how much is too much $$

[sk8parent]

Hi: just wanted to know what are people spending on average for skating per month or per week. In Canada that is?:!:

[Mrs Redboots]

I don't think there's a single answer to that question - it depends on how good you (or your skater, if it's not you personally) are, how many lessons you want to have in the week, whether you test and compete or not.... too many variables!

[Rob Dean]

As Mrs. Redboots says, there are too many variables. However, my son is currently skating ~8-10 freestyle sessions per week (@~$12US each), with three lessons @ $28 each and a dance lesson @ $22 every other week, for a total of ~$200US/week. I'm working on reducing the ice cost at least. If you buy a family membership at one of the local clubs, and all members skate up to the limits, we can reduce freestyle sessions to a little over $6 each. (So I get to skate a little more for the same amount I'm currently spending, too.) He's currently working on juvenile moves, pre- and bronze dances, and landing his axel cleanly and repeatably. Test fees aren't a significant expense compare to the rest, and he hasn't been competing so far.

In the US at least, it's sort of like the joke tax forms that get passed around in April: How much did you make? Send it in ...

Rob

[3skatekiddos]

Well for my DD ( she is 4 ) in the Spring session that lasts 8 weeks I spent :
$130 for twice a week Canskate lessons plus $20 a week for 2 15 minute lessons with her coach. So $36 aweek ?

For DS ( who is 10 ) I spent $130 as well for lessons but that included his registration and the Skate Canada fee and he only goes once a week. He also takes a 20 - 30 minute lesson when he skates for an additional $20 ish a week. He just finished Canskate though so I am not sure what is happening to him for the rest of the session. His coach might work with him a bit more. Eeek.
And don't get me started on the cheques I am writing for next year's hockey for DS.
I don't think I am a good example though b/c both my kids are still in Canskate.

[AW1]

Hi: just wanted to know what are people spending on average for skating per month or per week. In Canada that is?:!:

How long is a piece of string?? Too much is when you are living beyond your means. That is, if you are spending more than your disposable income to on skating, then you're spending too much in my opinion.

but what would I know anyway, I'm only an Australian :P

[Logan3]

I think this year I paid 2500$ by constantly trying to minimize expenses. This is the bare minimum though and I do not know how much longer I can get by with so little. Next year I have to add moves. I am always looking for good group or semiprivate classes. That is the only way to keep cost low but the more the skater advances the harder it is to find them. On top of that you got to add ballet, gymnastics and hockey for my other children....

[jskater49]

I don't like to think about it.

Ice is about $12 an hour and she skates 4 hours a week.

Two half hour Freestyle lessons a week- $55

One half hour ice dance lesson a week - $18

Tests and competitions - $2500 in a year
Hotels alone for tests and competitions - $450

new skates this year - $800

costumes and show fees for spring show - $300

Dresses and stones in a year (but this figure includes for me too) $1000

Okay I think I'm going to go be ill now...

j

[Rusty Blades]

I made the mistake of keeping track of the costs for my first year back (after 36 away). Now it did include 2 pair of boots (the second were customs), 2 sets of blades, coaching, club fees, etc, etc, and all the start-up costs. When I saw the total ($8,000 8O 8O 8O ) I decided I wasn't going to keep track any more! My first competition (C.A.N.) at the end of my first year was $2,000 (I couldn't help but notice because it was all on my VISA :( ), so the grand total was $10,000 **GASP!**

Was it worth it? Every damned penny! :mrgreen:

[jskater49]

Iso the grand total was $10,000 **GASP!**

Was it worth it? Every damned penny! :mrgreen:

Okay. I feel better now :D

j

[Sessy]

Question from a dutch skater, how can a competition cost that much?

[jskater49]

Question from a dutch skater, how can a competition cost that much?

Entry fees in the US are anywhere from $90 to $110 for the first event, then $25- $35 for additional events. Competitions are money raisers for clubs - they have to pay for ice and flying in judges, and other stuff and then try to make a profit on top of that.

j

[Ellyn]

Question from a dutch skater, how can a competition cost that much?

