Parents struggle to pay for kids’ sport as fees skyrocket

[DIEHARD]

Parents struggle to pay for kids’ sport as fees skyrocket
https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/...ef6153daf42ee7

As many sports struggle to generate revenue due to limited funding, Queensland parents are being forced to fork out thousands of dollars for organised out-of-school activities.

Parents are being forced to fork out thousands of dollars for organised out-of-school activities as many sports struggle to generate revenue due to limited funding.

Tennis is the most expensive with parent’s spending an average of $1015 per child, with other individual sports like dancing, gymnastics and swimming also among the most costly.

Team sports like touch football and rugby league are among the cheapest.

Seventy-two per cent of Queensland children participate in organised sport and physical activity with parents spending an average of $924.23 per child, according to Sport Australia.

But there is a big gap when it comes to children of low income earners with only 49.4 per cent of children from families who earn less than $55,000 participating in organised out-of-school, compared to 73 per cent from families with an income between $55,000 and $175,000 and 86.2 per cent of children from families earning above $175,000.

Queensland's most expensive sports
Tennis - $1015
Dancing - $783.20
Gymnastics - $677.90
Swimming - $571.40
Football (soccer) - $459.90
Cricket - $446.20
Netball - $339.50
Basketball - $315
Aussie rules - $233.30
Rugby league - $225.80
Touch football - $136.30

Average spend per year, per child

Tennis Queensland general manager Elia Hill said the “unique” nature of the sport meant costs varied.

“With fees covering everything from coaches’ wages, venue requirements and sometimes equipment, the pricing can vary,” she said.

Ms Hill said with low upfront cost players can trial a variety of pathways.

“Tennis coaches and clubs deliver a wide variety of offerings that cover a broad price range, reflecting the coaches’ qualifications and experience, the venue and class sizes,” she said.

“Free of charge opportunities are available in most communities and affordable programs allow more ways to have a hit,” she said.

Swimming Queensland CEO Kev Hasemann said there is an “immediate cost” with swimming because hundreds of professional coaches make a living out of the sport.

Mr Hasemann said Olympic sports like Swimming are “still very much amateur sports”.

“There’s next to no revenue, and even though we are very strong at the Olympic level it’s extremely hard to get sponsorship – you just don’t get access through broadcasting and so the gap between the big professional sports and the rest of us is widening all the time,” he said.

“It’s a big issue in terms of the cost of participation and there is a very limited amount that the governing organisations can actually do.”

Mr Hasemann said major sports are “chewing up the limited amount of sponsorship deals”

“And then you have multiple other sports (like swimming) that just try to exist – and then at the end of the day someone has got to pay for it – so that’s why parents finish up having to pay a fair bit for kids to be able to participate in sport,” he said.

Football is the largest participation sport in Queensland but only the fifth most expensive sport in the state with an average yearly cost of $459.90.

A Football Queensland spokesman said with the sport “occurring on such a scale”, the number of clubs and football products is “extensive and varied.”

Logan Metro Football Club president Sam Escobar said the broadcast money football receives is nowhere near the other codes which creates a “trickle-down effect”.

“So despite football being the largest club based participation sport in the country – the broadcast money isn’t enough to properly filter all the way down to grassroots,” he said.

Mr Escobar said this forces clubs to charge more in registration fees while volunteer run clubs have to be “innovative” just to create enough revenue to break-even.

“The game has suffered from poor decisions, leadership, governance and individual agendas in recent history but changes being led nationally by Football Australia, locally by Football Queensland, local clubs getting on the same page and playing our part has meant we are starting to see some hope of real outcomes and changes.”

Mr Esobar said “community clubs” like Logan Metro offer a great alternative to the elite programs.

“Clubs like ours still provide great coaches, programs, facilities and are more affordable than the elite pathway that produce the same outcome of top tier clubs and of course still cater for children who just want to play sport to enjoy it and not necessarily chase the development route.”

The average cost for a child to play cricket in Queensland ($446.20) is similar to football ($459.90).

A Queensland Cricket spokesman said local clubs have the ability to set their own fees for junior and entry-level cricket.

He said Cricket Australian has an insurance and service fee component covered by the registration but “clubs retain the majority of total registration fee.”

“Many Queensland Cricket clubs offer early bird discounts, sibling’s discounts and periodic payment plans,” he said.

Sport Australia Acting CEO Rob Dalton said cost should not be a barrier to being active.

“Sport Australia believes that every Australian should be able to participate in sport and physical activity regardless of gender, ability or background,” he said.

“We’ve developed resources that ensure living an active life is attainable for all Australians and have a range of programs to support sport at every level,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government offers financial assistance to families through FairPlay Vouchers.

Acting Sport Minister Scott Stewart said FairPlay vouchers would deliver $150 to help eligible families with the cost of sporting club membership, team registration, or on-field participation fees.

“We know getting young Queenslanders involved in local sport or active recreation improves long-term health, wellbeing and social connections,” Mr Stewart said.

“Since mid-2019, more than 102,000 vouchers worth $15 million have helped eligible young Queenslanders get active with their favourite club.

Applications for the current round are open until 23 March with FairPlay vouchers to be presented to a registered activity provider by 11 May 2022.

[Bayside Titan]

This report is not far of the money. We had to pay $555 for a term fee for my daughter’s dance. Also $500 for fees for my 2 boys to play junior cricket for winter sports.