Is figure skating for rich people?

[noskates]

I think if your parents don't have the financial wherewithal to support your figure skating that you take on jobs. Yes it is expensive. Especially if you're on the elite level. Have you seen what some of those costumes cost? And that's after coaching, training, injuries, etc. etc.

 

[hope_skate]

It depends on where you are located but in general, the cost does rack up quite quickly as your progress. Equipments need to be bought and maintained. Coaches and ice time cost money as well. I am lucky that my city offers free group lessons 3x/week in winter. In some smaller cities in the country I'm in, they even have an initiative of free lessons all season long for adult skaters (to make the sport more popular in smaller cities).

I think another "expensive" thing to take into account is also time. Time spent on and off-ice would take away from time that could be spent at work/school. If you have a flexible arrangement and enough income to sacrifice work time, then it wouldn't be too hard on your finance.

I think as adult figure skaters (in our country we used the term "amateur figure skaters" with no negative connotation), it is good to have goals. But it is also important to be realistic and not obsess over a fixed goal. When I first started my private lessons 4 months ago, I was planning on getting my singles. And then as we progressed through the lessons, I realised that I am a bit timid when it comes to jumping but somehow very brazen when going into spins. So, I adjusted my goals in accordance to what I am capable of. I got my waltz jump and I am very proud of myself.

With social media and the fast-paced nature of our world, it is very easy to get caught up in the idea of quick progress. Even very talented athletes take years to get to competition level.

To end on a positive note, you can always start now or later as long as you're willing to put in the work. It helps if you love the sport. I never thought of competing. I just want to go to beautiful ice rinks and skate in winter. Being able to do cool skills is a plus but not the deal breaker to me.

Context: started skating at 28 from scratch. My first lesson is just me trying to stand on ice and move forward without falling lol

 

[FaustinaF]

@FaustinaF It's nice to see you back!

Thanks!! It's really good to me to be here again and talk with you guys

 

[Mathman]

In some smaller cities in the country I'm in, they even have an initiative of free lessons all season long for adult skaters (to make the sport more popular in smaller cities).

Bravo!

I think as adult figure skaters (in our country we used the term "amateur figure skaters" with no negative connotation)...

That is a very interesting observation on the word "amateur." In the U.S. and most of Western Europe, for decades "amateur" was good and "professional" was bad. That is, "amateurs" were people of the nobility and wealthy classes who did not have to work for a living and thus could devote themselves to the purity of competition for the sake of honorab;e competition alone. A sports professional -- that was a low class invividual who had to labor in the trenches (for instance, by getting beat up in the boxing ring on a regular basis for the entertainment of audiences) in order to put food on the table. The Olympics were reserved for "amateurs." "Professionals" were barred from competing, lest the noble amateurs had to -- ugh, yuck -- rub shoulders with the common riff-riff.

Funny how times change. Now if you are a pofessional that means you are really, really good, whereas if you are an amateur that carries the connotation of untalented beginner.

 

[hope_skate]

Bravo!

That is a very interesting observation on the word "amateur." In the U.S. and most of Western Europe, for decades "amateur" was good and "professional" was bad. That is, "amateurs" were people of the nobility and wealthy classes who did not have to work for a living and thus could devote themselves to the purity of competition for the sake of honorab;e competition alone. A sports professional -- that was a low class invividual who had to labor in the trenches (for instance, by getting beat up in the boxing ring on a regular basis for the entertainment of audiences) in order to put food on the table. The Olympics were reserved for "amateurs." "Professionals" were barred from competing, lest the noble amateurs had to -- ugh, yuck -- rub shoulders with the common riff-riff.

Funny how times change. Now if you are a pofessional that means you are really, really good, whereas if you are an amateur that carries the connotation of untalented beginner.

That is very interesting! I didn't know that so thank you for that fun fact (definitely sharing this with my coach). I think in Russian, the word also has some similarities to the verb "to love" so it basically just means someone doing it out of love rather than for a profession, more like a hobby.

 

[Diana Delafield]

That is very interesting! I didn't know that so thank you for that fun fact (definitely sharing this with my coach). I think in Russian, the word also has some similarities to the verb "to love" so it basically just means someone doing it out of love rather than for a profession, more like a hobby.

Yes, that is the origin of the word in French and then adopted into English -- someone who does something just for the love of it.

And then there's "semi-professional", doing something well enough to be paid for it, but not as a fulltime career. For instance, I would call myself a semi-professional singer, performing as a sideline to a regular job as a librarian, but always an amateur skater since I've never taught or skated in shows for money. And for most of the years I was learning and competing in skating, your teacher was called your pro, short for professional, as in golf pro or tennis pro. Somewhere along the line, skaters started calling a pro a coach instead, while those who taught group lessons at public arenas were called instructors. You knew how someone taught by what they were called.

 

[Mathematician]

I think in Russian, the word also has some similarities to the verb "to love"

To do something as an amateur, or as a hobbyist, both have the same Russian translation: "po-lyubitilskiy". Po means "as", and Lyubit means "to love" (from Lyubov - love), so it basically means "as a lover of [the disciple]".

 

[noskates]

That's nice that some communities have free lessons for adult skaters but that doesn't really address the costs of competitive figure skating.

 

[Diana Delafield]

That's nice that some communities have free lessons for adult skaters but that doesn't really address the costs of competitive figure skating.

