How expensive is figure skating

[Amei]

So I decided to do Internet research (for what it's worth )

Adam Rippon: Cost of Figure Skating Per Year

Adam ballparks $70K to $100K a year for a top US skater. (2019 interview)

Median US income in 2019: $68K. (if I am reading this correctly. Some hard core econ charts attached)

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019

This report presents data on income, earnings, income inequality & poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2018 and earlier CPS ASEC.

www.census.gov

For a sport that gives you next to no chance of earning it back, unless you're Michelle Kwan, it is a labor of love.

Well let's be honest a lot of these athletes are underage and more than likely the fees are paid for by their parents, its easy to do the 'labor of love' with no chance of earning it back when you're not the 1 really footing the bill.

 

[moonvine]

So I decided to do Internet research (for what it's worth )

Adam Rippon: Cost of Figure Skating Per Year

Adam ballparks $70K to $100K a year for a top US skater. (2019 interview)

Median US income in 2019: $68K. (if I am reading this correctly. Some hard core econ charts attached)

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2019

This report presents data on income, earnings, income inequality & poverty in the United States based on information collected in the 2018 and earlier CPS ASEC.

www.census.gov

For a sport that gives you next to no chance of earning it back, unless you're Michelle Kwan, it is a labor of love.

And his mother drove the Zamboni to pay for part of it.

 

[Minz]

Well let's be honest a lot of these athletes are underage and more than likely the fees are paid for by their parents, its easy to do the 'labor of love' with no chance of earning it back when you're not the 1 really footing the bill.

Still 70k is a lot for most parents. Adam said in his book that his mother ended up taking out another mortgage on their house to pay for his skating. And when he started to pay for skating on his own, there was a while were he could barely afford to eat, even though Rafael gave him breaks on coaching fees and such.

 

[Amei]

Still 70k is a lot for most parents. Adam said in his book that his mother ended up taking out another mortgage on their house to pay for his skating. And when he started to pay for skating on his own, there was a while were he couldn't barely afford to eat, even though Rafael gave him breaks on coaching fees and such.

I wasn't saying it wasn't a lot of money (it is a lot of money to be clear), I was saying that its easier to do the labor of love since you have little chance of earning that money back in skating when its not your money you are spending, its their parents.

 

[el henry]

Well let's be honest a lot of these athletes are underage and more than likely the fees are paid for by their parents, its easy to do the 'labor of love' with no chance of earning it back when you're not the 1 really footing the bill.

I apologize, I wasn’t clear, I meant the parents’ labor of love.

Suzy Skater and Sammy Skater aren’t going anywhere unless mom and/or dad and/or guardian buy in, literally and figuratively.

 

[Sharon Whitlock]

I think what's so sad about this is the lack of earning opportunity nowadays for elite figure skaters once they have made the decision to stop competing.

It used to be that these skaters were recruited into travelling ice shows, which paid a decent income and the benefit of travelling all over, sometimes outside of the U.S.

The really elite skaters could possibly work with Stars On Ice, which, IMO, was the best showcase for great figure skating talent. These skaters were also featured on television specials, which were popular with the public and I'm guessing paid a decent fee to the skaters.

But now, most of those shows have shut down or greatly reduced their tour. There are a few shows still going on (e.g., Disney on Ice), but it certainly isn't going to be the great gig that it used to be, and will probably involve going overseas (which could be fun, but not if you have family or relationships here in the States), and definitely not enough income to make up for all the years of parents/skaters paying a mint for the privilege of being "elite."

At one time, televised skating competition in the U.S. garnered a large viewing audience, and many people in the public could at least recognize the names of the current National, World, and Olympic champions. But now--most people have no clue about who's who if figure skating.

Nowadays, the best bet is coaching--but not all elite skaters want to coach, nor are they good at it. And not all rinks have a great skating program that brings in high-level skaters who would be interested in paying the cost of having an Olympian for a coach. And of course, many elite skaters don't want to end up in a rink in a part of the U.S. that doesn't offer them the socializing/relationship opportunities they enjoy.

Quite a change from the days when skaters like Brian Boitano, Katarina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi, etc. became celebrities and millionaires after they retired from high-level competitions.

 

[moonvine]

I think what's so sad about this is the lack of earning opportunity nowadays for elite figure skaters once they have made the decision to stop competing.

It used to be that these skaters were recruited into travelling ice shows, which paid a decent income and the benefit of travelling all over, sometimes outside of the U.S.

The really elite skaters could possibly work with Stars On Ice, which, IMO, was the best showcase for great figure skating talent. These skaters were also featured on television specials, which were popular with the public and I'm guessing paid a decent fee to the skaters.

But now, most of those shows have shut down or greatly reduced their tour. There are a few shows still going on (e.g., Disney on Ice), but it certainly isn't going to be the great gig that it used to be, and will probably involve going overseas (which could be fun, but not if you have family or relationships here in the States), and definitely not enough income to make up for all the years of parents/skaters paying a mint for the privilege of being "elite."

At one time, televised skating competition in the U.S. garnered a large viewing audience, and many people in the public could at least recognize the names of the current National, World, and Olympic champions. But now--most people have no clue about who's who if figure skating.

Nowadays, the best bet is coaching--but not all elite skaters want to coach, nor are they good at it. And not all rinks have a great skating program that brings in high-level skaters who would be interested in paying the cost of having an Olympian for a coach. And of course, many elite skaters don't want to end up in a rink in a part of the U.S. that doesn't offer them the socializing/relationship opportunities they enjoy.

