The Cost Of An Olympic Athlete (ConsumerCredit.com infographic)

CaroLiza_fan · Oct 11, 2014

Firstly, apologies if this has already been posted in any of the Gracie threads, or in last season's Olympics sub-forum.

Last night, Marta Garcia shared a photo to her Facebook profile, and I found it so interesting that I had hunt down the original and show you guys.

http://www.consumercredit.com/financial-education/infographics/the-cost-of-an-olympic-athlete.aspx

I knew that it was an expensive business raising an athlete, but those figures really shocked me. $5 grand just for a costume!!! :eek:

$1.5 grand just for a pair of skates!!! :eek:

And these are the things that get replaced regularly!

Now I fully understand why it is so hard for skaters from a less-well-off background to make it to the big time!

And also why so many skaters want to get into coaching when they retire!

CaroLiza_fan

trains · Oct 11, 2014

In Canada the cost to train as an ordinary competitive skater who just goes to local and regional competitions, let's say at the novice level - and there are thousands of these skaters - is @$10,000.00+ a year. Ice time, coaching, skates (blades cost $500 alone), travel, fees, seminars, costumes etc. A successful skater who is moving up will pay quite a bit more. There is no official funding until you are one of those top 5 seniors on the national team, although there are some bursaries and other funds sometimes available along the way.

satine · Oct 11, 2014

Didn't Patrick or his father say his yearly training fees were around 150-200k? :eek:

trains · Oct 11, 2014

Yes Patrick's father often talked about that being the cost of his training. And that is typical at the very top level around the world. It's what it costs to stay competitive.

Meoima · Oct 11, 2014

I think the total price listed in the link is quite cheap considering that PChiddy's dad once said he need 150-200k a year.
But yeah, skaters that have their costumes made by family member might cost less in that area.

starlight97 · Oct 11, 2014

Dear Lord.
I had no idea :slink:

I knew it was incredible expensive but those numbers are crazy.
How can anybody afford this??? Crazy.

ice coverage · Oct 11, 2014

CaroLiza_fan said:
Firstly, apologies if this has already been posted in any of the Gracie threads, or in last season's Olympics sub-forum. ...

RED FLAG: contrary to your thread title, the graphic is NOT based on Gracie Gold :no:, although her image is used.

At the bottom of the graphic are links to the four sources on which the graphic is based.

The Riedell link does not work, but I doubt that its site would say anything about Gold, who is sponsored by Edea.
Gold is noticeably absent from Riedell's page of skaters on Team Riedell:

http://www.ice.riedellskates.com/skaters/#
http://www.ice.riedellskates.com/CategoryList.aspx?CategoryName=Skates-and-Boots (the dead link)
http://ice.edeaskates.com/en/our-skaters/senior/gracie-gold/

And Gold is NEVER even mentioned in the other three sources.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyl...ure-skaters/ZfSFpCEEKGGPrwzAcvnGRN/story.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/the-average-cost-of-train_n_4698161.html
http://www.usfsa.org/Content/parentsarticles/Parents_Oct04.pdf (article from 2004, BTW)

I really hope that you "report" your thread to the mods to request that they remove Gold from the title.
(Out of respect for your good intentions, CL_fan, I have not yet done so myself.)

Anyway, thanks

for the graphic, which I had never seen before.
Not saying that the numbers are inaccurate in general for an elite skater at the Olympic level. But it is misleading to associate them specifically with Gold.

Sam-Skwantch · Oct 11, 2014

satine94 said:
Didn't Patrick or his father say his yearly training fees were around 150-200k?

That has to include travel expenses and a whole slew of other things!! Maybe they use the US Army technique of reporting the cost of a hammer at $800 and $10 a nail :laugh:

"Sure Dad, these new boots coat like $8,000....can you help me out?" - Fictitious P. Chan

I've done a breakdown of costs at my local rink for a few families and it wasn't very uncommon to see ice time alone costing them ~$5,000 a year. One girl we estimated to be around $11,000 in ice time alone. She is a real rink rat :clap:

<insert coaching fees here>(on ice and off) :bang:

Did someone say ballet training? It adds up but I'm surprised to see such high costs for P.Chan. I'd love to see that breakdown in full detail.

Interesting that the graphic breakdown CL_fan provided doesn't include cost of ice. Are the coaches paying for the ice time and adding that to the cost. My rink doesn't operate that way. You pay for the ice seperate from the coaches.

