Skating Costs

[Dolly]

What's the average annual skating costs for a competitive skater, including ice, coach, costumes, travel, etc. What could parents expect to pay out annually, for example, at the juvenile and pre-novice levels? Skater would be around 10 - 12 years old, I guess. Anybody want to go there?

[dbny]

Around 50K/year, is what I've heard.

[blades]

8-)

at that level...in canada...depending on the city, the club and the coach...about four to seven grand cdn...and up...

by elite level...it can get up to and beyond fifty grand cdn...

similar numbers and a bit higher in the states...in usd...

[Mrs Redboots]

A lot less than dressage..... but a lot more than most other sports!

[Elsy2]

Here's my guess:

This is all U.S. dollars.....

$12,500/year ice, coaching, off ice classes (I am estimating $250/week)

$4,000/year competition expenses. Includes competition and practice ice fees, hotel, coaching fees. I'm basing this on 5 competitions a year at about $800 each. My estimate is $150 in event and practice ice fees, $400 hotel for 3 nights, $50 gasoline, $150-200 coaching expense for each competition. Our coaching fees vary widely based on how many skaters are sharing the coaches travel expenses.

$1,000 to replace boots and blades every year.

$1,000 practice and competition clothing, tights, incidentals......I don't think we actually spend this much, but you easily could if you love to buy skating related stuff, and like expensive competition dresses....You can include cost of obtaining skating music here....

Grand total estimate - $18,500

[Dolly]

$18,500 US (?) That's about $28,000 Canadian.

Seriously, how many average Canadian families could afford to pay that for the sport. I guess that would account for the drop-off at the pre-novice level; the higher up you go competitively, the higher the costs. For some skaters, extended family help out - I know of one where her grandparents pay the full costs of summer skating and pay for new boots/blade every year. They use Air miles for travel and another relative buys the costumes. But not everyone has that support.

BTW, our total yearly skating costs are around $3,000. Test skater, doesn't compete but is on the synchronized team. Will probably drop freeskate this year (coach is moving), which will cut the costs in half. My skater, now a teenager, is not ready to give up skating totally, but school activities, and a social life, that's starting to get more interesting, need time. It's a busy time when you're a teen - so much to see; so much to do.

[BABYSKATES]

A lot depends on where you train and with whom. If you train where the ice is $10/hr for freestyle (don't faint) and with elite coaches who charge elite prices... you could easily spend $25,000 on average. I purposely haven't calculated down to the penny. I don't really want to know exactly how much I spend...

My husband laughed when I told him what question I was responding to. He told me to tell you that he just bought a doughnut and had pay on an installment plan. Our user name should be WeBeBroke!

[dooobedooo]

I couldn't believe the prices at Chelsea Piers when I visited New York - $16 per hour for freestyle, and average coaching at $80 per hour. And although the situation is very scenic and the ice is good, the pads are smaller than Olympic size. Am I right in thinking that is where Sarah Hughes trains?

In the UK, prices are more like $4 to $5 per hour for freestyle and coaching at $40 to $45 per hour - with the exception of a very small non-competitive rink in Central London which charges more.

[jazzpants]

Originally posted by dooobedooo
I couldn't believe the prices at Chelsea Piers when I visited New York - $16 per hour for freestyle, and average coaching at $80 per hour. And although the situation is very scenic and the ice is good, the pads are smaller than Olympic size. Am I right in thinking that is where Sarah Hughes trains?

Well, Chelsea Piers is where SH's skating club is, but Chelsea Piers is NOT where she was training. I keep thinking Hackensack NJ for some reason??? (And now, since she's going to Yale, who knows...probably the campus rink?)

My guess is that NYC is just expensive b/c it's a "world class city." :roll: (Of course, San Francisco is no chop liver either as far as "world class city" is concerned. And we only charge $10/hr for freestyle!!! And those of you who skated at YB know how beautiful the rink is.) :mrgreen:

[CanAmSk8ter]

The rinks in my area usually charge between $10 and $12 for freestyles, and those sessions are only forty-five to fifty minutes long. And, like we've been mentioning, those sessions are open to skaters of any and all levels.

As far as Sarah Hughes is concerned, Yale's rink is not year-round (one of my adult students works there). The rink in Newington, CT where Nikolai Morozov's teams train, is forty-five minutes or so from New Haven, and Simsbury would be a little over an hour away. The thing with Simsbury is that it's out in a gorgeous part of Connecticut, but not near any major highways. Newington is the opposite; the rink isn't in a particularly pretty area, but it is convenient from I-91, I-84, and Route 9. I haven't heard anything about where Sarah's planning to skate except that she does plan to continue working with Robin Wagner, so I assume she'll be comuting to NYC or Hackensack fairly frequently. Last I knew she was skating in Hackensack.

