I guess it might depend on where you're from. An amateur skater here, but we do have skaters on the reserve national team in my club. 1 hour on ice with a coach costs about 6€, 1h dance lesson is around 5€. I can imagine this going higher for the elite skaters, but I'd be surprised if it reached over 15€/h. Say 2 hours daily, 7 days a week, that makes around 210€/week or roughly 900€/month. Of course that's without dance or equipment prices factored in but our coaches do find us discount boots sometimes etc. Overall I'd say it's affordable for an upper middle class family, if that's the only thing you spend on. On the other hand our country's fs school isn't exactly famous.
How expensive is figure skating
- Thread starter Skater91
- Start date
Agreed ! Alot depends on where you are skating.
We used to live in the DC area and I think it was about 15% more expensive than the Philly area. Added to that, I no longer have to pay tolls each time my child went skating. But please do not think that Philly is a bargain. Remember everything is relative.
Also remember the "quality" of coaching you get plays a factor. Stellar coaching accomplishment tends to yield a stellar coaching rate.
- Joined
- Jan 20, 2017
I feel like everyone jumped on this question to brag about how expensive professional skating is when recreational skating isn't bad at all. The OP didn't specify if they wanted to know about Olympic skaters or recreational skater costs. Did the OP want to skate themselves and is now terrified of the costs?
Recreational skaters are only spending $2,000-$5,000 a year depending on how much they like to travel and compete. If you live in an expensive big city, then yeah, you'll easily hit $10,000 as a recreational skater, but small towns are going to be much cheaper for coaching and ice time.
Recreational skaters aren't taking lessons with overpriced elite coaches and they only skate about 7-10 hours a week or less.
They might only do 1 or 2 local competitions and barely travel at all.
They can buy unstoned dresses, stone it themselves , and then reuse that dress several times before getting something new.
There's even a potential to buy stuff second-hand from other skaters.
Recreational skaters (whose feet have stopped growing) will have skates that last from 3-5 years before needing replacement. They also don't usually have to buy boots/blades made for anything but singles and maybe doubles.
They aren't required to do ballet or any extra activities off the ice since they're just recreational. It's a personal choice how much of that, if any, they want to add in.
They can go to normal public school like most kids.
At the recreational level, most people cut their own music, or have a friend or coach do it, often for free, or for a VERY small fee.
Their main coach will also throw together choreography for a program. They don't have to hire a totally separate person for that.
If you're really lucky, a lot of these smaller rinks have "jack of all trades" coaches, so you don't even have a separate MIF coach or Dance coach you have to pay.
Recreational skaters are only spending $2,000-$5,000 a year depending on how much they like to travel and compete. If you live in an expensive big city, then yeah, you'll easily hit $10,000 as a recreational skater, but small towns are going to be much cheaper for coaching and ice time.
Recreational skaters aren't taking lessons with overpriced elite coaches and they only skate about 7-10 hours a week or less.
They might only do 1 or 2 local competitions and barely travel at all.
They can buy unstoned dresses, stone it themselves , and then reuse that dress several times before getting something new.
There's even a potential to buy stuff second-hand from other skaters.
Recreational skaters (whose feet have stopped growing) will have skates that last from 3-5 years before needing replacement. They also don't usually have to buy boots/blades made for anything but singles and maybe doubles.
They aren't required to do ballet or any extra activities off the ice since they're just recreational. It's a personal choice how much of that, if any, they want to add in.
They can go to normal public school like most kids.
At the recreational level, most people cut their own music, or have a friend or coach do it, often for free, or for a VERY small fee.
Their main coach will also throw together choreography for a program. They don't have to hire a totally separate person for that.
If you're really lucky, a lot of these smaller rinks have "jack of all trades" coaches, so you don't even have a separate MIF coach or Dance coach you have to pay.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2017
I love your Avatar.
- Joined
- Sep 22, 2019
So true. Ticket ice in a plebeian downtown Toronto club costs around CAD 15-20/hour. A 45-minute subway ride away, it's CAD 10/hour.
In the UK where I used to skate, it was 6 GBP per 1.5 hours. Coaching rates were similar to Toronto (equivalent of CAD 30-50 per half hour depending on the coach's level).
I'm curious to know how much ice time/coaching might cost in Russia, since some of the clubs are government-funded.
Good point, given that OP didn't clarify. Still, all competitors would have started out skating for fun, so it makes sense to also talk about the expenses of beginner/intermediate skaters just to get a sense of how costs vary as an athlete moves up the ranks (which in turn has implications for the accessibility/popularity of the sport).