Quite a change from the days when skaters like Brian Boitano, Katarina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi, etc. became celebrities and millionaires after they retired from high-level competitions.

How to fix this? I mean I don’t think Nathan is hurting for money. That could be a bad assumption on my part.

 

[noskates]

One of my son's best friends skated with Disney On Ice for quite a few years. Disney basically put her through college. She skated several shows around Christmas time while she was in college (which paid for her tuition) and then went overseas to skate Disney On Ice for 3 years. She generally was Snoopy. Trust me when I say she barely eked out a living and it was hard work with the travel, being away from home, etc. It took her quite a while to pay off her skating expenses from when she competed and she never made it to the "elite" level because of shin splints. There are only so many Nathan's in the world and many, many skaters who love the sport, try to make it to the elite level and fall short - BUT, the expenses are still there.

 

[metconahay]

Also let’s not forget that even Nathan has admitted in many interviews that he grew up poor and that his family really struggled to afford skating— Raf has also said that he cut coaching costs when he found out about Nathan and his mom sleeping in cars to save money. It’s purely due to the fact that Nathan is a straight-up phenom that caused him to get more and more reliable funding throughout the years.

If he hadn’t been as successful as he was as a novice/junior, it’s unlikely he would have been able to financially continue into senior, and the fs world would have never known 3x World Champ Nathan Chen— and for every Nathan there’s a thousand other kids who never quite got good enough results to get sufficient fed funding in their early years, which pushed them out of the sport before they could fully develop as skaters (although this is also true for a lot of sports, so can’t really say it’s solely a figure skating problem)

 

[Ladskater]

I'm wondering how expensive is figure skating

As others have expressed here, it can be very expensive depending on the level and if you are a competitive skater. If you just want to learn basic skating and skate for the enjoyment there are group lessons. Of course, figure skates are not cheap either and you would want good boots and blades...you can buy used skates from other skaters. I bought two pairs of skates later in life this way. Both pair are in excellent condition.

 

[aliste]

Kevin Aymoz tweeted earlier today that he's trying to find sponsorship. There was a little infographic included which showed his estimated expenses for one season as 58,000 euros. This estimate included coaching, choreography, medical, travel, equipment and living expenses.

 

[el henry]

Kevin Aymoz tweeted earlier today that he's trying to find sponsorship. There was a little infographic included which showed his estimated expenses for one season as 58,000 euros. This estimate included coaching, choreography, medical, travel, equipment and living expenses.

Thank you @aliste for the heads up. Here is Kevin's tweet:



"Hello, I need your help.

I know that we are now in the time of the Tokyo Olympics, but for me, the Beijing Olympic season starts today. A retweet could help me. Thanks, Kévin"
((translation mine)

 

[NaVi]

Here's the website for the group where Shcherbakova, Usacheva, and Akatieva skated at when they were young: https://vidniy-lk.ru/figure-skating

They have a "schedule and cost" section: https://vidniy-lk.ru/figure-skating#rec308913439

 

[moonvine]

Thank you @aliste for the heads up. Here is Kevin's tweet:



"Hello, I need your help.

I know that we are now in the time of the Tokyo Olympics, but for me, the Beijing Olympic season starts today. A retweet could help me. Thanks, Kévin"
((translation mine)

He deleted his tweet.

 

[PullingForSasha]

O.M. GOD!
Thank you for this thread and all of your answers. I had NO IDEA it was that much for the Elite skaters. I would have figured $30,000-$40,000 USD/year MAX. This gives me a new perspective. It is sad that this can rule out so much talent that might be out there and all they can do is dream.......

 

[theblade]

Well, perhaps you can bootstrap your way to $30-40k USD if you have agreements for reduced payments in some services (ie. learn-to-skate coaching for ice time), skimp on things (have parents/family make your costumes) and don't live separately from family.

Our kid has relocated to another state for elite coaching, and is at the bottom of the rung there. Nonetheless, rent/water/gas/hydro on an apartment has added thousands alone to the bill, despite trying to find affordable living arrangements. Rent in the U.S. is crazy right now.

 

[PullingForSasha]

Well, perhaps you can bootstrap your way to $30-40k USD if you have agreements for reduced payments in some services (ie. learn-to-skate coaching for ice time), skimp on things (have parents/family make your costumes) and don't live separately from family.

Our kid has relocated to another state for elite coaching, and is at the bottom of the rung there. Nonetheless, rent/water/gas/hydro on an apartment has added thousands alone to the bill, despite trying to find affordable living arrangements. Rent in the U.S. is crazy right now.

Thank you for even more perspective.

 

[sheetz]

There's currently a gofundme for Michael Christian Martinez where his list of expenses total over $11,000/mo, not including living expenses.

 

[theblade]

I believe it. The gofundme does have a quick breakdown for the main costs Michael is incurring. (I wonder why Kevin's tweet was removed?)

Re: Michael - a few years ago we chased ice for my kid in another county - one of a few - and would, fairly frequently when we made the drive, see Michael train. I can't speak to where he is now skating-wise, but back then his natural skill on the ice was so great to watch. Made practices at that rink a treat. Hopefully he is thriving. His gofundme is a worthwhile one. Then again, I'd say all skater fundraising is - just have seen him practice in person and it makes me smile even typing about it.

 

[theblade]

@NaVi, are you able to translate that link to the services/cost breakdown of the Russian group you posted? Can anyone on this board? (My second language is not Russian.) It would be interesting to see what the monthly fees are for what is provided, and see if we can't, on this board, break that down into dollars (US/Canadian) and Euros. I really like discussing the financial aspect of the sport because it is not covered in great detail.