2014-2015 Release Of Athletes

[cheermomma31]

i looked through past forums and post and i didnt see anything that refered to this. If an athelte has not competed at a competition before Nov 1st 2014 and owes the past gym money (not alot cause a quit fee was billed) can a gym refuse to releaes an athlete do to an unpaid bill?
also on usasf membership it shows athletes new gym as current gym and underneath that it states pending drop from old gym.

 

[luv2cheer92]

i looked through past forums and post and i didnt see anything that refered to this. If an athelte has not competed at a competition before Nov 1st 2014 and owes the past gym money (not alot cause a quit fee was billed) can a gym refuse to releaes an athlete do to an unpaid bill?
also on usasf membership it shows athletes new gym as current gym and underneath that it states pending drop from old gym.

If its before nov 1 and the athlete has not competed, there is no need for a release. The athlete is free to change gyms. That's not to say that there's no legal issues going on for the gym to get that money.


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[cheermomma31]

If its before nov 1 and the athlete has not competed, there is no need for a release. The athlete is free to change gyms. That's not to say that there's no legal issues going on for the gym to get that money.


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thank you for the quick response, my issue is that the old gym says they won't release her until account is paid in full. the amount due is the "quit fee" and i will be paying it, just with switching gyms i had to get all those fees paid. also i was not expecting the old gym to do this either. what worries me is that on the usasf site it shows pending drop request and i don't want this to mess up her chances with her new gym. thank you

 

[NJ Coach]

Technically, a release is only needed to compete on the Worlds floor. You can compete all you want without one all season long. However, since it's not Nov. 1st, you don't need one yet anyway. I'm sure the USASF site will update (eventually)

 

[quitthedrama]

The gym can not hold you hostage for any reason whatsoever prior to Nov 1. There is no release needed, but make sure you have something in writing and dated to show you left prior to Nov 1.
The gym can take you to court to get fees paid for services rendered. That has nothing to do with a release.

 

[Cheer Dad]

A quit fee? Who assesses a quit fee and what does it cover?

 

[mstealtoyou]

A quit fee? Who assesses a quit fee and what does it cover?

I have heard of those. It's to pay the gym for time they'll have to spend re-choreograping routines. I'm sure there's other stuff too!

 

[Cheer Dad]

I have heard of those. It's to pay the gym for time they'll have to spend re-choreograping routines. I'm sure there's other stuff too!

So does that mean they are also required to pay extra whenever the gym decides to change choreography?

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

Yes - gyms around me charge quit fees. Many contracts word it that you owe all of the remaining monthly fees for the season, PLUS the quit fee (in the neighborhood of $300-$500 dollars) if you leave after the season starts. A lot of these cheer contracts are very intimidating, and I do know of a few people at other gyms who were dealing w/ gyms enforcing them too - filing small claims against them, etc. I'm not sure if CP's gym has done this to anyone though, and we have had a few people quit - I dont have as much of a problem w/ the quit fee itself, it's the "all of the remaining monthly fees for the season" that bothers me more - I think the quit fee alone is high enough to cover the gym for any expenses they may be out cause one athelete left.

 

[123jump4!]

Yes - gyms around me charge quit fees. Many contracts word it that you owe all of the remaining monthly fees for the season, PLUS the quit fee (in the neighborhood of $300-$500 dollars) if you leave after the season starts. A lot of these cheer contracts are very intimidating, and I do know of a few people at other gyms who were dealing w/ gyms enforcing them too - filling small claims against them, etc. I'm not sure if CP's gym has done this to anyone though, and we have had a few people quit - I dont have as much of a problem w/ the quit fee itself, it's the "all of the remaining monthly fees for the season" that bothers me more - I think the quit fee alone is high enough to cover the gym for any expenses they may be out cause one athelete left.

That's exactly what we have in our contract. All remaining fees plus an additional fee. I'm not sure if they would enforce it at our gym. Pretty serious stuff...