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2020
No one is bragging. In fact, it's closer to complaining. Why would I brag about being unable to go to public school? Why would I brag about spending about $50,000 per year and that the only recognition I get for it will be when I graduate high school and am forced to skate professionally so that I can pay for college without taking absurd amounts of loans?
There's still no need to attack other people for sharing the costs of their own skating instead of calmly adding that doing skating recreationally is cheaper than doing it competitvely.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2020
Can skating outdoors on frozen lakes save money?
I am thinking about this in part because of my recent pandemic experience, which might be similar to that of others around the world: I ditched my gym and just got used to exercising outdoors -- even doing things like biking in 25-degree weather (which is like -4 C).
Is it a completely different experience when you have to skate across patches of snow? Does it take too much time to travel to those lakes? Is the surface not as good?
I am thinking about this in part because of my recent pandemic experience, which might be similar to that of others around the world: I ditched my gym and just got used to exercising outdoors -- even doing things like biking in 25-degree weather (which is like -4 C).
Is it a completely different experience when you have to skate across patches of snow? Does it take too much time to travel to those lakes? Is the surface not as good?
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2020
It's really bad for your blades and you'll have to get them sharpened basically every time you skate, so not a good idea.
It feels bumpy too and you'll feel every part of your body shaking.
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2017
You wouldn't exactly be saving money by doing that, because the surface is completely different than man made indoor ice and worse on your blades. I never skate on outdoor lake ice with my current good boots/blades, the texture is too different.
- Joined
- Nov 19, 2020
Oh well, so much for my Rocky IV fantasy where the girl who was raised in the woods just needs a pair of old skates and a lake to beat all the other girls with their fancy blades and expensive high-tech training.
Just joking of course. But it is interesting to think about the comparison to soccer/footbal though. (But even there coaching works wonders.) Thanks for responses.
Just joking of course. But it is interesting to think about the comparison to soccer/footbal though. (But even there coaching works wonders.) Thanks for responses.
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2013
There's a well-known saying in motorsport circles -
How do you make a small fortune out of motorsport? Start with a large one!
The sorts of sums Daddy Stroll and Daddy Mazepin have outlaid to buy their sons seats on the F1 grid don't really equate to anything you would spend on figure skating, but there are also only twenty seats.
But the saying could extrapolate to figure skating. It's by no means a cheap sport.
How do you make a small fortune out of motorsport? Start with a large one!
The sorts of sums Daddy Stroll and Daddy Mazepin have outlaid to buy their sons seats on the F1 grid don't really equate to anything you would spend on figure skating, but there are also only twenty seats.
But the saying could extrapolate to figure skating. It's by no means a cheap sport.
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2020
What I've noticed is it's still way cheaper to do more mainstream sports recreationally (especially if there's access to school teams). For example, where I live, playing football for the season is a $100 dollar fee to join the team and practice time isn't really paid for. For a recreational skater in the same place, ice time alone would cost 1,000 dollars for 3 hours a week for the same 20 week period. I don't know what many of the costs are for football other than the team fee, but that alone is a significant difference.
Now comparing it to recreationally skiing or doing gymnastics would be a bit closer of a comparison.
Now comparing it to recreationally skiing or doing gymnastics would be a bit closer of a comparison.
In our busiest skating season (just before March 2020) we did nine competitions and some try-outs within the U.S. All were not local and required both car rentals/flights and hotels/accommodations. Spent close to $20k USD on travel and it's associated costs alone. None of the major line items that @gliese broke down so efficiently. That was separate.
We live a house-bound life except for skating in some ways. So no African safaris, designer handbags/shoes, blowouts and highlights, etc. It has gone to skating, although this year has been a complete wash because the local rink closed and we lost all our coaching (one coach was like, "forget this!" and moved the family back to Europe).
In retrospect, we were at least able to see the country before current circumstances.
We live a house-bound life except for skating in some ways. So no African safaris, designer handbags/shoes, blowouts and highlights, etc. It has gone to skating, although this year has been a complete wash because the local rink closed and we lost all our coaching (one coach was like, "forget this!" and moved the family back to Europe).
In retrospect, we were at least able to see the country before current circumstances.
Just saw post #23. Skating has been in my family's blood for three generations. My mom desperately wished to do it but grew up in too humble circumstances to do so. So she became a club president and skating volunteer - the kind that doesn't really exist any more. I got every lesson imaginable (on and off-ice at the time), but didn't compete nationally or complete all my testing because I broke my wrist twice at age 16 (within 6 months, trying to break in new custom skates) and had to quit.
I partly didn't achieve major results on the ice because I also was dedicated to being a top student - and didn't give up public school. Went to a highly respected university instead (when tuition was low - so grateful to my parents for allowing me to pursue my degree by funding it).
