How to choose a skating club

[isakswings]

Hi. My husband and I are considering having our daughter join a skating club. There are 2 in our immediate area. How does one choose? Thanks

[littlekateskate]

I would ask around get some ideas. Are both USFS or is one ISI or both? Which fits her needs best. Does she have friends in one or the other? Does she have a private coach who works with one (i know typically in close places they work with kids in both).

Just some things to think about. Also, costs might be different. Check club ice hours, test sessions. See which you would benefit more from.

[FlyAndCrash]

Is she actually going to skate on club ice, or is she going to skate elsewhere? If club ice is an issue, I would go with the one with more convineient sessions/cheaper ice. When does her coach give lesssons at each one? Is your coach associated with a club that she would like your daughter to be a part of? Also, having friends with similar/same sessions might be good (warm up together, car pool, etc).

Have you been to either club? If she plans to skate there, it might be a good idea to find out about the atmosphere and what the other skaters and parents are like. If she or you don't get along with them, skating will stop being fun and seen as something to be dreaded.

Also, if, or how often, is she going to test. If testing is an issue, which club offers more test dates and what are the guest test fees? If testing is not an issue, how much is the membership fee and are there any requrements (like volunteer hours).

I, on the other hand, didn't take any of this into consideration... I just signed the form my coach gave me! :oops: But she knew all the clubs in the area and signed me up for the one with the cheapest membership fee. I have never actually been to my club anything or the rink the club is based out of. Then again, I mostly skate at a city rink and, lately, at another club that doesn't discriminate walk-on pricing due to membership status.

[isakswings]

I would ask around get some ideas. Are both USFS or is one ISI or both? Which fits her needs best. Does she have friends in one or the other? Does she have a private coach who works with one (i know typically in close places they work with kids in both).

Just some things to think about. Also, costs might be different. Check club ice hours, test sessions. See which you would benefit more from.

Is she actually going to skate on club ice, or is she going to skate elsewhere? If club ice is an issue, I would go with the one with more convineient sessions/cheaper ice. When does her coach give lesssons at each one? Is your coach associated with a club that she would like your daughter to be a part of? Also, having friends with similar/same sessions might be good (warm up together, car pool, etc).

Have you been to either club? If she plans to skate there, it might be a good idea to find out about the atmosphere and what the other skaters and parents are like. If she or you don't get along with them, skating will stop being fun and seen as something to be dreaded.

Also, if, or how often, is she going to test. If testing is an issue, which club offers more test dates and what are the guest test fees? If testing is not an issue, how much is the membership fee and are there any requrements (like volunteer hours).

I, on the other hand, didn't take any of this into consideration... I just signed the form my coach gave me! :oops: But she knew all the clubs in the area and signed me up for the one with the cheapest membership fee. I have never actually been to my club anything or the rink the club is based out of. Then again, I mostly skate at a city rink and, lately, at another club that doesn't discriminate walk-on pricing due to membership status.

Her coach belongs to both clubs. Her coach teaches at both rinks. There is one rink she(dd) skates at more and her brother will be playing hockey there, so I am thinking of going with that club. PLUS that club is about 70.00 cheaper to join then the other club. Volunteer hours are required at that club unless you pay a 100.00 fee to waive those hours. As for friends, yes, her best friend belongs to the less expensive club. At this point, I don't know if it is necessary for her to join a club. The only benefits she will get will be club ice, the ability to be in ice shows and she will be able to represent the club at competitions(right now I only plan on a couple of those a year). I honestly can't decide if we should join or not. Good thing I Have until September ot decide! LOL

[BuggieMom]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but you don't HAVE to join a club if she is just in Basic Skills. You only have to join once you get up to...ummm, Pre-Preliminary, I think??? Or Beginner, I am not quite sure which. So if she is close to that, you might as well.

Have you been to either club? If she plans to skate there, it might be a good idea to find out about the atmosphere and what the other skaters and parents are like. If she or you don't get along with them, skating will stop being fun and seen as something to be dreaded.
I second this! Get to know the parents and others in each club. Keep your ears open. You might find that one has a less friendly atmosphere than the other. I would rather pay more and be in a friendlier club than one that has snipey parents and coaches that are ultra competitive with each other.

The only benefits she will get will be club ice, the ability to be in ice shows and she will be able to represent the club at competitions(right now I only plan on a couple of those a year)

Our local club raised their fee to $500, and those benefits did not outweigh that cost for us. We didn't need the club ice, never had it before, and can forgo one ice show. As for representing a club, we joined a club that is based 3 hours away, so she represents someone, AND it was about $400 cheaper! That club has reciprocal agreements with the local club, so we get testing for the same cost.

You are lucky to have two rinks and two clubs to choose from!

[Skittl1321]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but you don't HAVE to join a club if she is just in Basic Skills. You only have to join once you get up to...ummm, Pre-Preliminary, I think??? Or Beginner, I am not quite sure which. So if she is close to that, you might as well.




And even then you don't HAVE to join a club- you can be an individual member. For me that was a much better deal. It was cheaper than our club membership AND I got a rulebook.

This year I will probably join a club, but not the one at our rink. Our rink doesn't have test sessions so there is no benefit for me to join them. I will join a nearby club so I don't have to pay guesting fees.

[BuggieMom]

And even then you don't HAVE to join a club- you can be an individual member. For me that was a much better deal. It was cheaper than our club membership AND I got a rulebook.
Yes you are right! I forgot to mention that. At $85, Individual membership is cheaper than a lot of clubs, so that is attractive also. The club we joined ended up being $30 more than that, but the savings in out-of-club test fees more than made up for that.