CanadianSkaterGuy · Oct 11, 2014

Yeah that didn't even include ice time! :eek:

ice coverage · Oct 11, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
That has to include travel expenses and a whole slew of other things!! Maybe they use the US Army technique of reporting the cost of a hammer at $800 and $10 a nail

"Sure Dad, these new boots coat like $8,000....can you help me out?" - Fictitious P. Chan

I've done a breakdown of costs at my local rink for a few families and it wasn't very uncommon to see ice time alone costing them ~$5,000 a year. One girl we estimated to be around $11,000 in ice time alone. She is a real rink rat <insert coaching fees here>(on ice and off) Did someone say ballet training? It adds up but I'm surprised to see such high costs for P.Chan. I'd love to see that breakdown on detail.

Interesting that the or graphic breakdown CL_fan provided doesn't include coat of ice. Are the coaches paying for the ice time and adding that to the cost. My rink doesn't operate that way. You pay for the ice seperate from the coaches.

I don't know the breakdown of costs for Chan, but I don't doubt the higher figures for him.
For one thing, he used to have three primary coaches at once (Krall, who was the first among equals; Johnson; Shipstad).

$2000 seems very low to me for off-ice training.

A separate residence far from home (to train with a non-local coach) would be another significant expense for skaters who otherwise still could/would be living at home.

Sam-Skwantch · Oct 11, 2014

I don't doubt P. Chan's expenses contrary to my sarcasm. I just would love to see it broken down.

CaroLiza_fan · Oct 11, 2014

golden411 said:
RED FLAG: contrary to your thread title, the graphic is NOT based on Gracie Gold :no:, although her image is used.

At the bottom of the graphic are links to the four sources on which the graphic is based.

The Riedell link does not work, but I doubt that its site would say anything about Gold, who is sponsored by Edea.
Gold is noticeably absent from Riedell's page of skaters on Team Riedell:

http://www.ice.riedellskates.com/skaters/#
http://www.ice.riedellskates.com/CategoryList.aspx?CategoryName=Skates-and-Boots (the dead link)
http://ice.edeaskates.com/en/our-skaters/senior/gracie-gold/

And Gold is NEVER even mentioned in the other three sources.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyl...ure-skaters/ZfSFpCEEKGGPrwzAcvnGRN/story.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/30/the-average-cost-of-train_n_4698161.html
http://www.usfsa.org/Content/parentsarticles/Parents_Oct04.pdf (article from 2004, BTW)

I really hope that you "report" your thread to the mods to request that they remove Gold from the title.
(Out of respect for your good intentions, CL_fan, I have not yet done so myself.)

Anyway, thanks for the graphic, which I had never seen before.
Not saying that the numbers are inaccurate in general for an elite skater at the Olympic level. But it is misleading to associate them specifically with Gold.

Thanks for pointing that out, Golden. The introductory paragraph on the webpage said that it was about Gracie, so I took their word for it:

Consumer Credit said:
Some of you may wondering if you have the right stuff to become an Olympian. Not only does it require talent, but it requires some serious investment as well. Take a look at our infographic below, based on 2014 Sochi Olympian Gracie Gold, to see what the average figure skater must pay on an annual basis to remain at the top of his or her field.

My fault for not bothering to check out their sources before posting the thread. But, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would have assumed the website would have checked it all out before publishing the page! :bang:

Sorry. I'll not be so naïve in the future!

CaroLiza_fan

satine · Oct 11, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
I don't doubt P. Chan's expenses contrary to my sarcasm. I just would love to see it broken down.

Me too, Sam-Skwantch :yes: I'm assuming it includes travel and housing fees, coaching, rink time, physician visits, off-ice training, boots, outfits, choreo, and probably even more I'm not thinking of. That sounds like a lot, but choreo and outfits are usually one-time purchases per season & boots and travel purchases probably vary a lot depending upon circumstances. Rink, coach fees, and doc visits are very regular, I'm assuming, but just how often is the question.

And for reference, the yearly CAD would equate to 134-179k USD. Monthly it'd be 12,500-16,666 or 11,159-14,878 USD. I'm thinking the given estimate is CAD, but if not it doesn't make too drastic of a difference.

ice coverage · Oct 11, 2014

CaroLiza_fan said:
Thanks for pointing that out, Golden. The introductory paragraph on the webpage said that it was about Gracie, so I took their word for it:

My fault for not bothering to check out their sources before posting the thread. But, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would have assumed the website would have checked it all out before publishing the page!

Sorry. I'll not be so naïve in the future!

CaroLiza_fan

Thx to you and the mods for changing the thread title. Agree that the website itself should not have been so irresponsible with its intro.

Just did not want the graphic's numbers to get permanently embedded into anyone's brain as any kind of reliable estimate of Gold's costs in particular.

