports. If there are extras, like shoes for marching band, they will work with you on that. For swim team, we hold a concession stand and that pays for a variety of things like banquet and team gifts but the school pays for uniforms, busing, officials and everything else needed.

Trips are extra and they do provide many fundraisers to help cover those so all kids can come. A portion of all proceeds from fundraisers, concession sales and others (10%) goes into the general fund for our marching band. Trip fees are covered out of that for kids who need extra help.

[JustMe]

Dd is just starting her first high school sport; swim. I guess we fall under the pay to play category, but not sure, given the fee? It is $185, and I still needed to buy a bathing suit for practice, goggles, and the school logo bathing suit for meets. She will be bused one way to meets (all relatively local), but I pick up. For free and reduced lunch, the fee is reduced to $50 and it says to contact the coach if there is difficulty paying for the school logo suit. Also, swim lasts about 3 months.

Although its not a sport, she also does band and they take a big trip every 2 years, and also travel with sport teams when/if they go to championships or playoffs, which they are. I don't have to pay anything for the championship/playoffs, but will pay for the trip; there is supposedly fundraising and we'll see how that goes.

[candaceb]

In Ann Arbor, it's $265 per student for "pay to participate" (I guess someone got mad when their kid never actually played in a game?). $15 for club sports.
https://www.a2schools.org/Page/8079

[KrisM]

In Ann Arbor, it's $265 per student for "pay to participate" (I guess someone got mad when their kid never actually played in a game?). $15 for club sports.
https://www.a2schools.org/Page/8079

Is that the entire fee then? All other things are covered? I"m thinking it's a wash for us. I'm going to pay fees, it's just not labeled as "pay to participate", which what I think most are called.

[KrisM]

It's not a thing at our school. Never heard of it, in fact. Our school district is very financially diverse and a great proportion are not financially secure- so many kids qualify for free/ reduced lunch that everyone gets free lunch (and breakfast and dinner). So, that would never fly. Kids are given everything they need to participate in activities and sports. If there are extras, like shoes for marching band, they will work with you on that. For swim team, we hold a concession stand and that pays for a variety of things like banquet and team gifts but the school pays for uniforms, busing, officials and everything else needed.

Trips are extra and they do provide many fundraisers to help cover those so all kids can come. A portion of all proceeds from fundraisers, concession sales and others (10%) goes into the general fund for our marching band. Trip fees are covered out of that for kids who need extra help.

Free or reduced lunch have lower or no fees, too.

It sounds like your school is pretty great! Our trips for band are extra too. NYC is in April and about $1100/kid. DS1 chose not to go.

[carolinacool]

Our school district started this last school. Athletes in middle and high school are charged a $45 fee per year, and it's per year, not per sport. According to the website, it helps cover the costs of athletic supplies, transportation, insurance, coaching supplements and more.

You can fill out a form to have the fee waived. I assumed if a kid qualifies for free/reduced lunch, this is probably waived.

[squimp]

We had a $100 fee for high school volleyball, it included the jersey. 36 kids on 3 teams, so only $3600. You buy your own shoes, spandex, knee pads. They had nice buses and coaches are paid, so clearly the school pays for a chunk of the costs. There might be a way to get reduced fees but not sure how that works.

It is not called "pay-to-play" here but all HS sports have fees. Club sport costs are an order of magnitude more, so HS seems like a bargain comparatively.

[RedSuedeShoes]

It's $200 here. My son ran cross country, so for him it included uniform and bus transportation to/from all meets. I don't know if the coaches make anything or not, but there were a bunch of coaches. About 150 kids on the XC team each year. But it's the same fee for other sports as well.

[belovedgandp]

There's not an across the board fee for the year, but nothing is really free. Just our freshman year and we haven't done a sport season.

Marching band was $350 as a freshman (I think it will only be $250 next year assuming his shoes still fit).

Each theater production is about $50 - but not required - the items are itemized out as show shirt, before show meals, and suggested donation for the "free" parent night. Plus tickets for additional performances.

So far every activity has made it clear there are fundraising opportunities where funds can be directed to a student specific account. As well as reduced fees for those in need. We have the means and I do not have the patience for most of the fundraisers. So I write checks and donate items as asked.

[mom2binsd]

For swim team it was 85.00, we're on reduced so half that. We also have to buy a team suit 65.00 and caps, 10.00. Also once per season each family provides breakfast for the whole team (37 swimmers), which cost about 150.00 for breakfast pizza, drinks, granola bars, fruit. I've heard cheerleadibg is 500.00 or more.