Travel, hotel, etc.
That money doesn't go to anyone involved with skating, but it does come out of the skater's (or parent's) pocket.

Which is why I only enter local competitions.

You could spend a lot more if you bring a coach with you and have to pay their expenses as well as your own, pay for the times when they're coaching you at the event, and pay for the lessons they're not giving others at home while they're away.

[twokidsskatemom]

Entry fees in the US are anywhere from $90 to $110 for the first event, then $25- $35 for additional events. Competitions are money raisers for clubs - they have to pay for ice and flying in judges, and other stuff and then try to make a profit on top of that.

j
Ours NEVER make a profit.
We dont even make enough to cover costs. Our club loses money on comps and test sessions.

[jskater49]

Ours NEVER make a profit.
We dont even make enough to cover costs. Our club loses money on comps and test sessions.

Well then, with all due respect, you should review what you are doing...because they are money makers for most clubs. It's a small margin, but frankly I doubt the clubs I've been involved with would bother putting on competions if it wasn't a fund raiser.

Now the show - that's a money looser.

j

[Sessy]

Dutch clubs loose money on competitions and testing too, I think. At least, they're sure as heck not making money on it, and I doubt the Skating Federation is either, the entry fees just aren't high enough for that.
But the shows - they're the big moneymakers there.

I guess it's easyer because in the Netherlands, any competition anywhere in the Netherlands is within driving distance of max. 3 hours (that's if you live way in the south and got to go way up north). So we don't have hotel and such costs.

[Ellyn]

Ours NEVER make a profit.
We dont even make enough to cover costs. Our club loses money on comps and test sessions.

You're in Alaska, right? How many judges are local, and how many do you have to fly in?

Maybe you or some of the other parents could become judges so there would be that many fewer you'd need to import.

[litigator]

I'm scared to think about it but.....

4,000 ice

1300 skates [including the 300 orthotics]

lessons 30 mins 1 fs/1 dance, 4 days winter, five in summer at 12 per lesson

dresses etc 1200

gas [ not even going to say, SUV. driving an hour each way...sigh....looking for a smaller car]

off ice 350 per month

slinking off now.....

[Mrs Redboots]

Well then, with all due respect, you should review what you are doing...because they are money makers for most clubs. It's a small margin, but frankly I doubt the clubs I've been involved with would bother putting on competions if it wasn't a fund raiser.

I think it's a serious balancing act for clubs - if they make the entry fees too high, people won't enter and they'll lose money; if they make them too low, they'll lose money anyway.

Clubs here just hope not to lose money on their competitions!

[blackmanskating]

Well I take lessons 5 days a week. I am currently doing a reduced price freestyle session ($8.50 US) per hour for ice time. Ice time is $170 US a month. My coach charges a dollar a minute for a lesson. Sometimes I am with him for an hour and sometimes just a half hour. Most of the time I pay $175 a week for lessons. Sometimes it's more. On average, I am forking over $1000 US a month to skating. I put that in a currency converter and that is 1,107.58 CAD!!!! My skates almost cost me $1000! (Gold Seals and Jackson Elite Plus Suede Boots) You know what?? I don't wanna know how much I spend on skating. It hurts too much to see the bottom line. LOL

[cathrl]

I don't add it up - it's too scary. My daughter's doing six qualifiers this year - that's £32 entry fee for each, before I've even started counting fuel, coach's fees (he doesn't come to all of them), hotel nights (timings this year means I think we'll get away with only needing one), dresses (both second-hand, but still not free)...

And that's entirely additional to her normal weekly skating, and my son's, and my own...

[twokidsskatemom]

Well then, with all due respect, you should review what you are doing...because they are money makers for most clubs. It's a small margin, but frankly I doubt the clubs I've been involved with would bother putting on competions if it wasn't a fund raiser.

Now the show - that's a money looser.

j
Im not sure what you mean... But we have to fly in Judges at a cost of at least 800.00 per ticket.We arent most clubs due to our location. Neither club in the state makes money on comps or testing.
Our show might break even, we offer school shows that make money.

