The Cost Of Figure Skating

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere on the forum already. The first video was uploaded back in September, but I only came across it when Violetta Afanasieva shared it yesterday.


Elizaveta Nugumanova's Grandad, Oleg, has uploaded a video to Facebook of a report investigating the costs of figure skating in Russia.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=816620195065614

It seems to be about Alexei Mishin's setup, because everybody I recognised is with him! So, we see the likes of Elizaveta Nugumanova, Maria Stavitskaya, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Andrei Luzukin. Nugumanova was interviewed (and a very good interviewee she was too!), as was Alexei and his wife, Tatiana Oleneva.

It's 12 minutes long, and is in Russian. And unfortunately, there are no subtitles.


A few days ago, Oleg Nugumanov uploaded another video on the same subject, only this time about China.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=882773395116960

This time, we see Shen / Zhao, Yao Bin and Li Zijun getting interviewed.

Again, it is in Russian and has no subtitles. But it is much shorter than the other video, at 6m 33s.


So, if anybody who is on Facebook and understands Russian would like to tell us what these videos are talking about, I for one would really appreciate it.

It would be VERY interesting to find out!

CaroLiza_fan

Definitely, a translation would be interesting.

It is sure a very interesting subject (the cost of fs) and I will try and give it a go over the weekend.

I tried to listen to the Shen/Zhao, Yao Bin, and Li Zijun interviews, but I'm having trouble hearing the Chinese behind the Russian dubbing. I guess the job would have to fall to a Russian speaker.

If no one else gets to it sooner, I will try to post a summary tomorrow when I have more time to type it up.

Sandpiper said:

I tried to listen to the Shen/Zhao, Yao Bin, and Li Zijun interviews, but I'm having trouble hearing the Chinese behind the Russian dubbing. I guess the job would have to fall to a Russian speaker.

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I know the feeling - the same has happened to me lots of times when watching stuff on foreign channels. Hey, I remember watching something one time where somebody was being interviewed in English, and it was then dubbed into German, and then it was dubbed back into English! And I thought "Why?!!"

That is why I hate dubbing. Subtitles all the way!!! (But only if they give you enough time to read them! )

melissa_ire said:

It is sure a very interesting subject (the cost of fs) and I will try and give it a go over the weekend.

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sabinfire said:

If no one else gets to it sooner, I will try to post a summary tomorrow when I have more time to type it up.

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Awww. Thanks guys! You are too kind!

But, if you do both attempt to translate/summarise, PLEASE communicate with each other. I wouldn't want you to be doing more work than you need to.

Thank you again, and good luck

CaroLiza_fan

Just the numbers:

Sports School 5000
Boots 15,000
Blades 10,000
training costumes 3,000-7,000
costume for off ice training - 2,000
choreography (for 2 programs) 10,000
costumes (for SP and LP) 40,000
traveling 200,000
other 10,000

All of that adds up to a minimum of 300,000 a year

When you get into a competition group, you don't have to pay.
Everything is free (the school itself pays for it with help from the federation and the city).

Will the recession that is sure to take place in Russia this year---if it isn't already in progress---have any effect on funding for skating there?

CaroLiza_fan said:

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere on the forum already. The first video was uploaded back in September, but I only came across it when Violetta Afanasieva shared it yesterday.


Elizaveta Nugumanova's Dad, Oleg, has uploaded a video to Facebook of a report investigating the costs of figure skating in Russia.

A few days ago, Oleg Nugumanov up.../www.facebook.com/video.php?v=882773395116960

This time, we see Shen / Zhao, Yao Bin and Li Zijun getting interviewed.


CaroLiza_fan

Click to expand...

The video is not about the cost which is free, but about the training methods.

Icey said:

Will the recession that is sure to take place in Russia this year---if it isn't already in progress---have any effect on funding for skating there?

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My guess: yes.
You'll have to bring good results in order to continue funding.
I remember that when Leonova won the WSM, the federation rented a flat for her.

TryMeLater said:

Just the numbers:

Sports School 5000
Boots 15,000
Blades 10,000
training costumes 3,000-7,000
costume for off ice training - 2,000
choreography (for 2 programs) 10,000
costumes (for SP and LP) 40,000
traveling 200,000
other 10,000

All of that adds up to a minimum of 300,000 a year

When you get into a competition group, you don't have to pay.
Everything is free (the school itself pays for it with help from the federation and the city).