Do you know why the people quit at your gym, did they have "good" reasons or they just didn't feel like it anymore?

 

[FlexyTumblerMom]

That's exactly what we have in our contract. All remaining fees plus an additional fee. I'm not sure if they would enforce it at our gym. Pretty serious stuff...

Do you know why the people quit at your gym, did they have "good" reasons or they just didn't feel like it anymore?

CP doesn't know all the details, but I don't think they had "really" good reasons like moving away, injury or illness, etc. - probably just didn't want to do it this year and got out before competitions started. One of them was a really talented tumbler and my CP got put in her place in some parts of one of the routines, so from CP's perspective it turned into an opportunity that she left.

Eta - I think leaving in Sep/Oct isn't as big of a deal, and if someone's heart isn't in it or they are struggling they should go (some girls underestimate what their school workload will be when they sign on in the summer and can get overwhelmed once classes actually start and they get back a few bad tests, etc.). However, leaving your team hanging by quitting w/o a *really* good reason right in the middle of competitions when you have a major out of town competition the next weekend is a BIG deal and someone who does that deserves to pay a penalty IMO.

 

[quitthedrama]

Yes - gyms around me charge quit fees. Many contracts word it that you owe all of the remaining monthly fees for the season, PLUS the quit fee (in the neighborhood of $300-$500 dollars) if you leave after the season starts. A lot of these cheer contracts are very intimidating, and I do know of a few people at other gyms who were dealing w/ gyms enforcing them too - filing small claims against them, etc. I'm not sure if CP's gym has done this to anyone though, and we have had a few people quit - I dont have as much of a problem w/ the quit fee itself, it's the "all of the remaining monthly fees for the season" that bothers me more - I think the quit fee alone is high enough to cover the gym for any expenses they may be out cause one athelete left.

The gym can file a small claims case, but they must prove that they are actually out the $ and it can not be recovered. This would be very hard to prove, (i.e. - if an athlete is on a team of 20, leaves, and the team competes as a team of 20 all season then the gym has recovered their "costs"). There are also valid reasons to file a counter claim to validate reasons for leaving.
However, as the consumer, it is best not to enter into any such contracts or to revise the contract so that the consumer is protected.

 

[CheerBank]

Yes - gyms around me charge quit fees. Many contracts word it that you owe all of the remaining monthly fees for the season, PLUS the quit fee (in the neighborhood of $300-$500 dollars) if you leave after the season starts. A lot of these cheer contracts are very intimidating, and I do know of a few people at other gyms who were dealing w/ gyms enforcing them too - filing small claims against them, etc. I'm not sure if CP's gym has done this to anyone though, and we have had a few people quit - I dont have as much of a problem w/ the quit fee itself, it's the "all of the remaining monthly fees for the season" that bothers me more - I think the quit fee alone is high enough to cover the gym for any expenses they may be out cause one athelete left.

I have a friend who was served with legal papers for the "quit" fee ($250) as well as the rest of the season's tuition and comp fees as per their contract.
She sent them a certified letter saying that the gym broke the contract first by failing to provide her daughter with a safe physical and emotional environment (her daughter was being pressures by the coaches to continue practicing on an obviously injured foot).
The gym never accepted the letter, she sent it twice, and never heard from them again.

 

[cheermomma31]

i looked through past forums and post and i didnt see anything that refered to this. If an athelte has not competed at a competition before Nov 1st 2014 and owes the past gym money (not alot cause a quit fee was billed) can a gym refuse to releaes an athlete do to an unpaid bill?
also on usasf membership it shows athletes new gym as current gym and underneath that it states pending drop from old gym.

what do i do if former gym refuses to release athlete from the USASF for their gym

 

[retiredl5cheer]

what do i do if former gym refuses to release athlete from the USASF for their gym

You said they hadn't competed yet? There is no release required before November 1st if they haven't competed yet. So they can't refuse to release the athlete because a release isn't necessary.