How do get boys more interested in figure skating?

This was inspired by the article about boys and figure skating, most of these ideas are off the top of my head, so they really aren't very good, but here goes nothing:

1. Make FS more accesible, FS is a very expensive sport and ice rinks are not available like basketball courts or baseball fields are. How exactly one does this-I'm not sure This might also get kids to see how hard and fun FS can be.

2. With boys, find male coaches and really emphesize speed, jumps, and the more "athletic" components of FS. Of course I think that line, artistry and are also extremely important too.

3. The problem is a cultural belief that artistry does not equal masculinity and therefore, it will still be hard to attract boys to FS because of the cultural stereotypes.

Your thoughts?

I think it's kind of hopeless, at least in North America

Maybe the USFSA needs to do some aggressive recruiting among the hockey player boys. I bet there are lots of boys who might wind up too small to play hockey for college who would make great figure skaters. They might want to reconsider boys who played hockey as kids who are 13 to get those kids into skating. Boys don't mature as early as girls so a hockey playing kid taking up figure skating at 13 will still have 10 years of training and ar 23 won't be that old. They might find another prodigy like Johnny Weir (who started at 12).

I never saw mens figure skating as that effeminate. With the exception of a few champions, most of the male skaters are very masculine , ie Todd Eldredge, Alexei Yagudin, Plushenko (he may move gay , but his mullet makes him look like a man) , Dick Button and Brian Boitano (he might be gay but he does not look like a sissy on the ice) are a few examples. I think that the reason there aren't that many boys in figure skating is that boys tend to prefer the camaraderie of being on a team than being in an individual sport.

Most boys haven't a clue that figure skating exists. In NYC, we now have a couple of ice rinks where many children skate at general admission prices. In both Central Park and Rockefeller Center one can see some boys practicing spins and maybe jumps if the guards don'tstop them. That is all they have to get inspired unless they watch some skating competitions on TV.

There are signs for skating lessons with prices that those kids can not reach without an understanding parent. It's not like asking for a baseball mit.

Joe

I think that boys need USFSA-sponsored year-round training program, similar to elite ballet training. That way, boy skaters would be around other boy skaters, and away from their less-than-charming "peers" in public schools and their neighborhoods. It does mean going away from home, but it has been the saving grace for many boys in ballet.

Tell them the girls go wild for them, while their boyfriends and husbands don't get jealous because they think they're gay.

Silver Lining said:

Tell them the girls go wild for them, while their boyfriends and husbands don't get jealous because they think they're gay.

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teach them in groups

I try to group boys together at the Basic Skills level. They develop friendships and it doesn't seem so girlie if there aren't any girls around.
I know some larger clubs have male only sessions.
Boys don't want to stand out in a crowd of girls when they are at a young age.
Finally, there is alot of pressure from other boys at school and such that have no idea about figure skating as a sport, who make fun of the boy skaters.
There are great opportunities for male skates just because there are so few, this should keep them motivated as well.

Idle - Wasn't there a movie about some chick getting a hockey player to be her partner?

Joe

Joesitz said:

Idle - Wasn't there a movie about some chick getting a hockey player to be her partner? Joe

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The "Cutting Edge" starring Moira Kelly and D.B. Sweeney?

Marjaana

Ilia Kulik photos & photolinks
http://koti.welho.com/mjylha2/index.html

I really think some of this is the fact that many people (specifically the fathers of said boys) are fairly rigid in how they assign gender roles and uncomfortable with what is outside their norm--specifically the gay stereotype that is attached to male figure skating.

I volunteer assistant coach beginner and advanced beginner skaters, and I often see fathers immediately put their young sons in a hockey skate, because that is their plan for the boy. That can be a problem as a hockey skate is different from a figure skate, and can be more difficult to manage when you are a raw beginner. The toepick, as an example, is a marvelous assist when the child is learning proper technique with "falling and getting up" because they can use the pick to assist them, whereas often the hockey blade keeps sliding out from under them as they try to push back up. I've approached their Dads many times suggesting they use a figure skate for a few weeks until they get the hang of moving around, etc. While some are very nice and accepting about that, I've had some who look at me in shock as though I've suggested their son should throw on a pink feather boa and march in a gay pride parade!!!! Some even flat out REFUSE--their son isn't going to do THAT kind of skating, after all!!!! Unfortunately, while most of us in skating and skating fandom respect all people and preferences, there is still a great deal of unfair "gay paranoia" in this country, and it does affect how many look at male figure skating. I skate with an extremely talented boy skater and he gets bullied at school because of his choice and teased by some of the hockey players at our rink. I admire the fact that he loves the sport so much that he wouldn't think of quitting. I wish I could come up with a solution--I'd love to see more boys in figure skating. I just try to do my best to present it in as positive a light as I can.

Some of the boys here in Canada take up figure skating to improve their skating for hockey - Kurt Browning for example- and end up liking figure skating. Although, Kurt always says he took it up to meet girls!

Often times that is the way it happens - hockey calls, but figure skating answers