Competition Costs/Economy

[momsk8er]

Hi - I'm wondering about how people feel about the cost of competing. Our ice costs have gone up dramatically due to last year's spike in the cost of energy (funny how they haven't come back down with the drop in energy costs). Other costs are also going up. So our club's tendency is to want to raise the entry fee for our competitions. Yet the economy is down so we may lose competitors, and may lose even more if we raise prices.

What are other clubs doing? How do you feel about competition prices as skaters and parents ?

Thanks!

[CoachPA]

I've already had some skaters tell me they simply couldn't afford to test or attend an out-of-town competition between the economy, unstable employment of the parents, test/competition fees, and the holiday season approaching.

I completely understand. Skating's expensive enough without considering day-to-day expenses and the rising cost of...well, everything! And, of course, the cost is even greater for the competitive or test skater.

[jskater49]

The trick is finding the balance of how much you can charge to offset expenses but making it affordable so they you will have enough entrants to offset expenses.

I thought we would loose money at our last competition but our test sessions saved us. We are in an area where there is very little opportunity to test so people are more willing to spend the $ for testing than competing.

It's tough because the club can't afford to loose a lot of money on these things either.

[CoachPA]

I know at my club our test fees have stayed the same, but we've increased the "hospitality fee" from $5 to $8. This basically covers the food/drinks for the judges' room and allows us to purchase bottle water and snacky items for the skaters testing.

I haven't heard too many complaints about this, although parents have definitely taken note. I guess its cheaper to increase the hospitality fee by a few bucks than to increase the price of a test. (Our cheapest tests start at $20/test and our most expensive are about $36/test.)

[Skittl1321]

(Our cheapest tests start at $20/test and our most expensive are about $36/test.)

Wow- your tests are cheap. The last form I can find the cheapest started at $30 and the most expensive was $65. No "hospitality fee" that's all built in- but skaters don't get snacks, just judges. I'm okay with that, because as a skater I can bring my own water!

I think here the biggest expense is getting judges here, the state only has a few, so most are out of state. Our ice time isn't high compared to the rest of the country.

[CoachPA]

Wow- your tests are cheap. The last form I can find the cheapest started at $30 and the most expensive was $65. No "hospitality fee" that's all built in- but skaters don't get snacks, just judges. I'm okay with that, because as a skater I can bring my own water!

Our tests are cheap as we typically put out 50+ tests each test session. For instance, this past Wednesday we had more than 80 tests going on between our two rinks. And, we would have had about 10 more had we been able to bring in the Gold/International dance panel that we needed! (Clearly, we had a big waitlist for this session as we always do toward the end of the year.)

I think here the biggest expense is getting judges here, the state only has a few, so most are out of state. Our ice time isn't high compared to the rest of the country.

We don't have so much a problem affording out-of-state judges as we do finding our Gold/International judges for the higher tests. We have plenty of great judges locally, but many of them cannot judge our Gold dancers, for instance.

In that regard, our biggest judging expense is when we have to get Gold/International judges in for a small test session of higher level tests. Here, coaches will rarely put out a lower level MIF test with the harder Gold panel, so the club loses some money that way since we may only have 20 tests going out.

[flo]

I've cut down on events from several to two a year. When I was first competing it was important for the experience. Now the money is better spent on ice and coaching time. I now do two a year. If the fees were lower I'd probably enter more events, but at 80 + it's too much.

[Black Sheep]

I encountered it registering for Mids and AN. What the hey?

[NoVa Sk8r]

I encountered it registering for Mids and AN. What the hey?A policy enacted at the 2007 Governing Council (in May). It's a fee for each entry at all *qualifying* competitions. Probably because USFSA has to divert resources interacting and collaborating with LOC's. Not sure how _$10_ was decided upon.

[vesperholly]

My club's test fees are fairly cheap - I'm taking the Tango next week, and it's $15 plus $5 hospitality fee. The least expensive is $10 (Prelim and Pre-Bronze dances) and the most expensive $25 (Intermediate - Senior MIF). The club buys test ice time in the day, when it's really inexpensive.

