- Joined
- Dec 12, 2005
Should the ISU regulate how much money amateur skaters can spend for training?
A lot of people say in major league sports that the team with the most money wins; they can buy the best players, etc. But what about figure skating? Under the old system, natural talent and coaching could do it, but CoP is a different story... you could have a great skater but without the right guidance have them have no clue what they are doing. Then you also hear other stories about how skaters' parents have taken out mortgages and second mortgages on their homes just to continue to pay for training. Even in "Johnny Weir Be Good," he has to seriously think about his finances and talk to his family about the extreme costs of having just ONE of his programs receiving choreography from David Wilson (Yu-Na Kim's full-time choreographer), because he is so expensive.... even though he has been the 3-time Mens National Champ and won Bronze at Worlds (this was right after that). He had to skate in extra shows during the off-season to earn enough money to keep competing. This is a pretty common story for skaters.... When Mirai first took the ice in 2008, we heard about her sleeping in the closet of her parents' restaraunt.
(Warning, I'm not bashing on Yu-Na Kim here... she is just the easiest example since her earnings have been publicized.)
Now switch gears, we have Yu-Na Kim, who has been getting paid around 9 mililon USD per season now (and is said to be picking up an extra 10 million in endorsement deals now that she has won the OGM), She skates on private ice at a club charging $18,000 at an elitist private club; she doesn't just have A coach, she has a separate full-time coaches for spinning, jumping, general skating, and presentation... and not cheap ones at that (Olympic Bronze medalist in dance Tracy Wilson for general skating skills, for example, and Dutch National Champion Astrid Schrubb for spinning) Add to that her choreographer (David Wilson), main coach (Brian Orser), music team, and off-ice team of physical therapists, pilates instructors, and don't forget the full-time personal security (bodyguards) etc. To be able to have SO many talented people focused on just you would be any skater's dream... that is a team that could probably train a lump of mud to get up and skate an OGM-worthy performance, but with Yu-Na the talent was already there.
But what about other skaters that have that talent? After winning Nationals in 2008, do you think Mirai Nagasu could have had the financial capacity to put a team like that together, have enough money to join a private club and get her own ice time that isn't shared to get her out of her '08-'09 season slump? Probably the only other skaters capable of putting together what Yu-Na has would be Mao Asada and Miki Ando from their endorsements in Japan, but in the US and other countries, figure skaters aren't pulling in millions of dollars in endorsement deals... they can't afford separate coaches for each element of skating, some can barely afford one.
When you look at who has won Worlds for the past 3 years... it's Miki Ando, Mao Asada, and Yu-Na Kim... all phenomenally talented skaters, but also all skaters who can afford coaches and choreographers that other skaters could only work with if they won the lottery.
I'm not saying skater's shouldn't be allowed to rake in extra cash from endorsements, but how fair is it when that extra money can be used to give you a leg up on the competition?
So, the general question, should there be a limit on how much money an amateur figure skater can spend for training purposes?
A lot of people say in major league sports that the team with the most money wins; they can buy the best players, etc. But what about figure skating? Under the old system, natural talent and coaching could do it, but CoP is a different story... you could have a great skater but without the right guidance have them have no clue what they are doing. Then you also hear other stories about how skaters' parents have taken out mortgages and second mortgages on their homes just to continue to pay for training. Even in "Johnny Weir Be Good," he has to seriously think about his finances and talk to his family about the extreme costs of having just ONE of his programs receiving choreography from David Wilson (Yu-Na Kim's full-time choreographer), because he is so expensive.... even though he has been the 3-time Mens National Champ and won Bronze at Worlds (this was right after that). He had to skate in extra shows during the off-season to earn enough money to keep competing. This is a pretty common story for skaters.... When Mirai first took the ice in 2008, we heard about her sleeping in the closet of her parents' restaraunt.
(Warning, I'm not bashing on Yu-Na Kim here... she is just the easiest example since her earnings have been publicized.)
Now switch gears, we have Yu-Na Kim, who has been getting paid around 9 mililon USD per season now (and is said to be picking up an extra 10 million in endorsement deals now that she has won the OGM), She skates on private ice at a club charging $18,000 at an elitist private club; she doesn't just have A coach, she has a separate full-time coaches for spinning, jumping, general skating, and presentation... and not cheap ones at that (Olympic Bronze medalist in dance Tracy Wilson for general skating skills, for example, and Dutch National Champion Astrid Schrubb for spinning) Add to that her choreographer (David Wilson), main coach (Brian Orser), music team, and off-ice team of physical therapists, pilates instructors, and don't forget the full-time personal security (bodyguards) etc. To be able to have SO many talented people focused on just you would be any skater's dream... that is a team that could probably train a lump of mud to get up and skate an OGM-worthy performance, but with Yu-Na the talent was already there.
But what about other skaters that have that talent? After winning Nationals in 2008, do you think Mirai Nagasu could have had the financial capacity to put a team like that together, have enough money to join a private club and get her own ice time that isn't shared to get her out of her '08-'09 season slump? Probably the only other skaters capable of putting together what Yu-Na has would be Mao Asada and Miki Ando from their endorsements in Japan, but in the US and other countries, figure skaters aren't pulling in millions of dollars in endorsement deals... they can't afford separate coaches for each element of skating, some can barely afford one.
When you look at who has won Worlds for the past 3 years... it's Miki Ando, Mao Asada, and Yu-Na Kim... all phenomenally talented skaters, but also all skaters who can afford coaches and choreographers that other skaters could only work with if they won the lottery.
I'm not saying skater's shouldn't be allowed to rake in extra cash from endorsements, but how fair is it when that extra money can be used to give you a leg up on the competition?
So, the general question, should there be a limit on how much money an amateur figure skater can spend for training purposes?