Why Should I Become a Colonial
Athletic Booster (CAB) Member?
2010 - 2011
What do the Athletic Boosters do?
• Before you consider becoming a member, you
should know what the Athletic Boosters do
• Put simply, the CAB supplement the Athletic
Funding provided by Fairfax County to provide
your child with a more rewarding athletic
experience at TJ
Supplement County Funds? Huh?
The Colonial Athletic Boosters BRIDGE the gap between county funding and
the actual cost of participating in a sport!
Supplement How?
• Fairfax County pays for the Coaches’ salaries, bus
transportation, referees and utilities
• The Colonial Athletic Boosters:
– Pay for Uniforms
– Pay for specialized equipment, such as wrestling and
cheerleading mats, football helmets, field hockey and lacrosse
goals, basketballs, baseballs, and all equipment in the weight
room and more.
– Subsidize bus trips for teams to invitational events in cross
country, track and for other sports as required
– Fund many other smaller ticket items, such as the CAB website,
awards and scholarships, coaching clinics, etc
– Pay for field care and maintenance (seeding, cutting, putting
lines on the field, etc.)
My child plays football, how does the
CAB help the football team?
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Field maintenance!!
Equipment and uniforms
Provide concessions and ticket volunteers
Publish the Fall Sports Program, highlighting the football team
So...compare the costs of CAB membership with a typical
football youth league...This is taken from the McLean Mustangs
registration page: “Registration Fee is $225; Optional equipment packages are
available at either $75 or $90, depending on the weight class. Late Fees of $50
are applied to registrations received after August 9 - the first day of practice.”
.....You get a bargain at TJ!
How do the Athletic Boosters pay for
all of those things?
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The CAB has an annual operating budget of around $140K per year
The CAB brings in money in the following ways:
– Membership (this is almost all profit that goes straight to the CAB, more than $40,000 per
year)
– Concessions (we make about $1 profit for every dollar we spend – so if you don’t want to
become a member eat a lot while you are at the games!)
– Merchandise (this is a highly variable source of income, once we purchase items we have to
sell them or they become a sunk cost; it’s a delicate balance between having enough in
inventory and having too much in inventory)
– The Penultimate Track Meet (more than 25 teams participate in this annual spring meet,
which brings in anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 after expenses. Although this is a track
event, the money goes into the general CAB operating funds.)
– Sports Physicals (another source of $5,000 to $10,000 dollars all from volunteer labor! We
may lose this as a source of funds in the future, it may go straight to the Athletic Trainer’s
budget. The final resolution is still to be determined)
– A variety of other income sources are employed. In the coming year we are going to try to
improve fundraising and sponsorships.
•
Being at TJ presents a BIG challenge since we don’t have a local community base to
align ourselves with. It’s much harder to get sponsors and donors than at a
geographically based school!
But my family may have to pay an
athletic participation fee next year!
• That is true. The proposed participation fee is
required to make up for Fairfax County school
system shortfalls.
• However, these fees will not cover the
expenses that the CAB funds, we still need
family and friends to become members and
provide support!
Convince me some more....
• A couple of things to consider:
– Depending on the level of your membership, you receive passes for all
athletic events at TJ. Think about it, at $5 per game, attending 5 fall
sports games, 7 or 8 winter sports games, and 7 or 8 spring sports
games can cost you from $95 to $105 per year! You get the biggest
bang for your buck by JOINING IN THE FALL!
– Travel sports and club memberships cost a lot. CAB membership is a
small cost in comparison. Take a look at your cable bill or think about
how much you spent eating out at Outback the last time you went!
• In previous years nearly half of the student body has participated in
at least one sport at TJ. Nearly 1,000 students. If ¾ of those
parents join at the $100 membership level, the CAB would bring in
$75,000 in memberships alone!
I MIGHT be interested – how do I join?
• Go to colonialathletics.org
• Click on the Boosters tab
• Click on the Membership tab and choose the
method that works best for you