USFS has broken my heart

[Arriba627]

This is so unfortunate that the breakfasts will be out of reach financially for so many of us. There was something very special about meeting the skaters, congratulating them, discussing their programs with them, taking photos, offering a kind word after a less than stellar skate. The personal connection will be missed.

 

[RobinA]

Skating left its fans behind a long time ago. As a result, I found other things to do with my money. I keep my eye on things, but the fun is gone.

 

[Rebecca Moose]

I hate to say it, but the USFS has GONE TO HELL. Sadly a shell out the outstanding organization it was in the 80s and 90s.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Anyone else feel like US Figure Skating wants to remain elite and posh and expensive to keep up a sense of Allure and Exclusiveness? They want to keep the "outsiders" out, and the way to do this is charging extraordinary prices and not doing much promotion? Friends of Figure Skating is for the wealthy. It's just a glorified funding program who pay for the honor of sitting next to elite athletes at a breakfast.

 

[Bluediamonds09]

Elitist and Exclusionary. Only for the wealthy. USFS is ruining the sport by acting this way.

 

[adhara]

Most skaters have GoFundMe's

Please donate through there. We do not get much funding otherwise. Even the world champs.

 

[TallyT]

It's just a glorified funding program who pay for the honor of sitting next to elite athletes at a breakfast.

It is true that this is probably a good time to chase the corporate or 'posh' dollar, given the number of high level medallists (Oly, World especially) the US has at the minute, which may or may not last after all. But alienating or squeezing out ordinary fans... not a good idea.

 

[Mathematician]

Anyone else feel like US Figure Skating wants to remain elite and posh and expensive to keep up a sense of Allure and Exclusiveness? They want to keep the "outsiders" out...

I get the absolute opposite impression frankly

 

[moonvine]

I get the absolute opposite impression frankly

How so? I mean they’ve literally driven me away.

 

[moonvine]

Yes...I used to do that....but I got superstitious when everyone I gave to tanked right after....so then I joined the USFS FOFS for many years and have good memories of many breakfasts...it will be interesting to see how many pay $750 to buy breakfast tickets to SA or Nats.

They don’t do breakfast at SA anymore

 

[moonvine]

Over the decades, I have given lots of money to my sport but particularly to the young skaters as financed by USFS FOFS. Now, I have to donate $750 to get the honor of purchasing tickets to breakfast and $11,000 to go to breakfast at Worlds???? Am I missing something?

They dropped it from $1k to $750? But $11.000 is about half my income.

 

[Mathematician]

How so? I mean they’ve literally driven me away.

I'm not big into the tight US community - I dont know what they're doing with prices or stuff like that. But as for the general image of skating in the US, it seems like on social media and marketing they are trying to reach a very casual and wide fan base through tiktok and very digestible, simple presentations of the sport. Definitely dont get an aristocratic feeling from their current methods. But maybe when it comes to the VIP members only circles it is different.

 

[el henry]

This is a simple cost benefit analysis for Friends of Figure Skating.

If they can attract 100 big dollar donors for half the effort it would cost to attract 1000 small dollar donors, they will raise more money at less cost. Nothing to do with who they want watching, they want the whole wide world watching. Just because the VIP tent gets all the perks doesn’t mean you don’t sell General Admission tickets as well, or that you scorn GA or don’t want them.

I think it’s a shame because FOFS never had this approach before, to my knowledge, and made the perks available to small dollar donors. (relatively speaking, not what is small dollar to any one person) They should also find a middle ground, IMHO.

 

[moonvine]

This is a simple cost benefit analysis for Friends of Figure Skating.

If they can attract 100 big dollar donors for half the effort it would cost to attract 1000 small dollar donors, they will raise more money at less cost. Nothing to do with who they want watching, they want the whole wide world watching. Just because the VIP tent gets all the perks doesn’t mean you don’t sell General Admission tickets as well, or that you scorn GA or don’t want them.

I think it’s a shame because FOFS never had this approach before, to my knowledge, and made the perks available to small dollar donors. (relatively speaking, not what is small dollar to any one person) They should also find a middle ground, IMHO.

I mean I guess they are juggling it. Maybe didn't make quite enough at 1k price point so they brought it down to 750. But as someone who spends a lot of their disposable income on attending skating events - watching the ladies short with Mirai in Detroit did not cost $750 btw - I can go to things like Philadelphia International for $25 for a week and dine with skaters in the cafeteria for free I may go to Skate America again because it's in Allen and the handicapped seats are at ice level (which never happens). But to go through the torture of flying to Kansas, the train does not even go there, to sit way up in the handicapped seating when I could see it better at home....I dunno. Maybe if Gracie is at Boitano's Lounge again (or please God skating). Yes, then I will go, otherwise likely not. My correspondences with USFS have certainly not made me feel at all valued.

 

[TallyT]

This is a simple cost benefit analysis for Friends of Figure Skating.

If they can attract 100 big dollar donors for half the effort it would cost to attract 1000 small dollar donors, they will raise more money at less cost. Nothing to do with who they want watching, they want the whole wide world watching. Just because the VIP tent gets all the perks doesn’t mean you don’t sell General Admission tickets as well, or that you scorn GA or don’t want them.

I think it’s a shame because FOFS never had this approach before, to my knowledge, and made the perks available to small dollar donors. (relatively speaking, not what is small dollar to any one person) They should also find a middle ground, IMHO.

I think what makes it so bad is that it isn't as if they didn't offer these perks to smaller donors before and so it's new extra candies for the big ones. These are perks that people used to be able to afford, and so it feels like a bigger slight or snub.

 

[moonvine]

I think what makes it so bad is that it isn't as if they didn't offer these perks to smaller donors before and so it's new extra candies for the big ones. These are perks that people used to be able to afford, and so it feels like a bigger slight or snub.

Exactly. I also used to give periodically to the Memorial Fund in honor of Gracie. Not much but it was a non zero number. Now they don’t get FOFS money from me nor any money.

 

[moonvine]

I'm giving the money I would have given to USFS to individual skaters. I have been thinking about this for the past couple of days. @el henry you had spoken about the cost/benefit analysis. My thinking is that they were already maxed out on high dollar donors. They have the people who will give them 10,000 a year already. If they want to attract younger members they are going to have to come down. Few people will go from $65 to $1000 for a breakfast. So they need to figure out how far they will go and I think that's what they're doing now.