Cheer St. Louis, LLC

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2016/01/19) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@cheerstlouis.com
Customers enroll in the competitive program and sign a handbook and contact regarding expectations and fees. A copy is provided....


Athletes are evaluate and placed on teams in May. Children are given roles in routines and expected to perform their skills to the best of their ability. Per the contract handbook, practicing does not give the child the right to compete. In this case, the child stopped performing her skills, after performing them successfully for months. The child was told she would not be able to compete, essentially would be benched, until she could bring her skills up to the level of the rest of her team and what she is capable of doing. The parent then withdrew the child from the program.
Per the handbook, there is a commitment fee that is paid in July 2015. With this commitment fee the customer is committing to the entire season (May 1-April 30). If the customer finishes the season in full, they are not required to pay April tuition fees. This is an incentive to finish the season.
Also, per the signed contract, all fees are non refundable. Customers pay tuition training fees, competition entry fees, choreography fees and coaches expense fees. The fees are all added together and divided into 12 installments. Competition fees are included in tuition and are not refunded for lack of participation, injury, quitting, etc. This is due to these fees being paid to the competition companies 3-5 months before the competition. The fees are non refundable to the company, therefore, per the signed contact non refundable to the customer.
The customer never spoke to the Owner of Cheer St. Louis about this issue. Only withdrew her child. No resolution was attempted. The customer didn't speak to the coaches of the team the child was on or the owner about what happened, just withdrew. The customer was not present at the training practice to see the situation, actions of the child, coaches, owner, etc. The accusations made about the owner are false.
Cheer St. Louis attempted to better the situation for the customer by prorating the January tuition effective the drop date of the athlete. The customer is not being required to pay the fees for February-April. Therefor has not already paid for the competitions they are referring to and asking for refunds for. Customer only paid for fees up to the date they withdrew.
At Cheer St. Louis we agree that our program is not for every athletes. If someone has a concern, we encourage communication and will always talk a customer through a situation. Even if we don't agree, we can always come to a resolution. If it is agreed that what Cheer St. Louis offers is not for a certain customer, we can come to an agreement to move forward both financial and for the best interest of the child.
At Cheer St. Louis our first priority is safety and wellbeing of our athletes. Cheer St. Louis does not bully, make a mockery or single out any child. We coach kids to their full potential and build great athletes. Wee have 450 children in attendance weekly and 350 athletes on competitive teams. All are held to the same standard. We believe we are teaching athletes bigger life lessons than cheerleading and teaching them to be good people. We believe that not every person gets a trophy in life and not everyone wins.
This situation is a parent being upset that her child was held responsible for their skills. Her child was upset because she was going to be benched and the parent nor athlete didn't like that, so they withdrew from the program. The parent never asked the coach what happened, just made a decision based on her 11 year olds reaction to being held responsible for their part in a routine and skills. Safety of the athlete was never compromised or a concern. This customer has been a part of Cheer St. Louis since May of 2014 and coaches by the same coached by the same coaches for the last 9 months. The policies of the program are the same policies since the customer joined the program.