I would imagine those are basic learn-to-skate lessons. If the students then got hooked on it, that's when they discover the hard way what a very expensive sport it is in any country . And that training for high-level competition is mainly for kids with parents willing to make big financial sacrifices or, as they then grow up, young adults who give up everything else to pay for their skating. Hopefully there's an adult competition stream in their country that those eager learners can aim for, and afford to pay for.

 

[hope_skate]

I would imagine those are basic learn-to-skate lessons. If the students then got hooked on it, that's when they discover the hard way what a very expensive sport it is in any country . And that training for high-level competition is mainly for kids with parents willing to make big financial sacrifices or, as they then grow up, young adults who give up everything else to pay for their skating. Hopefully there's an adult competition stream in their country that those eager learners can aim for, and afford to pay for.

in my case, they provide 2 types of those free lessons: figure skating and hockey- general style of skating. I joined the hockey style for the first few months because I like my group but definitely the figure skating ones even have the occasional master-class for jumps. Last winter it was on Toeloop jumps. But most of the time in most places it is an expensive sport. Rinks need to be maintained and ice time/equipment/lessons cost money. I am just lucky over here that it is LESS expensive rather than the sport being affordable.

To put things into context, here are how much things cost for me:

Ice time: In winter I go to the free ice rinks. Other time it's around 3-5$ per hour
Lessons: I take free group lessons in winter. Other time I paid around 15$ per hour for private lessons. Local clubs also have group lessons at the rate of around 11-13$ per hour
Sharpening: there are few skater shops in the city (3 if I recall correctly). Cost around 3-5$ as well for sharpening
Equipment: This is where it costs a lot. We have 4 skate shops (3 different companies, one of them has 2 branches in this city) where you can
get fitted.

I am not planning on competing so I can't say much about how much it cost. But I've seen rates for putting a program going as low as 60$. Outfits cost a lot but since the sport is very popular here, you can find a lot of 2nd hand outfit (really great quality by competitive skaters) for around 250-400$. The issue is they tend to be on a smaller side, so the fit may be hit or miss.

 

[moonvine]

in my case, they provide 2 types of those free lessons: figure skating and hockey- general style of skating. I joined the hockey style for the first few months because I like my group but definitely the figure skating ones even have the occasional master-class for jumps. Last winter it was on Toeloop jumps. But most of the time in most places it is an expensive sport. Rinks need to be maintained and ice time/equipment/lessons cost money. I am just lucky over here that it is LESS expensive rather than the sport being affordable.

To put things into context, here are how much things cost for me:

Ice time: In winter I go to the free ice rinks. Other time it's around 3-5$ per hour
Lessons: I take free group lessons in winter. Other time I paid around 15$ per hour for private lessons. Local clubs also have group lessons at the rate of around 11-13$ per hour
Sharpening: there are few skater shops in the city (3 if I recall correctly). Cost around 3-5$ as well for sharpening
Equipment: This is where it costs a lot. We have 4 skate shops (3 different companies, one of them has 2 branches in this city) where you can
get fitted.

I am not planning on competing so I can't say much about how much it cost. But I've seen rates for putting a program going as low as 60$. Outfits cost a lot but since the sport is very popular here, you can find a lot of 2nd hand outfit (really great quality by competitive skaters) for around 250-400$. The issue is they tend to be on a smaller side, so the fit may be hit or miss.

Wow. It costs $100 here for skate sharpening. First one is free.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Wow. It costs $100 here for skate sharpening. First one is free.

Where on earth are you getting blades sharpened for 100 dollars?! It should not be more than 20 dollars and that's for competitive figure skating level sharpening.

 

[hope_skate]

Where on earth are you getting blades sharpened for 100 dollars?! It should not be more than 20 dollars and that's for competitive figure skating level sharpening.

I assume this could be somewhere where skating is not that accessible/available, so there are fewer places that would cater to such services. But the 100$ price tag is just too much imo

 

[Rebecca Moose]

Yes.

 

[Baron Vladimir]

In today's world we are living the word 'amateur' has a negative connotation, to be fair. It means you are not so ready, or not on a desired level, as 'professionals' are (or suppose to be). The word 'professional' can be viewed both as negative and positive, and in my personal opinion, it only depends on a person behind the definition... and the specific sport rules...

 

[Diana Delafield]

Where on earth are you getting blades sharpened for 100 dollars?! It should not be more than 20 dollars and that's for competitive figure skating level sharpening.

I pay $27.50 for sharpening in Vancouver, but that's Canadian dollars. I just checked and that is, as you say, about $20USD at today's exchange rate so it's the same price really. The same man who does most of the competitors in these parts. I think others around here charge $25CAD, which would be about $18USD.

 

[LolaSkatesInJapan]

I’m not poor but I couldn’t afford figure skating at the frequency I practice (private class of 1 hour or 1 hour and a half each for three times a week + techniques lesson on weekends + ice practice fee 5 or 6 days a week + competitions fees + club fees etc) if I were at USA or Canada. By observing people in these countries every time they mention costs I think how this is so so sooo much more expensive than what costs here. Here maybe a little more expensive than @hope_skate (nothing is for free, never) but a fraction of USA or Canada prices. Even for equipment or clothes, if I don’t find here, I’ll import from east European countries where prices are reasonable and so is the parcel fee.

When I put my first comment in this post I think I mention cost will depend what country the skater is in, but seeing prices of class, ice time etc in North America, I think a skater will definitely need more income to afford all this.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I assume this could be somewhere where skating is not that accessible/available, so there are fewer places that would cater to such services. But the 100$ price tag is just too much imo

Yes, but the area of the US she's from has many options for sharpening and skating rinks. There's even a major NHL team nearby.