Click to expand...

Ok, I finally got a moment to watch the video, the title of which should be I think:
What it takes to raise a champion
as they talk not only about financial costs but training methods, parents involvement etc
Financial side already been covered(see above) so it is roughly 300,000 rubla per year and sure more now with rubla diving fast. At the time the video was posted I think it was roughly 5,000 euro. As already was said these costs are paid for by the schools but a child needs to show some results before it will happen, for instance, it is very difficult to be accepted to Mishin's school where currently are 25 students. Selection is on the basis of physical abilities, musicality, previous results and often just coaches' intuition according to Mishin.
Training conditions in St Petersburg are not great, ice time limited, they use some training bases, one situated at the high attitude. Then Mishin said that in fact the best training conditions are abroad when they go to competitions (now I understand why Lisa went to every event this season!) which is kind of sad. So emphasis on quality of training not quantity.
Lisa Nugumanova's mother is not working and her life revolves around her daughter's skating. Lisa is home schooled and goes to school only for regular tests to check her progress. Her mother goes to every competition with her, brings her to practices, looks after meals etc. She said that they brought 3 year old Lisa to a skating rink by chance and she could skate very fast straight away that made them think of figure skating for her. Now at 12 yo she takes part in ice shows alongside real champions which is amazing achievement.
At the end Mishin sums it all up by saying that financial cost aside it all comes down to a skill & experience of a coach combined with hard work & talent of a student.

Sorry for a rather chaotic way of putting it and not 100% of all what was said so any further contributions are welcome. I'll leave the second video (China) to someone else.

Thank you for the details Melissa_ire and Trymelater

CaroLiza_fan said:

Apologies if this has been posted elsewhere on the forum already. The first video was uploaded back in September, but I only came across it when Violetta Afanasieva shared it yesterday.


Elizaveta Nugumanova's Dad, Oleg, has uploaded a video to Facebook of a report investigating the costs of figure skating in Russia.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=816620195065614

It seems to be about Alexei Mishin's setup, because everybody I recognised is with him! So, we see the likes of Elizaveta Nugumanova, Maria Stavitskaya, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva and Andrei Luzukin. Nugumanova was interviewed (and a very good interviewee she was too!), as was Alexei and his wife, Tatiana Oleneva.

It's 12 minutes long, and is in Russian. And unfortunately, there are no subtitles.


A few days ago, Oleg Nugumanov uploaded another video on the same subject, only this time about China.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=882773395116960

This time, we see Shen / Zhao, Yao Bin and Li Zijun getting interviewed.

Again, it is in Russian and has no subtitles. But it is much shorter than the other video, at 6m 33s.


So, if anybody who is on Facebook and understands Russian would like to tell us what these videos are talking about, I for one would really appreciate it.

It would be VERY interesting to find out!

CaroLiza_fan

Click to expand...

Oleg is Liza's grandpa

melissa_ire said:

Ok, I finally got a moment to watch the video, the title of which should be I think:
What it takes to raise a champion
as they talk not only about financial costs but training methods, parents involvement etc
Financial side already been covered(see above) so it is roughly 300,000 rubla per year and sure more now with rubla diving fast. At the time the video was posted I think it was roughly 5,000 euro. As already was said these costs are paid for by the schools but a child needs to show some results before it will happen, for instance, it is very difficult to be admitted into Mishin's school where currently are 25 students. Selection is on the basis of physical abilities, musicality, previous results and often just coaches' intuition according to Mishin.
Training conditions in St Petersburg are not great, ice time limited, they use some training bases, one situated at the high attitude. Then Mishin said that in fact the best training conditions are abroad when they go to competitions (now I understand why Lisa went to every event this season!) which is kind of sad. So emphasis on quality of training not quantity.
Lisa Nugumanova's mother is not working and her life revolves around her daughter's skating. Lisa is home schooled and goes to school only for regular tests to check her progress. Her mother goes to every competition with her, brings her to practices, looks after meals etc. She said that they brought 3 year old Lisa to a skating rink by chance and she could skate very fast straight away that made them think of figure skating for her. Now at 12 yo she takes part in ice shows alongside real champions which is amazing achievement.
At the end Mishin sums it all up by saying that financial cost aside it all comes down to a skill & experience of a coach combined with hard work & talent of a student.