[TreSk8sAZ]

Originally posted by BABYSKATES
A lot depends on where you train and with whom. If you train where the ice is $10/hr for freestyle (don't faint) and with elite coaches who charge elite prices...

Welcome to my rink, but freestyle is $12/hr and lately if you even spend 5 minutes over that hour without repaying, the manager is more than willing to have you arrested. Plus, many of the coaches are expensive... one I believe charges around $65 for a half-hour lesson... it may be as much as $75 for the half-hour. Granted, she is a wonderful coach... but still. Thank God I don't pay that for my lessons!

[land64shark]

Unbelievable as it may sound, my juvenile level daughter's expenses are probably somewhere near $14,000/yr (US). We're not even talking any high ranking skater here, just a plain old juvie with big inconsistant jumps that trains locally. I work solely to pay the skating bills. I have to work part time night shift to accomidate driving my skater to the rink and to school along with her siblings to their schools. We have no extra money. The house is in need of repairs, etc., etc. It's a fairly common story at the rink. It's crazy I know. But what can I do? My kid loves it and she really does have all the ingredients to be successful, she's just not "soup" yet. I don't have any unreal expectations for her. As long as she continues to really want to skate and shows continued commitment and improvement, I'll make the sacrifices. I'd like to see just how far she can take herself, but if she said tomarrow that she didn't want to skate anymore and I thought she really meant it, I'd probably be doing a happy dance.

[Sk8Bunny]

Originally posted by TreSk8sAZ
Welcome to my rink, but freestyle is $12/hr and lately if you even spend 5 minutes over that hour without repaying, the manager is more than willing to have you arrested. Plus, many of the coaches are expensive... one I believe charges around $65 for a half-hour lesson... it may be as much as $75 for the half-hour. Granted, she is a wonderful coach... but still. Thank God I don't pay that for my lessons!

Hey! You must skate at my rink!! Is the name Gateway, and the big bo-zo who will arrest anyone name starts with R and ends in Y? yep yep, i must skate were u skate!! and the coach i beleive u are refeering to is Cecilia, and she charges 48 and hour. She is a wonderful coach, like u said, and imo, is worth every penny spent on lessons. but getting back to the original topic, my parents spend an average of 7-8 grand a year and i am a preliminary skater w/ the usfsa. hopefully my ice time and number of lessons w/ increase next year, and if that happens, it will be an estimated 9-10 grand for the next year. my home rink isnt that great a training facility, but im fortunate enough to go to a place in the summer that is a really great top skate facility, w/ top coaches and the whole nine-yards, and just for one week up there(2 sessions a day on ice, 1 speciality class on ice, and 2 off-ice classes daily) the cost is about $400, including about 4 hours of coaching(40 min each day). I hate to think what my parents would be paying annually if i skated at that rink year round, although i wish i could. :D

[mary]

Wow! Some of you are paying a lot more than me. My child is juvenile level in the U.S. and I sat down and added it all up. I'm actually paying more than I thought! I figured at least between $10,000 and $11,000 which includes a little off-ice training and 2 competition dresses a year, with one pair of skate boots and blades, plus competition fees, coaches fees, hotels for out-of-town comps, ice time, yearly membership fees. My coach fees and ice time seem more practical than some (ice $8 per session, coaches between $40 and $60). That's the problem. Do coaches really deserve that much? What really do they accomplish at each session? Mine talks on her cell phone sometimes!!:roll:

[Mrs Redboots]

Originally posted by dooobedooo
I couldn't believe the prices at Chelsea Piers when I visited New York - $16 per hour for freestyle, and average coaching at $80 per hour. And although the situation is very scenic and the ice is good, the pads are smaller than Olympic size. We were pretty horrified, too! And the first time I went to the USA, I came home and told my coach he was teaching in the wrong country! On the other hand, we had a fantastic evening in Massachussets on a 2-hour adults-only session which cost about $5.00 AND included an ice-make half way through - that was serious luxury for us!

At my rink, we pay the equivalent of $16.50 per week for as many patch (freestyle) sessions as we like; however we pay that 52 weeks/year, whether we are there or not. Individual sessions are either (roughly) $6.60 or $7.40 per session, depending on the day and time of day, and the $16.50 fee kicks in on your third session. Most of the coaches charge the equivalent of $43 per hour for lessons, although one charges less and one rather more.

Then, of course, there are test fees and competition entry fees. Those are the ones that mount up - one competition secretary last year, trying to be helpful, asked for just one cheque for all your entries - I very nearly didn't enter when I saw what it added up to! Individual cheques per class don't hurt nearly so much!