Don't some clubs offer a rulebook when you join also? I never got one, had to buy my own...

[CanAmSk8ter]

IIRC correctly, your daughter is in Basic 7/8. At that point, it's probably not necessary for her to join a club, although there are exceptions. A few things to think about, other than what's been posted already:

-How far away does her coach think she is from taking her Pre-Pre moves? USFS and club memberships run from July 1 to June 30, regardless of when you register, and USFS doesn't do any kind of pro-rating. She'll have to be a full member of USFS to test, so if her coach expects her to be ready to test before next summer, you might as well join this summer and get a full year's worth of membership. (Find out where her coach usually has students test, and what the cost is at each club. Most skaters pass their Pre-Pre and Prelim on the first try, but after that it's not uncommon to need a retry or two, and the costs can add up.) At Basic 7/8, I'd expect her to be taking her first tests roughly a year from now, but having never seen her skate that's a very rough estimate on my part. Anywhere from six months to two years could be realistic, depending on how often she skates.

-What are both clubs' policies on club ice? Many won't allow kids to skate on it until they've passed a certain level. Often that level is Basic 8, which would mean she could skate on it soon, but I've heard of it being as high as Freestyle 4. Some clubs have sessions that are divided by level, so if there are only certain sessions that work for your family schedule-wise, make sure she'd actually be allowed to skate on them. Also, is club ice even something she needs at this point? Lots of Basic 7/8 kids, and even those in the lower freestyle levels, are fine skating on public sessions the majority of the time. Depending on what club membership costs and what individual sessions for non-members cost, you may find that it's cheaper to have her take a lesson on club ice once a week and skate on public the rest of the time, without joining the club. (Find out what the club policies are about number of skaters on a session too; especially during the winter, non-members are sometimes shut out of sessions when they fill up). Her coach should be able to give you some guidance on these point if she teaches at both.

[isakswings]

IIRC correctly, your daughter is in Basic 7/8. .

You are right, that is her level. I don't know if she will pass Basic 8 simply because of her mohawks. They are better but still not up to par.

At that point, it's probably not necessary for her to join a club, although there are exceptions. A few things to think about, other than what's been posted already:

-How far away does her coach think she is from taking her Pre-Pre moves?

Right now dd skates about 3 or so times a week. She has one private lesson per week and one group lesson per week. We are pulling her from LTS for the summer(possibly for good) and her coach will likely see her twice a week and she will skate 1-2 more days a week on top of that. Her coach is saying she thinks she can be landing most of her single jumps by the end of the summer depending on how often she skates and the effort she puts into it. She can do a waltz jump right now. I don't know that she is landing them perfectly though. Right now the focus is on her program, so I haven't asked her coach about the jump. I have no idea how far she is from testing pre-pre moves. I know dd's best bud hasn't tested yet and she has finished the LTS program and is working on her axel(doesn't have a full rotation yet). Her friend has a different coach then DD does. I would think she would test before dd does.



What are both clubs' policies on club ice? Many won't allow kids to skate on it until they've passed a certain level.

Both allow lower level skaters on Club Ice.

Some clubs have sessions that are divided by level, so if there are only certain sessions that work for your family schedule-wise, make sure she'd actually be allowed to skate on them.

The more expensive club does this. We would be able to make the time she could go.

Also, is club ice even something she needs at this point? Lots of Basic 7/8 kids, and even those in the lower freestyle levels, are fine skating on public sessions the majority of the time. Depending on what club membership costs and what individual sessions for non-members cost, you may find that it's cheaper to have her take a lesson on club ice once a week and skate on public the rest of the time, without joining the club.

No, I don't think it is something she needs at this point. She takes lessons during Freestyle sessions and can skate on those as well for 5.00 an hour either rink. From what I gather, this is a VERY good price for a Freestyle session! Not to mention, some of the public sessions are pretty dead in the summer months, so we can skate w/o too many crazy skaters.

I could buy her an individual USFSA membership. It might make my life easier in that I won't need to worry about the rink losing her paperwork! We ran into this just this last week. The person in charge of the competition she is in next month, told me she couldn't find her number! She's been in LTS since October '06! I called USFSA myself and they couldn't find her either but can find the rest of our family. Odd considering we all started later then she did and it's a pain because SHE is the one who actually needs a number. *sigh*. If it is only 80+ for a membership, I may do that. It will still be cheaper then joining the club(about 100 cheaper for one and nearly 200 cheaper for the other one). Plus it will give me time to make sure we want to join a club.

Thanks!

[isakswings]

Her coach suggested we wait until the fall to join a club. That makes sense anyway since the season is over for the year. I'm still considering an individual membership over a club tho!

[blue111moon]

Remember, as was mentioned above, USFS club memberships run July1 to June 30 and are not generally prorated. So if you wait until fall to join, you lose 3 months of membership right off the bat.

[isakswings]

Remember, as was mentioned above, USFS club memberships run July1 to June 30 and are not generally prorated. So if you wait until fall to join, you lose 3 months of membership right off the bat.

Thanks for the reminder :-). I want to wait just in case we decide to join the club tho. Not sure what I want to do yet! Maybe we'll see how her lessons go in June and if she makes the kind of progress her coach is thinking she will, maybe I will sign her up through USFSA and wait to join the club until next yr.

Thanks again!