All-Star If Gas Is $5.00 A Gallon Would You Cheer Closer?

[Cheeranamo]

I don't cheer anymore but even if I was still cheering at my gym where I commuted about a little over an hour to I would not change gyms. I would suggest more people switch to a Prius or any hybrid car if possible. My parents have a prius and they are great on gas if properly maintained. Also, I believe that carpools to practice would begin to get more popular for those who would like to continue cheering at their current gym. I know a lot of people carpool know but I think it would highly increase if this gas spike were to happen.

From a general perspective, IMO, the biggest thing would be overall financials of ones family. I know not everyone can switch to a hybrid, that is just not reality so some people would be stuck using their gas guzzlers. At $5 p/g many families would be hit hard in the overall aspect. Budgets might not be going to the cheer category but more so towards food and real bills. I am sure many cp's could carpool and their parents not partake in any of those to/from practice expenses and still have a strain in finacials because the parents now need to pay extra for their gas to and from work, to and from the grocery store, and wherever else they need to go; cheer for some might be on the back burner now. So all-in-all in reality I think it cannot be just a simple question of 'if gas was raised to $5 would you move to a closer gym' it would have to include many detailed factors and like you said people would now have to factor in the question of " would they still cheer at all".

 

[Cheeranamo]

If gas prices do reach that high, what would be some things that parents would be able to cut out so their kids could still cheer?

Maybe...
-going out to eat and just eating in
-extras such as going to the movies
-excess shopping for 'wanted' not needed items
-holiday presents, telling kids that if they really love and want to cheer for that season that will be their gift or main gift
-multiple store trips ( maybe limiting grocery shopping to 1 time a week or week and 1/2)
-condensing trips ( shopping, school pickup, etc)
-cutting premium cable channels
-getting minimum cheer clothes required

all of the small things add up, $5/$10 here and there will make a big difference throughout a whole season.

 

[ErinS]

My sister would still cheer (the gym is only like 16 mins away). However for competitions my mom would probably drive my smaller car (assuming I'm still in the state), rather than her big SUV...or whatever car they buy for my sister this spring.

However if forced to choose between a car and all star cheerleading, my sister is prob going to choose the car and do high school cheer again.

 

[rvnblue]

I don't understand why the price of $5, if including the decreased worth of the dollar by 2012 is included, is causing such controversy?

 

[rvnblue]

Plus, all of the things people are listing to conserve money in the future should be done NOW! That is how you save money to put in banks to accumulate interest so maybe one day you can retire and actually have money to live off of!

 

[socratesofcheer]

If you drive an SUV that gets 15 miles to the gallon, drive 30 miles to and then from practice (60 round trip) and practice 3 times a week for cheer alone you would spend $60 bucks on just gas.

I think your statistics could be a little misleading. Yes it would be $60, but, that is compared to ~$36~ now (based off $3/gallon). Also, don't underestimate the power of carpooling, it's a favorite among cheer moms.

 

[cheergirlbrey]

Our current gym is rather close so its not that bad but if cp wanted to make any gym changes, gas prices at $5 would be my deciding factor on no. Though if gyms were to lose kids in vast numbers, the tuition may go up to cover overhead and we would all be back to square one.

 

[yourfavoritebackspot]

no way at least that would by my initial reaction for awhile. If I relocated closer I'd have to move down skills on a team that doesnt travel to good comps. OR that doesnt have a record of winning ( which seems to be the case for most teams around me) but maybe if I sat out a yr and got that cheering itch I would take back this statement. Most of the good teams are around a hour anyway. My mom pays almost as much in gas a week as my monthly tuition right now. I do know that World Cup, Spirit Explotion and Cats/Lci were all about a hours drive.. and a few less known name gyms may be closer.. but for me it would come down to not cheering at all or being at a gym that doesnt really travel or doesnt do that well. I hope my mom never takes that away from me or im made to make that choice.

 

[Mr.Kevin]

We have a young lady who travels 3.5 hours to gym and 3.0 hours back (traffic at different times of the day is the reason for the difference in time). Their solution: turn in the SUV and get an economy car.
Who's asking the question about what will happen when hair spray reaches $5 a can?? (Just kidding - don't react!)

 

[MissBee]

If gas goes to $5 a gal, I won't be able to afford to work! I have a 60 mile (roundtrip) commute daily. Add to that the crazy traffic I sit in (takes me 1.5 hours each way), and I use up about 2 tanks of gas a week. My tank holds 18gal, so at $5/gal that's $720 per month....just to go to work! In this economy, finding a different job is next to impossible-so I don't know what I'd do.

 

[yourfavoritebackspot]

Does she pay almost as much in gas a week for everyone at at your house, or just getting you to cheer?

Just getting me to cheer .. our Tuition is only 85.00 a month I have practice 3x a week gas for the week is like 65.00 she has a mini van. :/

 

[MissCongeniality]

It will be a factor in our decision but there really isn't a gym that much "closer". Things can change in a year so never say never. We are looking for a more economical car, but with a family of 6 and necessary carpools to school and sports, something like a Prius isn't an option.

 

[youbetterwork]

It costs that much in Sweden. Or even more.

 

[King]

It costs that much in Sweden. Or even more.

Yes, but your cars are more efficient. We like big SUVs for no reason at all.

 

[youbetterwork]

The effect is that almost no one under 25 have their own car. So public transport is really big. It's not usual to cheer at a gym that's not the closest to you. For example, in my city it's only one gym. If I had a car I could cheer at a gym in Stockholm, which is about 1-1,5 hour away with car. Most people don't have the time to drive their kids to practise that long. And with public transport it's about 2-3 hours and quite expensive.

Some people in my team have about 30 min drive to some of our practises, so they sometimes carpool.