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[lovin2shop]

This has been a big local issue lately. Our district did not have pay to play, but our district is one of the fastest growing in the nation. We failed to pass a tax ratification election to increase funding two years ago and the district had to enact cost saving measures. One of the big ones was pay to play. People were quite upset because all of the fees that schools charging were more than what most people would have paid in increased taxes. Fortunately, in the election last week a tax increase for the schools was passed, so it will be interesting to see if they reduce the fees.

One thing that came to light in this process is that the fine arts programs have always had high fees. Band fees are as much as $1,000 per student, while sports are now $200ish. I hope that if they don’t take away the fees, they at least equalize them.


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[willow33]

It's $200 per sport here from 7-12 grade with a $550 total family maximum per school year. We already hit $400 for both my boys to play on their school soccer teams and I just paid the remaining $150 for DS1 for winter track. Spring track for him will have no cost since we hit the max. Unfortunately DS2 plays lacrosse in the spring, but because it's not a school sport (town sport through 8th grade) we have to pay out of pocket for it. It definitely gets expensive, but I do love how active they are all year!

There are no extra fees here. The $200 per sport covers buses, uniforms, refs, coaching salaries, etc...

[KrisM]

From this and talking to others, I think a pay-to-play sounds a little better if you do a couple sports.

We also have robotics and that's pricey, but is mostly travel costs, I think. High school is eating up our budget!

[carolinacool]

One thing that came to light in this process is that the fine arts programs have always had high fees. Band fees are as much as $1,000 per student, while sports are now $200ish. I hope that if they don’t take away the fees, they at least equalize them.


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That was the argument made here. Nearly all the other extracurriculars require some sort of fee or at least fundraising. You don’t ever see the school-sponsored football team or basketball team holding car washes or selling entertainment books for $25 a pop. Yes, people do pay to come watch them play, but admission fees are pretty minimal around here.

[jenmcadams]

In our large suburban school district (outside of Denver), all high school sports have a fee of $175 per season. I've only had one in high school at a time so far, and while there are fee waivers, I haven't heard of any caps (either per family or per athlete). Last year my DD played 4 HS sports (3 Varsity), so we paid $700 in basic participation fees alone. Depending on the sport, the sports fee might cover uniforms, but generally just helps offset facilities, small coach salaries, insurance, some transportation (although for many games, we have to drive our own kids until they can drive), and officials. For most sports, your "optional" spirit pack (sweats, gear outside of basic uniform, etc.) is extra and can run $75-100 and then there are booster fees (from $100-200). For XC/Track/Soccer, these help pay entry fees (which are super expensive for every XC Invitational and/or tournament), pay for Gatorade/snack at practice/events, and help pay for awards, etc. For Swimming, the booster fees help pay for pool fees and special meet entries. We do some fundraisers to offset costs and there are options for those who can't afford the fees, but it's not cheap. If your kiddo does club sports too (mine swims year round), HS is a bargain in comparison, but the totals are significant.

[trales]

For us the cost really depends on the sport. Every sport has a $85 fee. IF you do something like wresting, the school gives you the uniform, you buy shoes and you are all set for $85. My middle schooler in on the nordic ski team. I paid $85 and then had to buy $500 worth of equipment, $150 worth of clothes and pay for passes at the races. I will provide all food and transportation for my kid to the 6 weekend races. The 6 after school races are transported by the school. The downhill race team also pays a $85 fee and a friend told me she spent $2500 last year on it. Ski jumping starts in HS, I think that will cost me around $1500.

That being said, it is still a bargain, and we would own the ski equipment anyway, and DD2 will use it all in 7 years.

[smilequeen]

My son only plays hockey right now. Middle school hockey was $416. IDK what HS will be next year, but it will be quite a bit more. That would be the same for private school (his) or public. Same league. Pays for ice time, refs, uniforms.

[candaceb]

I have an update to my previous post about Ann Arbor... I was at a meeting tonight where I learned that in addition to the "pay to play" fee, there are team fees of $150-$1500! Hockey is the $1500.

[KrisM]

I have an update to my previous post about Ann Arbor... I was at a meeting tonight where I learned that in addition to the "pay to play" fee, there are team fees of $150-$1500! Hockey is the $1500.

Ouch!

I guess that doesn't surprise me completely.

[mom2binsd]

I have an update to my previous post about Ann Arbor... I was at a meeting tonight where I learned that in addition to the "pay to play" fee, there are team fees of $150-$1500! Hockey is the $1500.Travel hockey runs about 2500 at a minimum a year so I'd be thrilled with 1500!!!

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