One big problem I have is besides football and maybe wrestling and track, most sports are cut sports. A lot of fundraising activities take place outside of the playing season and I always thought it unjustified to ask a player to participate in a fundraiser for a team where they might get cut. What if they are the biggest fundraiser but not a very good player, do you keep them? During the season fundraising opportunities are tougher because of game and practice schedules. So pay for play seems like a better option. And to be honest i think a lot of parents nowadays would rather pay it then participate (time) in fundraising activities. It would be nice to offer a way to work off these fees but you can't do that according to the Red Book. Money raised can not be ear marked for one kid. It has to go to the program as a whole. Bands were famous for this. You would get X amount of dollars/credit for working an event. Not allowed anymore.

There are some, yes that are paid pretty well for about 3 hours of work and you have to pay 2 or 3 per sport, that is not cheap. I am not saying every sport but ask the ADs how much officials are getting paid and some would be really surprised how much goes out per game.

 

...and maybe I shouldn't have said overpaid but they get paid pretty well according to the AD.

 

I know how much high school officials get paid.

 

The number of officials required per sport has nothing to do with whether an individual official is overpaid. I am not sure of how you arrive at that conclusion.

 

Some sport officials seem to have it better (less physical activity required, less issues with fans/coaches) but certainly football and basketball aren't in that category.

 

If those that think officials are overpaid would be willing to do the job themselves for less money, I say go for it. If enough do it, the pay will decrease overall and you'll get your wish.

Edited June 21, 201412 yr by Ram

One big problem I have is besides football and maybe wrestling and track, most sports are cut sports. A lot of fundraising activities take place outside of the playing season and I always thought it unjustified to ask a player to participate in a fundraiser for a team where they might get cut. What if they are the biggest fundraiser but not a very good player, do you keep them? During the season fundraising opportunities are tougher because of game and practice schedules. So pay for play seems like a better option. And to be honest i think a lot of parents nowadays would rather pay it then participate (time) in fundraising activities. It would be nice to offer a way to work off these fees but you can't do that according to the Red Book. Money raised can not be ear marked for one kid. It has to go to the program as a whole. Bands were famous for this. You would get X amount of dollars/credit for working an event. Not allowed anymore.

 

I agree with you on asking kids to raise money for a sport that they might be cut from, unless they are getting benefits along the way (team gear, meals, etc.)

There are some, yes that are paid pretty well for about 3 hours of work and you have to pay 2 or 3 per sport, that is not cheap. I am not saying every sport but ask the ADs how much officials are getting paid and some would be really surprised how much goes out per game.

 

...and maybe I shouldn't have said overpaid but they get paid pretty well according to the AD.

 

Most ADs would say paying officials anything was overpaying, in fact most of the ADs I know would say paying for ANYTHING is overpaying. :hilarious:

One big problem I have is besides football and maybe wrestling and track, most sports are cut sports. A lot of fundraising activities take place outside of the playing season and I always thought it unjustified to ask a player to participate in a fundraiser for a team where they might get cut. What if they are the biggest fundraiser but not a very good player, do you keep them? During the season fundraising opportunities are tougher because of game and practice schedules. So pay for play seems like a better option. And to be honest i think a lot of parents nowadays would rather pay it then participate (time) in fundraising activities. It would be nice to offer a way to work off these fees but you can't do that according to the Red Book. Money raised can not be ear marked for one kid. It has to go to the program as a whole. Bands were famous for this. You would get X amount of dollars/credit for working an event. Not allowed anymore.

 

I agree wholeheartedly which is why I am more in favor of pay for play then fundraising. You only pay AFTER you male the team.

One big problem I have is besides football and maybe wrestling and track, most sports are cut sports. A lot of fundraising activities take place outside of the playing season and I always thought it unjustified to ask a player to participate in a fundraiser for a team where they might get cut. What if they are the biggest fundraiser but not a very good player, do you keep them? During the season fundraising opportunities are tougher because of game and practice schedules. So pay for play seems like a better option. And to be honest i think a lot of parents nowadays would rather pay it then participate (time) in fundraising activities. It would be nice to offer a way to work off these fees but you can't do that according to the Red Book. Money raised can not be ear marked for one kid. It has to go to the program as a whole. Bands were famous for this. You would get X amount of dollars/credit for working an event. Not allowed anymore.

