I think Amrican skaters get more funding than Canadian skaters because there are more rich sponsors in the US.
The truth behind Patrick Chan's China crisis
- Thread starter Bluebonnet
- Start date
I think Amrican skaters get more funding than Canadian skaters because there are more rich sponsors in the US.
There's nothing funny about it except it just shows the writer's mean spirit and ugliness.
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2009
Nope, it's funny.
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- Jun 27, 2003
Incorrect. Scott Hamilton's mother died of cancer in 1979(?) and due to her medical bills and his father being a professor at Bowling Green there wasn't enough $$ to go around. Scott's father didn't pass away until 1994 (while Scott was in Lillehammer covering the ladies final). The McLoraines were the sponsors for scott which is why he left the Scotvolds to be coached by Carlo Fossi.
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- Aug 23, 2003
Do you have any idea of what the parents of elite skaters have to do? First off, there are schedules to be arranged and maintained. Contracts with coaches, federations, tour companies and the like which have to be dealt negotiated and completed. While agents handle part of this work, someone has to instruct those doing the negotiations, and all have to be put into that all important schedule. Travel arrangements have to be made, visas and other paperwork have to be completed for travel to foreign competitions/shows. Skates and costumes have to be maintained, repaired, blades sharpened. In the case of a World Champion such as Patrick, there are additional media responsibilities to both Skate Canada and ISU, all of which have to be co-ordinated, scheduled and the requisite travel arrangements made.
It's a very thankless job, and then you get some twit on a message board who thinks that the only thing involved is driving the skater to the rink and fixing his dinner.
The "big" sponsors (corporations) kick in only after a skater has reached the elite level (i.e. has Medaled at US Nationals and/or won major international medals. Individual 'rich' sponsors are hard to come by even in the US.
I believe Chan has some major corporate sponsors.
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- Jun 21, 2003
IMHO. in skating it is better to be rich than poor.
Both of Sonia Henie's parents were independently wealthy by way of inheritances, plus he made a bundle in the fur trading industry. Sonia herself made millions in the movies, by endorcements, in real estate (and according to her brother, by cheating her family out of their share
) She was one of the richest women in the world when she died, being worth $50,000,000 or so in the 1960s.
This is what Partick Chan should aspire to (adjusted for inflatiuon, of course). :yes:
Both of Sonia Henie's parents were independently wealthy by way of inheritances, plus he made a bundle in the fur trading industry. Sonia herself made millions in the movies, by endorcements, in real estate (and according to her brother, by cheating her family out of their share
) She was one of the richest women in the world when she died, being worth $50,000,000 or so in the 1960s.This is what Partick Chan should aspire to (adjusted for inflatiuon, of course). :yes:
With his talent and achievement, he'd get more funding from SA than what he is getting from SC now. He has only one coroprate sponsor : McDonald's. If he were an American, I am sure he'd get more coroprate sponsors.
In Patrick's mom's own words, "Here, I act as Patrick's manager, chauffeur, cook, mother, and coordinator. It's a full time job".
http://www.examiner.com/ice-skating...atrick-chan-and-his-mom-love-colorado-springs
My point was Hamilton was in a far worse financial hole than Chan is.
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- Jan 23, 2009
Of course you'd expect a housewife to say that.
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- Aug 26, 2010
The concept of "rich" and "poor" is truly relative and subjective. Michael Jackson was about 500 million dollars in debt. At the age of 50, he was still working for the money, just like the rest of the working class. Some (e.g., the attorneys for Dr. Conrad Murray) even suggested that he killed himself over debt, and yet many thought he was rich.
Being able to purchase a second condo implies that the Chan family was at least able to satisfy the debt-to-income ratio limit (say, 28/36) for a mortgage qualification. If Patrick's parents, as some have mentioned, do not count on financial returns from his skating career, they are not poor or actually quite well-off in my opinion (of course, "rich" and "poor" are subjective).
Being able to purchase a second condo implies that the Chan family was at least able to satisfy the debt-to-income ratio limit (say, 28/36) for a mortgage qualification. If Patrick's parents, as some have mentioned, do not count on financial returns from his skating career, they are not poor or actually quite well-off in my opinion (of course, "rich" and "poor" are subjective).
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- Joined
- Nov 19, 2010
How do you jump into me comparing Chan to anyone else and go on to wage a battle? I brought up the earning potential of Chinese athletes since many seem to think they only suffer hardships of all kinds, including financial. Anyways, speaking for Mercedes Benz in Canada would not pay as much as doing so in China. Canada is a small market, that's at the base of so much we are discussing here. In contrast, US and Japan are huge markets. Many movie and sports stars do commercials in Japan because they pay very well. As for Patrick, Japan does not need a foreign skating star to speak for their corporations, especially a non exotic one.