[Candleonwater]

My 6yo daughter is costing me about $10,000 a year. Of course that doesn't include the other outside activities, like dance! The most fun was when she went from ISI to USFSA... and competition entry fees doubled! YIKES!

[WeBeEducated]

Ice time costs in the USA have gone way up over the past few years, and I think it is absurd.
Some Municipal rinks in Colorado offer ice at $5.00 a session, but private rinks ream skaters for outrageous amounts.
Skating is beginning to slump in popularity, so hopefully those prices will come down to reasonable rates.
The absolute lack of diveristy in skating is partly due to the elite culture and cost$ that endure in the skating world in the USA.
Off ice programs/training in the USA are very haphazard, and sometimes damaging and nonproductive, but fill up a summer program brochure so that the high price looks like it can be justified.

[jenlyon60]

THe rink I skate at charges $8 for 45 minutes freestyle if you have one of their "debit" cards; $10 FOR 45 minutes pickup. They also have an "intensive ice" program that's about $365/month for all the ice time you want (roughly equivalent I think to about 2 sessions per day, 6 days a week).

They also run a 2 for 1 on all freestyle sessions before 12noon.

My coach charges $35/half hour, which isn't bad.

[arena_gal]

I just saw a television programme about kids in elite activites, and Melissa Piperno (Cdn.Junior ice dance champions, 10th Jr worlds) said she's on-ice for 22 hours a week. On ICE! Then 10 hours off ice a week. All I could think about was how much that cost per week, eek.

Although, I know several national level singles skaters and they're on the 10-12 hour a week training mode, and that works OK.

What is it about ice dance that requires so much on ice time?

[Mrs Redboots]

Originally posted by arena_gal
What is it about ice dance that requires so much on ice time? Your partner! :)

Seriously, when there are two of you, it does come out as more than twice as difficult, since you not only have to do the dance as well as you can, you also have to learn to do it while partnering and being partnered, and that does take time.

[PointBleu]

Originally posted by arena_gal
I just saw a television programme about kids in elite activites, and Melissa Piperno (Cdn.Junior ice dance champions, 10th Jr worlds) said she's on-ice for 22 hours a week. On ICE! Then 10 hours off ice a week. All I could think about was how much that cost per week, eek.

What is it about ice dance that requires so much on ice time?

To answer your last question : 2 compulsories to train, one Od and one FD... That's a lot more than a singles skater with two programs!
As for ice time fee... In Quebec, skating 15 or 20 or 25 is usually the same price. Most kids go to sports school where they go to school for half a day and train for half a day. There is usually a package deal for ice time, ie. 1500$ unlimited ice time for the high season (usually from September to April).
As for coaching, I know few coaches who actually had students making up to the Olympics and they charge all around 40-44$CAN/hour.

So, if you make quick comparison between the States and here... without calculating, I guess it is way much cheaper here.

[dooobedooo]

Originally posted by arena_gal
What is it about ice dance that requires so much on ice time?

Choreography of the free dance and the original dance seems to take forever.

[land64shark]

Originally posted by PointBleu
There is usually a package deal for ice time, ie. 1500$ unlimited ice time for the high season (usually from September to April).

As for coaching, I know few coaches who actually had students making up to the Olympics and they charge all around 40-44$CAN/hour.


PointBleu,

Do you mean $1500 total for the entire 8 months??? Say it aint so! I thought I was getting a deal with $325/month for unlimited freestyle sessions. (There's about 25 available sessions per week, 45 min each.)

Even the really low level learn to skate coaches get $56 US/hr here. The top area coaches are $80-$90/hr. This is not a high cost of living area either.

I need to seriously think about moving to Canada if this is the case. (The thought comes up from time to time as my husband is Canadian.) Anyone know what ice and coaching goes for in Barrie?

[Dolly]

Canada is a wonderful place! Here is a link to the Mariiposa skating club in Barrie and it lists the costs, etc.

http://www.skatemariposa.com/

[jp1andOnly]

I agree,

My parents spent just under 30,000 a year for my brother. In the US I bet that would be hitting 50 or 60. I think you guys in the states are getting ripped off. But then again, a lot of Canadian caoches are heading to the states for more money.

[nycbumpkin]

30K/this yr intermdiate skater US, majortraining center tho

[sunshine21]

$38,000 a year for my Novice Skater. Big Training Center with lots of high level coaching staff.

[jp1andOnly]

I am flabbergasted over the amount people are spending..mostly in the US. My brother trained at the best skating clubs with the best coaches and we still didn't end up paying over 30,000. But then again, the conversion to US dollars would put us well over the limit..hehehe

[PointBleu]

If you would converse your CAD$ into US dollars, you wouldn't be over the limit but well under!


ex.:
30 000$CAD = 22 400$US

So even less!

