Selkie Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Yes. I think the average for horse boarding runs $350 - $400 a month and many times does not include winter hay or grain. $65.00 an hour for riding lessons, vet bills, hoof trimming, saddles and other tack...equestrian is one of the most expensive for those that do not own their own farm/stables. Even if you own your own land, horses are expensive! There is just no way around it, they are big animals that require a huge amount of food and lots of pricey upkeep. Plus, if you keep them at home, you have to factor in the time and labor that is required to care for them. For us, it is very much worth it, but it can be scary to add up exactly how much we spend on them per year. :ohmy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Competitive climbing was hands down the most expensive sport we did. $250 per month for one child, not including gear and competitions/travel. ... Most things are reasonable until you hit a competitive/travel level. Travel is the budget killer. That is absolutely hilarious, this tomato/tomato comparison. Maybe climbing just seemed so cheap because gymnastics was so, very expensive :p I don't know, though, once we quit team, it was just a monthly gym fee, and she was still a national competitor. Not everyone is part of a team. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 My daughter is in dance and while it is expensive it is not as bad as I thought it would be. The thing about dance is the tuition and recital fees are spelled out up front. Besides shoes and a leotard as needed there aren't other expenses like extensive travel, hotels, gas, food, coaches gifts, team parties, equipment, etc. Dance is close to our house and we are home in time to cook dinner and we don't spend much of anything on all the soft expenses that add up with participation in other activities. Competitive dance is very popular across the country and does involve extra costumes, hotels, gas, team parties, team warm ups, entry fees, make up, hair supplies, conventions, shoes for every style (tap shoes, hip hop shoes, jazz shoes, ballet shoes, pointe shoes). Very few of the dancers I know only take one class, so even without competition, recital costumes, shoes, and tuition can add up pretty fast. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 (edited) From what I personally had experience with for my dc: Equestrian & Irish dance were expensive. Irish dance wasn't expensive at first, but as soon as you start competing, it gets very pricey. (ETA: I knew equestrian would be expensive from the beginning. And, as Selkie points out, you're caring for live animals. I adore animals & totally understand that part -- you are paying a price because you are not only doing a sport but moreso because you're also caring for a living being.) Cheapest overall was tennis. CrossFit was also reasonable, imo. Edited February 5, 2017 by Stacia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachermom2834 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Competitive dance is very popular across the country and does involve extra costumes, hotels, gas, team parties, team warm ups, entry fees, make up, hair supplies, conventions, shoes for every style (tap shoes, hip hop shoes, jazz shoes, ballet shoes, pointe shoes). Very few of the dancers I know only take one class, so even without competition, recital costumes, shoes, and tuition can add up pretty fast. Oh yes. I definitely should have specified that ds is not in competitive dance. I know that is very expensive. My dd does a traditional non-competition studio with three weekly classes and twice a year recitals. Zero competitions or travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swellmomma Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Competitive dance is very popular across the country and does involve extra costumes, hotels, gas, team parties, team warm ups, entry fees, make up, hair supplies, conventions, shoes for every style (tap shoes, hip hop shoes, jazz shoes, ballet shoes, pointe shoes). Very few of the dancers I know only take one class, so even without competition, recital costumes, shoes, and tuition can add up pretty fast. Exactly. My dd17 is in competitive dance. She has 5 dances she is performing in, plus helps teach 2 classes and attends 2 she just recreationally does. They are competing in 4 out of town competitions that require 2-4 nights in hotels etc, plus the year end recital. SHe does not do pointe thankfully, but we have already bought 4 pairs of ballet shoes this year, about to buy the 2nd pair of tap one (out grew her pair from start of year). 