Click to expand...

So, it is not just the cost that is discussed, but rather the whole subject of training. Even better!

Very interesting. I didn't realise that there were scholarships available. That is great to hear, as it allows talented youngsters from a less-well-off background to get the same opportunities as their richer counterparts. I just hope that the scholarships continue now that the Russian economy is in trouble.

And I totally agree with Mishin's comments that doing competitions is the best training available.

I know a lot of people on here don't like snooker tournaments because they often get in the way of Eurosport's skating coverage. But, as a snooker fan, I can say that the players have been playing to a higher standard since the number of tournaments increased a few years ago. And most people are putting this down to the fact that the players are competing more rather than just practicing.

And, what a great idea to have a training base at high altitude! There is less oxygen available at higher altitudes. So, if you are used to working with less oxygen, it can help you when you are competing at lower altitudes.

Reading this, it just shows why Mishin's students are doing so well at the moment.

melissa_ire said:

Sorry for a rather chaotic way of putting it and not 100% of all what was said so any further contributions are welcome. I'll leave the second video (China) to someone else.

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Melissa, there is no need to apologise. You have done a great job.

And anyway, I know how much time and effort it takes to just transcribe a TV programme (in 2013, I did a transcription of Torvill and Dean's appearance on "Piers Morgan's Life Stories"), never mind to translate it into a different language. So, I was not expecting a full word-for-word translation.

Your summary includes everything we were interested in knowing about! So, I am more than happy.

Well done!!!

Rhodium said:

Oleg is Liza's grandpa

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Oopsie!!! :

Can't even blame it on a temporary brain-fade, because I always thought that was the case.

Thank you for correcting me, Rhodium.

And apologies to the Nugumanov family.

CaroLiza_fan

Dylan Moscovitch and Lubov Iliushechkina are trying to raise some money to help pay for training and they have a rough breakdown of their expenses which total to about $105,000. I think this is a good estimate of what a lot of teams pay for their yearly training. It does not include any living expenses though which can also account for a huge chunk of money.

You can see their entire campaign here but I'll just quote the costs for you guys

Average estimated annual costs for an Elite Pair Figure Skating Team


Instruction:

Skating lessons: $31 per 15 min lesson , roughly 40/week: $62,000 per year

Personal training $80/hour: 1/week each: $6780 per year

Ballet: $50/hour: 1 hour/week: $2400 per year

Sport psychology $50/hour: 1/month each:$4800 per year

Choreography: $11,300 for short & long programs

Therapy/Massage:$65/Hour: as needed

Equipment:

Boots & Blades: $1400 per set, each of us need 2 per year: $5600 per year

Sharpening: $20/sharpening, every 6 weeks: $320 per year

Practice clothes: $600 per year

Costumes: $5800 for short & long programs

Other:

Ice time: $300/month, or $3600 for the year

Competition Travel/accommodation: $1000

Grand Total (just training costs, excluding living expenses): Roughly $105,000

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TryMeLater said:

When you get into a competition group, you don't have to pay.
Everything is free (the school itself pays for it with help from the federation and the city).

Click to expand...

I am curious, at what point is funding cut off by the Russian fed? Is it reduced by the season if you have mediocre results, or at a particular age...like, I wonder realistically how much longer Konstantin Menshov can continue to skate. Or Leonova, or Artemevia, etc. (of course, they are much younger than Menshov, but the ladies' field is so deep...). And how about someone like Artur Dmitriev Jr. who has been kicking around for quite awhile without ever achieving much?

Krunchii said:

Grand Total (just training costs, excluding living expenses): Roughly $105,000

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Wow, that's over 10 times more than what Mishin students pay

Noolan said:

Wow, that's over 10 times more than what Mishin students pay

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Their total training costs per year are only $10,500? I highly doubt it, 10k would probably only pay for the SP+LP+EX dresses and couple of training sessions

Krunchii said:

Their total training costs per year are only $10,500? I highly doubt it, 10k would probably only pay for the SP+LP+EX dresses and couple of training sessions

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With the recent devaluation of the ruble, currently 300,000 rubles is roughly equal to $4630.00

gallavich said:

With the recent devaluation of the ruble, currently 300,000 rubles is roughly equal to $4630.00

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Oh whoops I didn't realize that was rubles! What a difference, maybe income works differently? I'm not familiar with Russia