My future in figure skating?

[MEL2511]

Good morning,

I am 18 years old and I would really like to do figure skating. It was my childhood dream to do figure skating and I only had the courage to tell my parents about it now, unfortunately. My parents say that I am too old and that I could not make a career in this sport. I'm fully aware of this, believe me, but a problem persists...

No matter how much I try to move on, it doesn't work. I can't see myself doing anything other than skating and it's really irritating because I know I wouldn't be able to make money from this sport. However, I tried to go to graduate school and I really hated school. It's not a whim, I assure you that school is not for me haha.

So, when I discovered figure skating, it was like a revelation for me. Some people will think I'm exaggerating, but I'm totally serious. All this to ask a simple question: Should I give up and focus on something else?

 

[4everchan]

I am not a skater but in a field where starting young is essential to have a career in it. So I will not tell you that it's possible/impossible... maybe there are paths that can be possible and others who skate can let you know about these.

Here are a few options for you. There is nothing wrong with having a passion that is not going to make you money. Keep skating. Earn your money elsewhere. Many people do that in many fields. As a matter of fact, with a good job, you could afford lessons, better equipment, more ice time, and traveling to watch competitions... and perhaps even doing adult competitions at some point (if that's possible). This all requires money... so getting a job in another field is a secure path.

If you want to be involved in skating, as an adult, consider volunteering at your local club. This is not going to bring you money but a sense that you are contributing to the skating world.

Finally, there is another path which requires education. There are a lot of careers which would allow you to work in the field. For instance, physiotherapist/physical trainer, nutritionist, sports administration, sports psychology, and even dressmaking.

Good luck !

 

[LazyFuzai]

No one saying you had to be pro skater.You can try to get work in this world meanwhile skating for fun.

 

[SK4T3]

Welcome to the Forums!

First of all; don't give up your dream!

But... Figure Skating is all about dedication; don't let it be a whim. You need (a lot of) time (be patient), coaching and the correct gear. It's great to hear you understand you:

wouldn't be able to make money from this sport.

Yeah I hated school too; but it's important to get a grade/exam/test/diploma/certificate for future use; to earn your own money.
You're definitely not to old!
Started myself as an early Teenager on Professional Inline Skates as an (recreational) Aggressive Inline Skater (First Skates supported by parents);

But my second pair I had to buy from my own savings account.
Wanted to give/Wished myself a brand new pair of Figure Skates at 18 to start "On-Ice"; but started some decades later.

Still meet new people at the rink in 50-60-70yo who started at 30-40yo and those people have a great performance.

Most important: Have Fun and Smile!

 

[silverlily1]

Skate for the joy of it. It's going to cost money to train, but there's no reason you can't grow and learn as a skater, regardless of age.

Find a way to make money in life outside of being a figure skater. Even if you somehow do become a pro skater, it will take $$$$ and years to get there, during which you need to live and pay for it. And think about what skills will earn you money when you are unable to skate professionally anymore. People don't retire from professional figure skating at 65 - at least most don't. It's earlier. And sometimes *much* earlier due to injuries.

 

[bostonskaterguy86]

I really sympathize with what you're feeling, OP. When I was a kid, I was one of those "gifted" cases where I excelled academically, and had a real knack for music as well (studied piano for ten years, and self taught on a few other instruments). My parents had extremely (and unrealistically) high hopes for me, and pushed me to start university early, where I struggled really hard to adjust and ended up just barely making it out with a degree (and a fairly useless one at that).

I remember feeling so adrift at that point in my life, like I'd wasted the chance to do something more interesting with my life - something I was more passionate about, something I would have performed better at. I thought, maybe if I'd kept going with music, I would have been one of those few special people who have the talent and drive to make a good living with it.

What I came to realize over time, is that if you really explore your options and take your time figuring out what's right for you, you can strike a pretty satisfying middle ground between having a career that gives you the resources to live the kind of life you want, that has plenty of room for you to follow your passions wherever they might take you.