(As this thread shows, some people still have instant recall of the cost estimates for Chan that originated way back when with his father.)

golden411 said:
... A separate residence far from home (to train with a non-local coach) would be another significant expense for skaters who otherwise still could/would be living at home.

I should have noted that maybe(??) the graphic lumps such extra living costs under Coaching. Impossible to tell for sure.

desertskates · Oct 11, 2014

I actually think the travel estimation is a little on the low end. When you look at the a country's top tier skaters making 5-6 international trips per year, you're going to burn through that $10,000 pretty quickly.

Mrs. P · Oct 11, 2014

desertskates said:
I actually think the travel estimation is a little on the low end. When you look at the a country's top ties skaters making 5-6 international trips per year, you're going to burn through that $10,000 pretty quickly.

But for GPs, I think travel costs are covered by the hosting federation?

Icey · Oct 11, 2014

Sam-Skwantch said:
I don't doubt P. Chan's expenses contrary to my sarcasm. I just would love to see it broken down.

I think Chan's expense figure likely included housing away from home, meals, personal travel expenses, etc. I believe his Dad purchased a condo for Chan when he was in Colorado. That would up the total expense quite a bit.
In any case, the model for financing figure skating is outdated and needs to be changed for many reasons.
I question that coaching for most is $40,000 a year. If you go to the web sites of the rinks where some of the coaches are working and look at their hourly rate for a private lesson, $40, 000 seems unlikely.

ice coverage · Oct 11, 2014

Icey said:
... I question that coaching for most is $40,000 a year. If you go to the web sites of the rinks where some of the coaches are working and look at their hourly rate for a private lesson, $40, 000 seems unlikely.

Just curious:

What would your estimate for coaching costs be?
Approximately how many coaching hours would a top skater be paying for per day or per week?

FWIW, an old listing for Frank Carroll said his rate was $50 for 20 minutes.

http://deserticecastle.com/coaches/

ETA:

Also FWIW, the USFS source article (from 2004, however) for the infographic estimates that total expenses (not limited to coaching) would be $35,000-40,000 for a serious novice. And that expenses for a good junior or senior would not be much more.

skatedreamer · Oct 11, 2014

golden411 said:
I don't know the breakdown of costs for Chan, but I don't doubt the higher figures for him.
For one thing, he used to have three primary coaches at once (Krall, who was the first among equals; Johnson; Shipstad).

$2000 seems very low to me for off-ice training.

A separate residence far from home (to train with a non-local coach) would be another significant expense for skaters who otherwise still could/would be living at home.

The off-ice training number seemed low to me, too. $2K/year wouldn't even cover the cost of a gym membership in many cities. Then there's dance training and for some, acting classes as well. At higher levels, you could also factor in a sports psychologist.

Re: out-of-town residence, I know that skaters sometimes live with families who "adopt" them for this purpose but that isn't the norm. Also, if they're not living w/ a family, younger skaters need a parent or guardian with them, which just adds to the expense. That piece can be tough on siblings, too, which is a different kind of cost.

What really boggles my brain is that there are a lot of parents out there who raise several kids on less than the figure quoted in the article :jaw:

. And if one of the kids has dreams of becoming an elite athlete in any sport...well, I can't even begin to imagine the sacrifices.

Krunchii · Oct 11, 2014

skatedreamer said:
The off-ice training number seemed low to me, too. $2K/year wouldn't even cover the cost of a gym membership in many cities. Then there's dance training and for some, acting classes as well. At higher levels, you could also factor in a sports psychologist.

Re: out-of-town residence, I know that skaters sometimes live with families who "adopt" them for this purpose but that isn't the norm. Also, if they're not living w/ a family, younger skaters need a parent or guardian with them, which just adds to the expense. That piece can be tough on siblings, too, which is a different kind of cost.

What really boggles my brain is that there are a lot of parents out there who raise several kids on less than the figure quoted in the article . And if one of the kids has dreams of becoming an elite athlete in any sport...well, I can't even begin to imagine the sacrifices.

There are a lot of sacrifices and nice people out there. My friend when she competed in local competitions (in Ontario) as a little girl came from a single mother family and her coach was a really wonderful person, she was also a dress maker so when my friend needed dresses for her competitions her coach would only charge her for the materials that went into making the dress which was abut $200, she told me if she was to buy the dresses they would be around the $1000 mark. I remember she also bought skates that were a size too big so she could wear them a bit longer, she just wore thick socks and tightened the laces until she grew into them.

The Cost Of An Olympic Athlete (ConsumerCredit.com infographic)

CaroLiza_fan

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