 

And they have done this with everything. I have a daughter who has a Wash DC trip thru school coming up. We used to be able to work soccer games or reds games and any money you make goes directly to your child's trip. Now it has to go into a pool and divided among everyone. So if I work 30 hours and another parent just decides to pay the full amount instead of fundraising, we end up paying the same price because the fundraising discounts everyone. I don't like that at all

And they have done this with everything. I have a daughter who has a Wash DC trip thru school coming up. We used to be able to work soccer games or reds games and any money you make goes directly to your child's trip. Now it has to go into a pool and divided among everyone. So if I work 30 hours and another parent just decides to pay the full amount instead of fundraising, we end up paying the same price because the fundraising discounts everyone. I don't like that at all

 

And...if another parent doesn't fundraise OR pay the full amount, your money is divided again, to cover the one that doesn't pay or participate.

No as to the answer of the original question. Any combination of fund raising, donations, and self pay will prevent a sport from "dying."

 

I do anticipate improved food quality at concessions, and better spirit wear helping to alleviate increased cost. The schools need to improve these options to incentivize their fan base and guests to spend their dollars with them!

 

You'll be amazed how much $$$ a team can raise with a fund raiser as easy as a car wash. We as parents and adults, seniors, enjoy watching kids work cooperatively and team build. I've seen many a $20 bill pass into the donation bucket at a very inexpensive team car wash. If volunteerism and work ethic is strong within a school they'll have little difficulty. As for the opposite, learn how to build consensus, play nice together and realize it's for your teammates/kids benefit and development.

Does anybody have specific $ amounts that some schools charge? Is the discussion about paying money to play a sport or is it paying for things like spirit packs that players receive? I have heard of some schools charging a fee of say $50 to play. That fee covers every sport. If you play football, basketball, & baseball then that $50 is a onetime fee that covers all sports that you play. That does exclude sweats or anything extra. I assume there are schools that charge a certain amount to play football, another amount for basketball, and another amount for baseball.

 

Do most schools have players pay for their own spirit packs (sweatshirt, t-shirt, shorts etc)?

This is from 2012 but shows the fees for all Cincy/NKY public schools. Lakota is the highest at $550 per sport.

 

Most Area High Schools Charging Student Athletes Pay to Play Fees | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com

This is from 2012 but shows the fees for all Cincy/NKY public schools. Lakota is the highest at $550 per sport.

 

Most Area High Schools Charging Student Athletes Pay to Play Fees | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com

 

Lakota, Little Miami, and Lebanon must have over-the-top tastes….:jump:

 

Must be an L thing...

Lakota, Little Miami, and Lebanon must have over-the-top tastes….:jump:

 

Must be an L thing...

 

Price has dropped since 2012. From the Lakota web site

 

Participation Fees

All junior school athletes will be assessed an $300.00 fee per athlete/per sport.

 

All high school athletes will be assessed a $400.00 fee per athlete/per sport. (High School athletes are participants in grades 9-12).

Does anyone know of an athlete that was not permitted to play at his/her school because of not being able to pay the participation fee?

 

I have paid many fees over the years since my kids school has had pay to play fees for at least 10 years. I do not know of a single instance of an athlete not participating because of non-payment. (Free and reduced lunch students are not even asked for the fee)

Does anyone know of an athlete that was not permitted to play at his/her school because of not being able to pay the participation fee?

 

I have paid many fees over the years since my kids school has had pay to play fees for at least 10 years. I do not know of a single instance of an athlete not participating because of non-payment. (Free and reduced lunch students are not even asked for the fee)

 

I don't, I know that our district waives the fee for students that meet the guidelines for free lunch program. Which was about 46% of our students in the 2012-2013 school year.