8 Ways to Spend US$7,000 on Your Child’s Sporting Career
by Steven Meek
Kids’ sport is big business! According to 2017 research from Utah State University, USA, this $15 billion dollar industry has almost doubled in size over the last ten years. The expenditure on sports season fees, camps, equipment, travel, coaching and training, means that many families are spending up to 10% of their income on their children’s sporting passions. These results of average annual family expenditure in youth sport remind us of the simple fact that having kids with an interest in high-performance sport does not come cheap.
A stark contrast between the mountain bike world and that of motocross is centred around cost. Mountain biking in particular, is one of the few sports where people in the real world can own a high-performance mountain bike identical to their pro rider heroes, at an average cost of US$10,000 – expensive but achievable for many families. In contrast a pro-level motorbike costs on average US$250,000. Looking at these price differences for a minute gives an insightful point of comparison in relation to the price of a high-grade carbon bikes like ours at MeekBoyz.
Ultimately when investing in children’s sport, every family makes choices to suit their particular needs and financial situation. Our new downhill mountain bike brand presents some serious food for thought for people aspiring to high-performance bikes for their kids. As the Utah State University research shows, the same equivalent expense is chalked up in many other sports, sometimes over an elongated period of time, whereas an initial upfront investment can be a tough proposition.
Let’s explore where else a family could choose to spend US$7,000:
- A 10-day family MTB holiday to Whistler/Morzine, including flights, accommodation, bike park rental and a gravity camp.
- 6 months sports coaching and academic tuition in a private school
- One season of national BMX racing including a new race-bike for each year of racing
- A custom MTB built using a cheaper bike and continually upgrading all the parts so the amounts spent don’t look quite so meaningful
- An annual season of national or international-level basketball, BMX or football
- An annual ice hockey season ranges between US$5000 -US$19,000
- The average cost of one season of lacrosse
- An annual season of baseball ranges between US$4,044 and US$9,900
Most of these annual expenditure examples on youth sport have no resale value. So, ultimately, the investment in a US$7,000 pro-level downhill mountain bike looks extremely good value for money, even more so when your child can ride it for four or five years and then sell it on for US$5,000-US$6,000. With this mindset, it’s a win-win in a sport that your child loves. And it is why we have more and more families willing to commit to investing in better bikes for their children. I read somewhere recently that “we only have eighteen summers” in a child’s life and that’s every reason to make every one of them count.
Find out more about MeekBoyz and our bikes – just drop us a line below.
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