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.

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