Costume choices arghhh!!!

Ok. As a cheer mum I have always dreaded the bill for all my daughter's competition costumes! They DID cost me my monthly wage, they were NEVER cheap. But, they were always AMAZING.

As a well established team, our coaches knew that we needed the best, and never scrimped on price. Now, in this economy, being a cheer team in its first season, and trying to please our parents at the same time as achieving the end result with the look we have in mind, seems so hard!

We always have a vision, for every single outfit we have a look that we want to achieve to help us score the best we can. Because although your costume doesn't get a / out of 10, it is part of your overall effect score, and the way it moves, matches with the music and the age appropriateness.

Personally I just paid for the costumes and cried into my prosecco later. I am, and always have been completely dedicated to my daughter's craft. It is what makes her eyes shine, her heart be that little bit faster and her smile widen to an exponential size. There has never been a time when I doubted her ability to follow her dream. There will never be a reality in which I don't believe she can achieve whatever her heart wants. Maybe that's why she is so successful, or at least partly, in what she does.

I have never ever been the mum who said oh that's amazing if it wasn't. I was always the parent who said, honey, that was good but how about you try pointing your feet, or strengthening your arms.

I have even sometimes been the adult who has told her, what was that, do it again and do it right. I am not ashamed of that. I am proud of how involved I have been in her dance career, and I will forever be her truth, even when she doesn't want to hear it.

So yes I bought the costumes, the training kits, the special performance wear, the competition merch, and I don't regret a second or a penny of it.

I realise as a coach, not every adult who's child attends our classes has that same outlook. Believe me, life would be so much easier if they all did! I would drive my daughters to the moon if I thought it would help them to be happy and successful-this was honestly said to me once by a coach! (she wasn't wrong).

I understand more than you know the constraints money puts on our lives in 2026. I hate that it feels like every family I know has to weigh up the option of a masterclass or a new pair of school shoes. There is no easy decision now for us as coaches. We of course want all the bling and sparkle and prestige of a top brand uniform, but we know if we asked half our parents for £200 per routine for a costume it would just not be in their budget!

I make our merch, I don't add profit to the cost. I adore every single child who crosses our threshold and want them all to have the special things, the extra things and the bits that make them feel valued as an athlete.

We as a team want our athletes to feel special when they step on to that mat. We want our scores to reflect the dedication of our athletes. We need to know we are putting our best out there.

So, if anyone has any ideas on how to get top tier costumes at a price that is actually understandable for the parents, hit me up! But seriously, I am proud of our uniforms. They might not be completely covered in Swarovski crystals, but they do shine. They aren't made with gold leaf, but they do feel nice. And the biggest plus of all, that is uncompromisable for us? They make each and every one of our athletes feel like a warrior princess when they hit that stage.

x

Does anyone else feel like this?

So we're in February. We did a competition in January, and now March comp is feeling like FOREVER away! I am so keen to fix the errors, show our amended routines, and enjoy the weekend again with our family, I just can't wait!!! We have already decided that next season we will be doing more competitions, and we have been planning new teams with excitement. I kind of feel like I may actually be an addict!

Also, as a bow maker I am feeling a little defeated. Why is it that everyone wants AMAZING merch at rock bottom prices? I remember when I first started out making bows, and I wasn't the best, not even close. But I worked hard, researched and learnt how to be excellent. I pride myself on my product. I would never send something out I didn't think was perfect.

Now 13 years on and teams honestly expect the same quality for a price that matches 2013. This really is not sustainable. Everything has increased in price. The vinyl, the diamantes, the sublimation, the lycra. Whatever way you look at it, it costs more. Even the electric to power my machines has an insane price tag!

Another bow maker once said something to me that stuck, "nice bows aren't cheap and cheap bows aren't nice." This mantra seems to be lost on the cheer teams of today. ( I belong to one of them and trust me people think bows should be £5!) I started this business because I didn't want to pay the inflated prices at competitions for bows. I understand as a mummy, a cheer coach and a bow maker that it is important that pricing isn't misjudged. Cheap imports that will last a couple of competitions and then start falling apart are no substitute for something made with love and given the time it deserves. Please, when ordering bows think about the labour intensive task of creating them when they are done to last.

Anyway, tomorrow is another day and I am excited to see what it brings. If you want bows, or any other merch that is affordable and will last longer than the car journey to competition, get in touch, I am sure we can work something out!

So, what does it all mean?!

I get asked all the time, what does it mean to be a cheerleader, what does it bring to you? Why do you hand out pegs at competitions? Why do you cheer on rival teams?

Well, I will tell you. To be a cheerleader means that you are part of something bigger than yourself. You are a family, of likeminded people, who celebrate each others successes. You learn from each other, cheer each other on, push each other and try harder because your team NEEDS you to! Every win, every loss, you're part of it together. The good, the bad, and the ugly tears, sweat and blood.

We hand out pegs as tokens of good luck to other teams. Because we know what it takes to get to where we are. We know how much grit and determination goes in to actually getting to the competition floor. So we celebrate that, as a community. We cheer other teams on, yes we do, for exactly the same reason we hand out pegs! On the day, who is the best is the best, and we as coaches, or cheerleaders cannot change that!

Over the years I have watched friendships grow, sister teams roar with delight when they get beaten because they have formed a bond with athletes from another part of the country, who had location allowed, might have been on the same team!

We watch rival teams routines with awe, and we tell each other good luck backstage just before we go on! Cheerleading is so much more than a sport. It teaches the new generation of children to respect and honour each other. It teaches them that it is ok not to always come first place. It teaches them that friendship and cohesiveness is more important than a medal or a trophy.

So, besides all the massively important life lessons I have written about before, which are learnt in training, being a cheerleader essentially teaches the next generation to be GOOD PEOPLE. To be humble. To be brave, and to love.

I couldn't replace the life lessons and happiness that cheerleading has brought my family with anything, and nor would I want to.