what are your club rates?

[saeras]

fencing gets really expensive, just wondering how much do you pay out to your club every month?

[Black Jeebus]

$5
(extra characters)

[swordwench]

Five bucks a month? Wow.

I don't pay monthly. Mine is $500/year for membership, or $10/visit for non-members. Makes more sense to join, if you're showing up at least once a week. Then there are the private lessons... plus classes... plus new weapons because stuff breaks... It's an expensive little habit, isn't it?

[Black Jeebus]

Well we only pay $5 a month cause we have no over head, and no one is running the club for a living. The way the club primarily makes money is offering beginner's classes at $40/head for a 6 week beginner's foil class. We make just enough money to pay USFA club fees (including insurance).

[Zilverzmurfen]

fencing gets really expensive, just wondering how much do you pay out to your club every month?

About this much. (My post is #25.)

[restlesscheese]

I pay $25 a semester at school, which boils down to about $5 a month.

[JackOfHearts]

I pay $25 a semester at school, which boils down to about $5 a month.

I believe it is $18 a semester at my school, and since I qualify for fee waivers, that would make it $1 a semester.

[John Myers]

I charge $5 a night for group lessons (1 1/2 hrs) and $10 for a 30 min solo lesson. Think I am charging too much?

[The Terran]

I pay $35 a month, plus enrollment for any classes I take. (usually $50) They provide equipment for the first 2 foil classes.

It's pretty cheap, considering what it *could* be

[Frater_Frag]

Ca 95€ a year in. But then again, as a coach, I get refunded!

[Duellist USA]

Valhalla's fees are

$5 for members
10 for non members
$1 for high school students


We dont care who your coach is....anyone can fence...we have 9 full running strips with new machines and new timings...and gear you can borrow...


Rick

[Black Jeebus]

is that $5 a month? And wouldn't paying the $10 make you a member? So is it $10 the first month then $5 the next?

[Duellist USA]

I'm assuming you are talking to me...

No the membership fee is a yearly fee....the fee above is nightly no hour limit...



I.E. those with yearly membership in the club pay less floor fee....those without pay more...

Rick

[D+F+P=Hadouken!]

I've heard of some people paying $1500 for a years membership. Thats alot. As long as you get your moneys worth though, its good.

[RebelFencer]

$1500 a year, $25 per private lesson, $15 non member floor fees

[MyrddinsPrecint]

I charge $5 a night for group lessons (1 1/2 hrs) and $10 for a 30 min solo lesson. Think I am charging too much?

depends on how good you are, how good your students are, and how much other clubs near you are charging.

[stealingophelia]

no yearly or monthly rate. 25 on days where i take a private lesson and free bouting. 50 for a group lesson, private lesson and free bouting

[LUDICROUS]

$1500 a year, $25 per private lesson, $15 non member floor fees

That along would stop me fencing.. :/

[jjefferies]

fencing gets really expensive, just wondering how much do you pay out to your club every month?

Remember the old adage " you get what you pay for"? What level are you thinking of? A recreational hour each week with unrated children who barely know which end of the blade to hold? or a real workout with people who are training hard to be competitive? Do you have a coach? Is he/she trained and to what level by who? There's several orders of magnitude difference between a high school fencer who's trying to teach fellow students what he barely remembers and a man or woman who are professionally trained to teach fencing all three weapons. So qualify the responses.

My coach was a competitive fencer in his youth, played professional soccer in his early twenties, and took a degree in fencing coaching as a profession in Russia. Our evenings start with calisthenics on par with football or any other major sport. (remember high school/college football drills?) Followed by group footwork. Then in turn bouting during which the coach provides private lessons one on one to members. Private lessons depending on the individual usually last about 20 minutes and are in my opinion more intensive and physically challenging than the evening's bouting. I try to get a lesson twice a week.

Costs? Club dues are $500/year. I figure I spend an additional $1500 on private lessons (I do miss them occasionally). But then to participate in the local tournaments I pay between $160 and $320 a year (depends on how many sections you qualify to fence in). Fencing 2 NAC's and the summer nationals costs in the order of $1500/year. (I do try to go cheap). And then when I was really good one year and made the national team, figure an additional $2000.+ for the World Championships.
Then there are expendables such as blades at $100/apiece and new fencing uniforms every 2-3 years.

So I figure roughly $4000.-$6000 /year. And I'm an old guy just trying to stay competitive. A few years ago I asked the then number one epeeist in the US what expenses were like. He told me that he spent $32,000.+ a year on travel and expenses related to the international fencing circuit which came out of his own pocket. On the other hand his club did try to support him as best they could as in no dues or charges for lessons. But even with contributors it was still a sizeable loss.

So was this TMI for you? Think maybe you should try some other less expensive sport?
If you are getting a quality product for less, be happy.
So what are you considering as being expensive?

[The Terran]

So was this TMI for you? Think maybe you should try some other less expensive sport?
If you are getting a quality product for less, be happy.
So what are you considering as being expensive?

Not TMI, but I would consider that as expensive. Once I'm at a high enough level to consider competeing, though, I will probobly pay alot more for better quality. By then I'll be out on my own, and wont be leeching from the rents, so I wont feel guilty about spending the money.

Are those Canadian $s you're talking about?