Ultimately, I ended up going back to school and becoming a nurse. It's been a fantastic career for me - it plays to my strengths, and I've found my way into a pretty specific field of nursing that I have a lot of passion for. I also earn enough money to live comfortably, so I can spend my free time enjoying life.

Through my interest in music, I ended up discovering the world of community theatre, and I've been lucky enough to perform in quite a few plays and musicals over the years. Figure skating was an obsession of mine from when I was very young, and I was able to pick that up 6 or 7 years ago as well!

I won't pretend for a minute that doing these things as hobbies is the same as doing them for a living. I am very fortunate to have some degree of talent for them, which does lead me to wonder sometimes how far I might have gone if I'd pursued them seriously from a young age. But, on the other hand, I also wonder if I'm enjoying them more this way - as I'm not dealing with the intense stress, hard work, and frustration of trying to make a living out of them. As much as I love music and skating as hobbies - it's possible I might have hated them as careers!

I've met so many incredible people through both the amateur theatre and the adult skating communities, as well. There's just a really great atmosphere around both of them. This is going to come off as a bit cheesy - but remember, the root of the word "amateur" is the Latin word "amator," which means "lover." Amateurs aren't just people who didn't or couldn't become elites or professionals; amateurs are people who do things for no other reason than the love of doing it.

 

[gkelly]

Another thing to keep in mind is that competitive figure skating started out as a strictly amateur sport.
Skaters who didn't want to compete (ever, or any more) could earn a living by performing in shows (if they were famous enough and/or entertaining enough) or by coaching, but once they earned money for skating and related activities, they were forbidden from competing in the standard competitions any more.
This started changing 30-40 years go.

It is now possible for successful elite skaters to earn more money from their sport than they spend on training. The very successful ones, especially if they're lucky enough to live in a country where skating is very popular at the time, might even become rich.

But the vast majority of international competitors, at least those from western countries, tend to spend a lot more money on training than they earn through sources like prize money, endorsements, federation support, or performing in shows.

And those are the skaters who started as children and trained hard for years to reach top levels. Even most skaters who start young and train hard still never make it to the level that you see on TV.

Anyone who is training hard at a lower level is likely spending a significant amount of money on their training and not earning anything from the sport. It's a sport that costs money -- a lot of money if you want to get as good at it as you can -- it's not a way to earn money.

There are ways to earn money that are skating-adjacent, as @4everchan suggested. Including, perhaps, coaching beginners after you gain a reasonably good skill level yourself.

But for the most part, if you take up the sport as an adult or older teen, your own accomplishments on the ice will be relatively modest. A lot depends on how much time and money you have to spend on lessons and practice every week.

Skating can be a great hobby if you are passionate about it. As you get further into the sport, as you learn more about how it works and also about how quickly you are able to advance, you will be able to set reasonable goals for what you might be able to accomplish in your first year, or in five years, or longer term.

Just don't go in expecting that you will become such a good skater that people will pay money to watch you skate. That is highly unlikely, even for most of the talented kids who trained for hours almost every day since they were very young.

 

[4everchan]

I won't pretend for a minute that doing these things as hobbies is the same as doing them for a living. I am very fortunate to have some degree of talent for them, which does lead me to wonder sometimes how far I might have gone if I'd pursued them seriously from a young age. But, on the other hand, I also wonder if I'm enjoying them more this way - as I'm not dealing with the intense stress, hard work, and frustration of trying to make a living out of them. As much as I love music and skating as hobbies - it's possible I might have hated them as careers!

i can tell you, as a musician, very few of my colleagues are still in the field. It is such a crazy lifestyle that people make adjustments or complete career changes.
i have a few high level adult students who have really good jobs and can afford lessons with me, a grand piano, going to concerts all the time etc and more over, who can afford the time to practice. When I look at their level of happiness, I sometimes wonder if I made the right choices for myself In the end, I am very at peace with the path I have chosen, but as I said, most of my friends from college/university have evolved to other fields. So it is indeed quite possible that you might have hated skating or music as a career