5 costumes, 2 pairs of hip hop shoes (one for class one to go with the costume) plus her other shoes (2 colors of jazz, and looking at half soles for her contemporary competition piece). ANd that is just my competitive girl. Multiple pairs of tights and onto her second leotard of the year. dd9 wants to do competitive next year so this year she is in all styles on a recreational level, tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, acro. Only the recital at year end, no competitions, but still that is 5 costumes, 4 different kinds of shoes etc. ds13 was only in 2 things this year, and neither are in the recital. The boys hip hop was cancelled so that was one less thing than last year. So no costumes, only the one outfit and pair of shoes etc. So yes if you do recreational dancing and only do 1-2 styles with just a year end recital it can be okay. If you are at a competitive level and/or dance multiple styles the costs grow exponentially and not just due to more tuition. As well rec classes tuition tends to be lower than comp level, because the rec kids go for their 45 minutes once a week and call it good. with comp level the kids have their normal classes, extra rehearsals, workshops, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edelweiss Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Dance is moderately expensive. Classes and leotards are pretty cheap, but it really ramps up when you start adding in $100 pointe shoes (which last maybe 2 weeks each) and pricey summer intensives. Even so, it is nothing compared to the cost of equestrian sports. Older DD rides and shows competitively. We own 2 horses and the costs are ridiculous. I don't ever want to add up how much it all costs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 (edited) Most expensive for us is 8 man tackle football followed by violin lessons. Cheapest has been anything Upward related: soccer, flag football, and basketball. Edited February 5, 2017 by Heathermomster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzanne115 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Both of my daughters are in competitive dance. It is very expensive at the studio we are at now. This year, we will have 3 weekend trips and one trip for over a week for nationals. The travel costs, convention costs, and costumes really ad up. Our youngest daughter is also in competitive swimming and it is very inexpensive so far. Suzanne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 My kids have played several sports. The most expensive was hockey but baseball wasn't far behind. It was pretty inexpensive when my son was in the rec league but once he got older and was on a tournament team it was a lot more expensive. He didn't even play on team with an insane schedule. He practiced every day and had tournaments Friday through Sunday. They only had a few out of state. The most expensive part was the private lessons and off season training. Ice skating is also expensive and gymnastics once they get past the early rec level. My daughters both danced. Again the early years were inexpensive but once my oldest was en pointe the shoes were very expensive and needed to be replaced very often. Also at that level she was dancing almost daily even though she didn't dance for a competition studio. Most of the rec teams they were on for any sport were pretty inexpensive: Soccer, basketball but they did that when they were younger. When my kids were a bit older the least expensive was bowling and karate. Running (track and cross country) was inexpensive except for getting new shoes quite often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lllll Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 (edited) nm Edited February 10, 2017 by --Kathy-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Only me Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 The biggest costs are usually equipment, facilities, coaching and travel. The lower each of these are in your area or level, the cheaper it is to participate. And vice versa. We have free outdoor ice (at times) in the winter, and used skates and equipment are cheap, so playing hockey could be very low-cost. But if you have to pay for indoor ice time, better equipment, tournament travel and non-volunteer coaches, it quickly becomes rather expensive. That's a good point and really varies by area too. My daughter didn't start playing hockey until 17, which is considered pretty late. She didn't even know how to skate but it was her dream to learn how to play hockey. She had been through a lot medically and we wanted to do this for her. So she had to learn how to skate and take the "learn how to play hockey" class too, which was full of 6-12 year old boys :(. She still needed full equipment but at 5-9 it was hard to find used equipment that wasn't nasty. So we bought the cheapest possible as well as skates but it was still several hundred dollars. It would have been wonderful if we had an outdoor rink that she could have played on instead. Luckily a high school coach saw her in this class every week and invited her to join their team. It was an open team (no tryouts) so she could join. I believe it cost a few thousand dollars. Unfortunately she could only be on there one year since she turned 18. She found a women's 18+ team that was not very competitive. They got a good price on ice times and practiced twice a week and played other teams twice a week. I think we probably payed about $1000 for that season. The next year she found a 19u travel team. We spent a lot more on that team due to ice time, paying for coaches, travel etc and she needed better equipment. It was 50 miles one way to the rink so gas alone for practices was expensive but we don't have that much available for us especially for girls. She went away to college and thought her hockey career would have to end but her college has a club team. They play other colleges and it is still pretty competitive but lower than division 3. Her fees are pretty low since it is school sponsored. It think she pays less than $500 which is incredible since ice costs so much. She goes to a school in Wisconsin. Most of the girls live up in Wisconsin or Minnesota. They had rinks at their high school and many in their