[Rusty Blades]

As an adult skater I view the entry fees as minimal, even the $150 for two events at Nationals. It is all the indirect costs that drive it through the roof - hotel, air fare, meals. My first two years at Nationals were around $2,500 each. This year Skate Canada has put it in the Maritimes where airfare isn't $250 but closer to $900 and the hotels are more expensive. Taking the cost from $2,500 to $3,500 has caused me to do some serious questioning. I just may skip this year because of it.

I don't begrudge a club raising their entry fee or tacking on a modest administration fee - it is really "small potatoes" in the overall expense.

Just my feelings.....

[Mrs Redboots]

Here, several competitions simply aren't happening, because clubs can no longer afford to run them. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Test fees are standardised - you pay NISA, not the club; nevertheless, they have gone up a lot in recent years.

[jskater49]

Here, several competitions simply aren't happening, because clubs can no longer afford to run them. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Test fees are standardised - you pay NISA, not the club; nevertheless, they have gone up a lot in recent years.

Then who pays the judges expenses and ice for the tests?

j

[RachelSk8er]

I don't think it's impacted me this year, but ONLY because I am not doing synchro, so that frees up A LOT of money, and what I'm spending competing more individually does not compare to what I spent on synchro. Gas at $1.58/gallon is also certainly helping free up some $$--I drive 70mi/day during the week between home-work-law school-back home.

I do wish that 2nd event fees were lower because I'd certainly love to do more "add on" events like spins, jumps, etc...but that gets too expensive, so I try to only stick to my free program and some combination of dance/interp/compulsory.

[patatty]

My club just raised their testing fees significantly. They were already expensive, but I just heard that a moves test for Intermediate and above is now over $100. So between the testing fee and my coach's fee for going to the test, I'm paying big bucks! Since I'm preparing to take Intermediate moves, I had better make sure that I will pass before going in there!

I agree that the ancillary costs for some competitions outweigh the fees. I'm looking at the airfare, hotel and rental car costs for AN, and they are much higher than the entry fees for my two events. I'm still debating whether to go, as it also entails taking 3 more vacation days from work (that I don't really have).

[CoachPA]

My club just raised their testing fees significantly. They were already expensive, but I just heard that a moves test for Intermediate and above is now over $100. So between the testing fee and my coach's fee for going to the test, I'm paying big bucks! Since I'm preparing to take Intermediate moves, I had better make sure that I will pass before going in there!

Wow! $100 for a MIF test?! 8O

I'm not sure what's possible for you within your area, but would it be cheaper for you to test at a different club? I'd think that even with travelling a bit and paying a non-member/crossover fee and your coach's fee, you'd still be ahead compared to your club's test fees.

[looplover]

As an adult skater I view the entry fees as minimal, even the $150 for two events at Nationals. It is all the indirect costs that drive it through the roof - hotel, air fare, meals. My first two years at Nationals were around $2,500 each. This year Skate Canada has put it in the Maritimes where airfare isn't $250 but closer to $900 and the hotels are more expensive. Taking the cost from $2,500 to $3,500 has caused me to do some serious questioning. I just may skip this year because of it.

I don't begrudge a club raising their entry fee or tacking on a modest administration fee - it is really "small potatoes" in the overall expense.

Just my feelings.....

Yup I agree - I'm skipping Nationals because of the cost of travel, just can't do it - thankfully Easterns are 20 minutes away...

[Mrs Redboots]

Then who pays the judges expenses and ice for the tests?

jI think NISA pays the expenses, and tests happen (at least at our rink) on regular morning patch. Which means the coaches are probably out of pocket, since they pay for the patch ice. And some of them don't charge to put you on the ice for a test!

[RachelSk8er]

Have any of your coaches raised rates?

I've been with mine since October 2006 for dance/free/moves, and luckily he has not this whole time. I was actually pleasantly surpised at how much he charged when I first started taking from him ($13.50/15 min) because he's an incredible coach, and the dance coach I had in high school from about 1997-1999 before I took a college-induced hiatus from dance charged $15.

[jskater49]

Have any of your coaches raised rates?

I've been with mine since October 2006 for dance/free/moves, and luckily he has not this whole time. I was actually pleasantly surpised at how much he charged when I first started taking from him ($13.50/15 min) because he's an incredible coach, and the dance coach I had in high school from about 1997-1999 before I took a college-induced hiatus from dance charged $15.

My coach raised her rates after she got her master rating in Moves last Spring. Seemed fair to me. Plus she hadn't raised them in awhile.

j