Playing school sports isn’t cheap. Whether a child is involved in dance, hockey or football, the cost can add up. Many schools across the country are asking parents to pay even more now that budgets are shrinking in a tough economy. While there are health benefits to playing sports, including weight loss, a new study shows increased costs are keeping low-income students from playing.
The financial impact
The University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health Overall shows 61 percent of children playing middle or high school sports were charged a pay-to-play fee. The average fee was $93, but some reported paying $150 or more. This doesn’t include the cost of transportation or equipment. When these extras are figured in, parents are spending close to $400 to keep their kid on a sports team.
“As pay-to-play becomes the norm, nearly 1 in 5 lower-income parents reported their kids decreased their sports participation – that’s significant,” says Sarah Clark, M.P.H., Associate Director of the Child Health Evaluation and Research (CHEAR) Unit at the University of Michigan and Associate Director of the National Poll on Children’s Health.
According to the study, “Researchers found that 12 percent of parents overall said that the cost of school sports caused a drop in participation for at least one of their children. However, that varied substantially based on income. Among lower-income families, those earning less than $60,000 per year, 19 percent said their children’s participation decreased because of costs. But among families earning more than $60,000 per year, only 5 percent reported costs had caused their children to participate less.”
The benefits lost
“We know that participating in school sports offers many benefits to children and teens: higher school achievement, lower dropout rates, improved health, reduced obesity and the development of skills like teamwork and problem-solving,” says Clark.
Clark hopes awareness about this issue will generate conversations about getting more students involved when a family can’t afford to pay the required fees.
