What do skaters do when they're career is over at 26? | Golden Skate

What do skaters do when they're career is over at 26?

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Mar 15, 2013
So realistically most skaters are done by the time they're 26...if that. Aside from Kim Yuna and Mao Asada, what will most of them to do for money? I mean I guess there are ice shows but I don't know a single person who's been to one in the last 15 years. Do they basically have to be figure skating coaches or marry rich?
 

jenaj

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So realistically most skaters are done by the time they're 26...if that. Aside from Kim Yuna and Mao Asada, what will most of them to do for money? I mean I guess there are ice shows but I don't know a single person who's been to one in the last 15 years. Do they basically have to be figure skating coaches or marry rich?

They can go back to school and become lawyers or doctors or go into business. Some examples are Matt Savoie (lawyer), Debi Thomas (doctor). Even Sasha Cohen, who can make money in shows, has gone back to school. If they choose to coach, they can do that, too. 26 is not exactly ancient.
 

flying camel

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Nov 16, 2005
Some of them would make great choreographers.

I fill that USFSA should hire some to mentor the young skaters coming up. As we all can see making the transition from junior to senior or just learning how to compete can be difficult. I thinks words of advice coming from skaters you admire, who have done what you are trying to do could be very helpful.
 

chuckm

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Sarah Hughes graduated from Yale and then did...nothing. She is reportedly writing a book about figure skating; she's been doing that for the past three years. Her sister Emily graduated from Harvard and is employed, but I'm not sure in what capacity.

Tara Lipinski retired from competition at 16, did SOI for four years, then quit that to concentrate on an acting career that never quite got off the ground. She came back two years ago to do UniversalSports and IceNetwork commentary, but this season, she was absent from both media.

Tonia Kwiatkowski does commentary for IceNetwork.
 

Icey

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Really?? Can you post a link about this?

In a recent interview, Sarah said she was writing a book about the 6 medalist who preceded her.

http://www.omaha.com/article/20130124/SPORTS/701249843/1707


Re Emily: Starting in February 2012, Emily began a career in consulting with Deloitte Consulting in New York.


OT Their older brother Matt graduated from the police academy in 2012 and is currently an officer with the NYPD
 

silverlake22

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Nov 12, 2009
I believe Emily works as a consultant for Deloitte. Not too shabby. But then again, I'd expect nothing less with a Harvard degree and her accomplished background.
 
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Sarah Hughes graduated from Yale and then did...nothing. She is reportedly writing a book about figure skating; she's been doing that for the past three years. Her sister Emily graduated from Harvard and is employed, but I'm not sure in what capacity.

Tara Lipinski retired from competition at 16, did SOI for four years, then quit that to concentrate on an acting career that never quite got off the ground. She came back two years ago to do UniversalSports and IceNetwork commentary, but this season, she was absent from both media.

Tonia Kwiatkowski does commentary for IceNetwork.

I'm sorry to hear that Hughes has not found something rewarding and stimulating to do. I had hopes for her because of her family's obvious emphasis on education. I'm sure she'll find her way in time. But at least she went to college. Tara has worried me for years. She barely graduated from high school, and then she seemed to do nothing for at least ten years. And she's clearly smart and quick. It's not my lookout, of course, but that always bothers me in a person with obvious skills and drive.

I'm happy to see the path of Sasha's career. Not only did she do a lot of skating after her eligible career ended, but she's now learning more and gaining skills for a different kind of career. Good going!

Of course I'm thrilled to bits about Michelle, I've always been happy about Debi Thomas, and I love knowing about people like Matt Savoie. (And in the future, presumably, Rachael Flatt.)

One other thing skaters can do later on is become technical judges. I believe Tim Goebel is gaining qualifications for that. I don't know if it pays the rent, but it's a nice way to stay in skating while maybe doing some other kind of work as well.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
So realistically most skaters are done by the time they're 26...if that. Aside from Kim Yuna and Mao Asada, what will most of them to do for money? I mean I guess there are ice shows but I don't know a single person who's been to one in the last 15 years. Do they basically have to be figure skating coaches or marry rich?

Well, let's see. Michelle Kwan made fifteen million or so skating, retired at 25, built her own family skating arena, went back to school and finished her undergraduate degree, went to graduate school and got a degree in international law and diplomacy, got a job with the United States State Department -- and then married into a family that is worth billions. :)

But seriously, there is no need to feel sorry for retired athletes. They have the same options that everyone else has. Go back to school or get a job.

Matt Savoie is a lawyer. Tim Goebel is a statistician for a polling organization. Kristi Yamaguchi wrote a best-selling children's book (not that she needs the money). Rocky Marvel drove a truck for his family's trucking firm. There are lots of jobs out there that former figure skaters are just as well qualified for as anyone else.
 
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FlattFan

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Jan 4, 2010
What about the unsung stories of the other 98%. Who was the guy who was serving fries at local skating rink?
Skaters are just like the rest of us.
 

Icey

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Nov 28, 2012
Michelle made a lot of money, but I think from what I have read 15, 000, 000 is much too big. More like 8 million.

How long does it take some skaters who never became "winners" to pay off the debt they accrued. A family can easily run up a million dollar tab. I suspect there are some financial horror stories out there we never hear about.
 

leafygreens

Final Flight
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Mar 7, 2011
I was concerned that Sasha would go the Tara route and do nothing for 10 years, but she seems to be keeping really busy and becoming a businesswoman, so good for her. Maybe it's the gold medalists who rest on their laurels, and the silver medalists still have that work drive in them? I dunno.
 

chuckm

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Arakawa was already a college graduate when she won the OGM. She has been doing skating shows in Japan and is very popular and probably gets lots of endorsements. I'm sure when she's ready to hang up her skates, she will have a posh job waiting for her.
 

karne

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One thing that did surprise me (but in a good way) was just how many of the skaters at US Nationals seemed to be taking college classes or planning on going to college while still skating. It seems there's a lot more forward thinking going on nowadays, and I think a lot more skaters are now being less afraid to think of what's going to happen after skating.

There are always the coaching/choreographer/judge/tech specialist types, and then you have the others who want to be involved with sport but not in the same way; Max Aaron studying sports management, for example.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I'm sure that the top ones have some great post-skating possibilities, including endorsements. But the others, as Icey and FlattFan point out, lived humble lives as skaters (spending a lot of money on their sport along the way) and will live humble lives as ex-skaters. What will make the difference for them is not any fame they accrued as skaters (because often no one outside skating will know their name) but education. This is true of all athletes, not just skaters. After all, biathletes and bobsledders are even less well known than skaters, generally have fewer endorsements, and don't have any professional shows. It's education that will lift them out of waitressing and other paid-by-the-hour jobs.
 

ForeverFish

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Aug 21, 2012
Most, I suspect, will go to school. Shows are good ways of staying with the sport for a while after retirement, but they eventually end for various reasons--definitely not the best option for long-term planning.

Even Yuna Kim, who has sponsorships thrown at her almost every time she turns around, has pursued a degree in physical education at Korea University.
 

vlaurend

Final Flight
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Jan 14, 2008
One other thing skaters can do later on is become technical judges. I believe Tim Goebel is gaining qualifications for that. I don't know if it pays the rent, but it's a nice way to stay in skating while maybe doing some other kind of work as well.

. . . which is a nice way to stay involved in the sport, but it's a volunteer job. They get reimbursed for travel expenses, but that's it.
 
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