So next my daughter tried it out; had enough success that we found a partnership in Canada and a school to train at - in February, 2020. Then border closures happened and that opportunity went away. We sacrificed a lot to find her something because we live in a SoCal beach town where there isn't the training for her discipline, let alone the partners.
When I was growing up in Toronto, I was able to skate and get some tremendous coaching (not because I was amazingly talented but) because coaches like Osborne Colson, Wallace Diestelmeyer and Bruce Lennie, among many others, were generous enough with their time to teach students both elite and test-track.
My daughter has had tryouts and visiting lessons with Olympic, National and International coaches and former competitors. It's an incredible honour (Canuck spelling!) and I have been brought to tears by her hard work being rewarded with some spectacular lessons. These are the moments that I hope she treasures.
In sum, I am part of an old guard of skating parent, a link between the past and present. It is seriously effing expensive to skate now (I believe Virtue/Moir spent $150k Canadian per year at their peak) and no sugar-coating is going to stop the truth from coming out.
I see a ton of parents whose kids have tremendous talent, and don't have a full financial accounting of how much it's going to take to help their driven skaters succeed. The one junior singles skater my daughter has known for the past nine years? Her mom works with a similar beer budget to our family's. She gets it and does what she can.
It's funny, actually. I keep a low profile at the rinks we go to and there's a certain level of snobbishness that flies around. Not every parent or kid is like that, but it's still an impressive ratio. Frankly, everyone would be better off supporting one another domestically. It's the international skaters from Feds that care about results for national pride that are the true threat.
I partly didn't achieve major results on the ice because I also was dedicated to being a top student - and didn't give up public school. Went to a highly respected university instead (when tuition was low - so grateful to my parents for allowing me to pursue my degree by funding it).
So next my daughter tried it out; had enough success that we found a partnership in Canada and a school to train at - in February, 2020. Then border closures happened and that opportunity went away. We sacrificed a lot to find her something because we live in a SoCal beach town where there isn't the training for her discipline, let alone the partners.
When I was growing up in Toronto, I was able to skate and get some tremendous coaching (not because I was amazingly talented but) because coaches like Osborne Colson, Wallace Diestelmeyer and Bruce Lennie, among many others, were generous enough with their time to teach students both elite and test-track.
My daughter has had tryouts and visiting lessons with Olympic, National and International coaches and former competitors. It's an incredible honour (Canuck spelling!) and I have been brought to tears by her hard work being rewarded with some spectacular lessons. These are the moments that I hope she treasures.
In sum, I am part of an old guard of skating parent, a link between the past and present. It is seriously effing expensive to skate now (I believe Virtue/Moir spent $150k Canadian per year at their peak) and no sugar-coating is going to stop the truth from coming out.
I see a ton of parents whose kids have tremendous talent, and don't have a full financial accounting of how much it's going to take to help their driven skaters succeed. The one junior singles skater my daughter has known for the past nine years? Her mom works with a similar beer budget to our family's. She gets it and does what she can.
It's funny, actually. I keep a low profile at the rinks we go to and there's a certain level of snobbishness that flies around. Not every parent or kid is like that, but it's still an impressive ratio. Frankly, everyone would be better off supporting one another domestically. It's the international skaters from Feds that care about results for national pride that are the true threat.
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2014
I agree. In fact, the cost of skating once you take it seriously is quite expensive. The sole reason I stopped was because of the expense. Between skates, ice time, and a coach. It can break the bank of many people. The travel expenses also really add up.
- Joined
- Sep 14, 2008
I wish it would be funny, but it's disheartening. The environment at rinks takes a real toll on some people who are trying to work hard and dedicate their lives to becoming the best they can. Yet, just because they don't pay for as many hours of coaching from the top coach, or wear certain clothes, or drive a certain car, or w/e other superficialities, a certain amount of scorn will often be directed at them. Mistakes they make will often be highlighted much more negatively, in addition to other micro-aggressions.
One time I was practicing triple lutz from steps down the center of the ice, and failing most of the landings, and someone came up and told me it was rude to be falling so much and that "a lutz can't be done quickly at the center of the rink like that, you should just stay out of the way and glide into a corner."
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2011
that's a new one. never knew it was out of line to be falling in figure skating, heaven forbid! how dare you fall on a triple jump
- Joined
- Dec 4, 2004
I have a cousin in the Japanese Olys in sailing... she has been all over the world competing for many years...went to a sailing college...it is very expensive but there are ways to lesson the costs...
Dont forget Unlimited Aircraft Pylon racing. Millions.