[twokidsskatemom]

You're in Alaska, right? How many judges are local, and how many do you have to fly in?

Maybe you or some of the other parents could become judges so there would be that many fewer you'd need to import.

Yep :]
We have some local in state judges. but not gold level. Even then, its a 250.00 or 300.00 ticket from Anchorage.
Most of our judges are Washington or California judges. Its easier to make sure they are Gold, then they can judge everything.

[slusher]

$200/month per skater is the absolute bare minimum. That's 2 or 3 ice sessions a week and one coach lesson per ice session. We've never done the bare minimum! Right now we're in a lull, we will do a summer school that is very expensive and will have more coaching costs to get new programs done.

About coaching costs, I had a huge blow out with our coach over the fee from a competition last year. We were charged for lessons missed, I can understand the explanation - coach is getting less income because you are away with us, but when I said "we are paying you for four hours of coaching missed, why won't you come and sit with us for four hours in the stands and watch some of the other groups, we are paying for that time". No we were told that was not the way it was done. We got actual coaching time of maybe 40 minutes, and were billed for that as well as lessons missed, so in my mind, someone had their cake and ate it too. I was afraid of having the coach fire us so I didn't even pursue what I thought was bad math. If coach was missing 4 hours but was able to coach one hour of that (with us) we should be paying for only three hours difference, aaaargh, never mind, it's still a sore spot.

[jskater49]

Yep :]
We have some local in state judges. but not gold level. Even then, its a 250.00 or 300.00 ticket from Anchorage.
Most of our judges are Washington or California judges. Its easier to make sure they are Gold, then they can judge everything.

Well that's a different situation. I could see how it would be worth loosing money to give the kids an opportunity to compete, since it's not like there are a lot of other events around there.

But normally, in the midwest anyway, it is possible to make a profit - not a big profit, but it is a money maker. What drove me crazy was my old club would use the test session as a fund-raiser to subsidize ice fees but the only ones who tested were club members so it was it was like, what is the advantage - either we pay a lot of money for tests or more money for ice - and I felt like those of us who tested were subsidizing ice for non-testers!

j

[Rusty Blades]

Question from a dutch skater, how can a competition cost that much?

Well, I don't have the list anymore but off the top of my head:

Entry $150
Airfare $450
8 nights hotel $800
1/2 of coach's hotel and airfare $280
and meals for 8 days

It adds up!

[skatersmama]

Club ice time & registration fee-$450.00 for 8 hrs on ice weekly Sept-April

Lessons- Five 15 minute lessons per week (working on Sr. Bronze Free, Jr. Silver Skills, Silver Interp., Gold Dances) $35.00

Competition Entry Fees (3 competitions) $240.00

Test Fees- Dances (x4) $600
Test Fees Other- $150.00

Dresses (3 events) $400.00

Competition /Test Travel (approx $2250.00)8O

In Northwestern Ontario Canada

[Logan3]

It looks like in Canada is cheaper to skate than the US. I should start thinking *north* :D

It is also surprising how much money people are puting on the sport early on. My dd's coach was telling me that few years ago it was unheard for basic skills kids to skate everyday and spend extra for choreo, off ice training etc. (talking 6 and 7 years old). I personally know a girl (talented and everything) that is 8.5 and already spends about 50.000 a year. I think right now she is juvenile. On the other hand the world scene (Japan and Korea) gone nuts on technical difficulty so if you do not go all the way early on then you have no chance. I do not know. Gone the old days!!!!

[oz01]

My DD(8.5 y) takes fewest lessons from her coach, but still for each week:
3 hour free style: $36
2 half hour private lessons: $70 (my husband thought I only spend $35)
1 hour off-ice jumping class: $10
that's $116/week

each year for competition:
$500 (so far she only does local ones)
Dresses+tights:$400

So it's ~$6000-$7000/year

I know higher level skaters skate 2 hours and take at least 30 min private lessons a day.