In addition to all the activities Patrick's mother has to manage as brought up by Dragonlady, there are appearances for charities and commercial sponsors. Patrick visits inner city schools regularly to motivate disadvantaged kids, and promotes Chinese stem cell registration, among other acitivities for his causes.
Sponsorships are not free gifts and not every spokesperson gets paid like Michael Jordan whose Nike commercials earned him more than all the Nike's Indonesian workers did in a whole year. I'm glad Patrick's association with McDonald's, besides promoting the Olympics, is involved with the charitable side of their operations, visiting McDonald Houses and promoting McHappy Day to raise funds for charities.
Speaking as someone who worked in the U.S. financial industry for the last 4 years and through the mortgage bubbles, you are categorically wrong. Ownership of a 2nd home was and still is quite common among U.S. households, usually as an investment to take advantage of tax credits for home owners. Some do it for speculation (aka. investment reasons). To assume all of them are financially sound or able simply being approved for a 2nd mortgage is plainly wrong. One of the key reasons the mortgage bubbles from 07-09 hurt so badly was because many banks were fairly careless in whom they lend money to for years. Some were just making up whatever income number come to mind on their application, you could probably get your cat approved for a mortgage if you want to. Can't say the practice has changed that much even post-crisis since mid 2009, after liquidity started to come back to the market. Also, there were and still are mortgage brokers who are nothing but loan sharks in another name, willing to lend to applicants who otherwise can't qualify for a loan at a very high rate.
Frankly, the tone from some people in this thread come across as quite mean spirited. Comparing Patrick Chan to Tessa Virtue ('s financial situation) also showed incredible ignorance on the part of the poster(s) who made such analogy. The training of an elite male skater is quite a bit higher than that of an Ice Dancer who not only has a partner to help pay part of the cost - the type of training and expenses incurred are also quite a bit more as well, costumes notwithstanding.
It's shocking to see the cold hatred displayed by some posters here (without naming anyone in particular), this certainly goes beyond the normal dislike of an X skater for X or Y performance or perceived undeserved win(s).
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- Jan 23, 2004
Every family makes choices on how to run their lives and what works for them. I surely would not criticize Patrick's Mom for the choices she has made cuz it is not my business and it has nothing to do with my enjoyment of figure skating. Just my 2 cents, I am out of here.
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- Nov 19, 2010
I think I've posted enough on this thread, so this will be my final post here. I just wanted to point out that some skating moms do find time for a career beyond managing their child's career. One example that comes to mind is Jeremy Abbott's mother, Allison Scott. And Sinead and John Kerr's mother worked as a nurse (source - and check out the part about how she made Sinead's dresses, now that's dedication!). I'm sure there are others. While I'm not saying that there's one right way to go about providing support for a young skater, it's not a given that "skating mom" is a full time job or one that requires moving with the skater wherever he or she goes*.
* Note that Brian Joubert has thoughtfully spared his mother the need to do so
It is different in the case of a skater who became a National Champion and a Worlds medalist while still a teenager, and the World Champion at 20. In Russia and China, everything including personal needs are taken care of, but not in the Canadian system.
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- Jun 21, 2003
? Did you mean to say that he had to work overtime?
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- Aug 26, 2010
What you described might not apply to cross-border purchasers. For a Canadian to qualify for a mortgage from a U.S. financial institution is more difficult and tricky, and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation requires a larger down payment and more extensive paperwork (e.g, T4s and other documentation) for second home mortgage applications. As a result, the vast majority of cross-border home buyers pay in cash.
I hope it didn't include me. All I said was that from my subjective view, Chan's family seems like a middle class family. A 900-square foot condo in North York, Toronto is worth about, say $250,000 to $300,000. With that amount of money, one can purchase a big mansion with several acres of yard in Broken Arrow, the fancy district of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Yet, living in a condo sounds "poor" whereas in a mansion sounds "rich". It's all relative, isn't it?
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- Dec 16, 2006
Very true. Here in San Diego, a friend of mine purchased a condo in an upscale neighborhood for $300,000. Several miles east (away from the ocean), $300,00 will buy you a four-bedroom home.
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- Jun 27, 2003
Still, his father lived 10 years past watching his son win teh Gold, and he watched him succeed with SOI... his parents sacrificed everything (including his father's house) for him... so yes, while he seems to have had it worse, we don't truly know the whole of Chan's story either. Scott's wasn't disclosed until 1999