neighborhood ponds etc. They learned to play as soon as they could walk. It was very inexpensive to learn that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Ice hockey and figure skating are rather expensive in the South. And forget about skiing!! of course skiing is my son's favorite thing. He gets to go every other year. My other daughter really liked surfing while in Hawaii - glad she has that memory! Because it is not going to happen - living 5 hours away from an ocean. We started a running club for middle school kids - just a good pair of running shoes and entry fees to 5K's - nice and cheap. Upwards is cheap and fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennyD Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 (edited) Instrument lessons at the university music school are absurdly expensive. But my kids play soccer in an league that is mostly the children of immigrants from Central and South America, and that is very reasonably priced. (Plus. bonus, all of the crazy parent yelling is in Spanish, which I don't really understand and can totally tune out.) Edited February 6, 2017 by JennyD 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Expensive: + music, especially harp (*especially* harp), and in general, serious music study of any sort that involves private lessons and instrument purchases + gymnastics, ice sports, any sport that involves a lot of travel or are in the special travel/private/fancy leagues + down hill skiing/boarding Cheaper: + folk music study, + Scouting + local sports with the county/city volunteer-based league + FIRST Robotics (also, FLL Robotics) . . . at least in *our* area. This varies WIDELY. Here, our local leagues get donors/sponsors and make the per-kid cost nearly free (really, all we pay are t-shirts . . . ) In other places, this can cost thousands per year per kid . . . so YMMV + cross country skiing (especially if you can do it locally on free trails and buy your own equipment) + hiking In general, I think the key is to keep your eye open for local opportunities. I know some really awesome local activities that are *relatively* inexpensive that would be many times more expensive in most locales . . . For several years, our homeschool ski club made it so kids (and parents!) could ski (or board) for the day for $6 (if they owned their own equipment) or $18 for ticket+equipment+a lesson! That was about 85% off retail price! And it was every Tuesday all season long . . . It's about 2-3x that cost now, and still a great bargain. Likewise, I know a guy who gives great riding lessons for $25 for an hour, about half typical pricing . . . and a great old time fiddle teacher who teaches for $20/hr (about 1/3 typical charges). Anyway, I'm sure every locality has some great deals . . . I have tried to keep my eye out for them and let the kids take advantage of opportunities when they come up. We pay full rate for some very expensive things . . . but for "extras" that aren't our highest priorities, it's nice to find great deals to explore a new sport, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 (edited) Friend's daughter does synchronized ice skating (team). Wicked expensive. (Really good.... National level) I never knew that skates were so freakin' expensive. Costumes are expensive. Private coaches plus team practices. Ice time. The team travels all over, including to Paris for World's. Edited February 6, 2017 by umsami Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I cannot believe I forgot about this!! Most inexpensive dance option: Morris. Make your children be Morris dancers. There's a troupe near you somewhere ;) Just don't join one of those all-men troupes 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Condessa Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Like, so expensive they didn't even register in my mind as activities haha Though I think sea cadets do some sailing? Don't quote me on that. I guess some people JUST rise other people's horses at other people's barns and don't do competitions....but I've never met anyone like that. Horse people ime are in it to win it. It's a life not a hobby. I was a horse crazy kid who just rode my instructor's horses at her stable and did not compete. It was still the most expensive activity that any of us five kids participated in, but I lived and breathed horses. As I grew in competency, I got free extra riding time in exchange for helping out at the stable, got the opportunity to participate in the "horse theater" (we performed The Highwayman), and eventually had the opportunity to train a young, green horse for the summer when I was sixteen (free training for the owner, free riding for me!). But my instructor was just awesome that way--she was about character development, perfecting skills, and love of the creatures and the sport--no competition. She did all kinds of extra things to provide more opportunities for her girls, without making a dime on it. She also had no qualms about kicking out someone who wasn't following instructions or wasn't willing to put forth the effort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Most expensive - high risk or low teacher to student ratio - horse riding, high level martial arts or gymnastics, music lessons Cheapest - those with a lot of kids playing a common lower risk sport and often require a fair bit of parent volunteer time and fundraising - afl, cricket etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.