Families with children who participate in one or more travel sports leagues spend, on average, $8,500 per player per year, according to an online survey conducted by Travelsports.com, a leading provider of information for the youth and adult sports industries.
Survey respondents were asked to include all travel sports-related costs into their answers. The data shows that nearly 20% of respondents reported spending “$20,000 or more” per player per year on youth travel sports, ranging from ice hockey and baseball/softball to golf and soccer.
Equipment Costs & More
Out-of-pocket costs incurred by families involved in youth travel leagues include more than just equipment purchases and registration fees. Travelsports.com’s survey also captures other expenses – such as transportation, hotel/lodging, dining, and entertainment – that help portray a more accurate summation of the overall financial impact on family budgets.
“Our respondents are parents, team managers, and tournament directors across the U.S. and Canada, so these results paint a clear picture of the true costs that families incur when participating in travel sports,” explained Travelsports.com founder Christopher Pauly.
“This information is useful in highlighting the financial barriers many families face when considering competitive youth sports for their athletes,” he added. “More importantly, it presents opportunities to find ways to level the playing field and expand access for more young athletes to get involved in the sports they love.”
Explore Options, Compare Costs
Travelsports.com is doing its part to address the issue of rising costs by creating a single platform where parents, managers, and other audiences can navigate the world of travel sports. As an informational clearinghouse, Travelsports helps users explore their options on everything from tournament & facility locations, local/regional clubs, hotel and dining accommodations and more. “The sheer volume of tournaments, clubs, and facilities listed on Travelsports, over 150,000 and growing, reduces the time needed to research and compare tournaments to attend, clubs to join, etc. while also allowing parents and managers to discover tournaments and clubs whose costs are a better fit for their needs.”
Moreover, Travelsports.com’s partnership with InstaRaise offers a complete, end-to-end platform with donation or product-based fundraising options to help teams reduce families’ personal financial burden and expand their team’s experiences.
About Travelsports.com
Travelsports is the leading aggregator of information for the youth and adult sports industry. We strive to connect, inform, and inspire the sports community by providing a one-stop destination for tournaments, clubs, facilities, insights, and resources. Our goal is to support the success and well-being of individual athletes and the vibrant sports ecosystem.