;)

[jp1andOnly]

lol..thats true. But what I was getting at is I'd have to pay 35,000 CAD to only get 22-25,000 American. So if I had a child skating in the states, I'd end up paying even more.

[Terri C]

With all this talk about freestyle costs:
My rink here in VA just increased the freestyle rate frm $8.00/ walk on to $12.00/walk on! We just got a new owner who wants to make our rink a training center. The top coaches here are anywhere from $48- $52/ hour!

[tazsk8s]

The contract rate at our rink is $12 an hour. There are some discounts to that - during the school year there's a 10% discount if you contract for a certain amount each session, and during the summer that discount goes to 20%. The walk-on rate is an absurd $18 per hour! That rate only applies to people "off the street", non-contract skaters. It used to apply to us contract skaters as well, until I complained about it at a parents' meeting that rink management held. We contract for as much time as we can reliably make each week, occasionally we can do more, especially when there is a competition or test coming up. It seemed absurd to have to pay such a premium in order to pick up an extra freestyle here and there. I was amazed to find out they'd listened to reason! :D

[sunshine21]

The coaches at our rink are more like $90 an hour. We are in Delaware

[Dolly]

Who sets the hourly rate for coaches? How can they charge so much, i.e. $90/hr US? Is the cost of training a coach really high which could justify the high fees charged?

[sunshine21]

Some of the coaches are $30 for 20 min and some are $26 for 20 minutes. I don't know who sets the fees for them. I think they are extremely high

[jp1andOnly]

In Canada, the coaches set the fee. They usually base it on what others are charging, but mostly on their coaching level and experience. Some of them add in a little extra for taxes, while others add in a bit to cover medical/dental insurance which they have to purchase themselves. A beginning coach usually charges no more than $9 for 15 min. Most experienced coahces range from $15-20 per 15 min

[Elsy2]

$90/hour is crazy. The cost of coaching varies regionally, for example if you look on the Ann Arbor website you will see fees ranging from $33/hour up to $60/hour. There are some very well established coaches listed there that you will recognize with fairly reasonable rates.

As for the cost of training to be a coach, I suppose you have to consider the years that they trained and spent money on coaching themselves. Because of the need for figures, I guarantee you those coaches put in way more hours on the ice than any of the skaters today. I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that we don't have to pay for twice the ice time we do now since we no longer have figures in the picture.

Our coaches set their own fees. They are self-employed and don't enjoy the benefits of being an employee for a company that provides them benefits. Nobody is paying for their health insurance, sick time, vacation time, etc. Coaching is not always as lucrative as it might seem based on an hourly rate. Depending on the rink, there may only be a few hours a day that they are booked solidly earning income. When a student is off for vacation, illness, etc., they are simply out of that expected income.

[BABYSKATES]

I don't know what the highest paid coaches make but it is more than $90 an hour. Published rates for 3 coaches at one ice skating summer camp are $40 for 20 minutes. Only the 20 minute rates are listed. They don't come right out and say they charge $120 per hour. These coaches are booked up with no openings for the whole summer so obviously people think they are worth their rate. There are long waiting lists full of people who are hoping for some reason there will be a cancellation and they will be able to slip in.

[jenlyon60]

My coach (2x British dance champion) charges $70/hour. He hasn't raised his rates in 2 years.

Don't know how much the other coaches (full-time, coaching being their only income) at my rink charge, but I would expect that the "lead" coaches charge at least as much as my coach does.

[GoldieMedal]

Well if your a skater in the Pre Novice level, skating all season is important, but time off is important as well. To many lessons can burn out a skater, they need time to learn to work on there own and create independance on the ice, especially the younger skaters.

A skater who works hard for 15 mins with their coach will have high quality results than a skater who is with a coach for 45mins. A jumping lesson let say, the skater after 15 or 20 mins of jumping is to tired and should have a break from jumping.

Skaters at the Pre Novice level and up, know that double axel is the key to placement on the podium, but after 12 attempts take a break.Coaches seem to push jumps on skaters and injuries are happening to often.

So my bottom line here is, learn to say NO to extra lessons if you feel it is to much on the skater or your pocket book. So many paretns are afraid to say no to their coach , but if you don't, the coach has you hook line and will sink you. I know parents that are in risk of losing their homes over figure skating costs and the skaters are under 13.

Success of a skater is determined by what they put into it !!!

[sk8rT]

$65,000 USD last year including all expenses

[Elsy2]

Originally posted by sk8rT
$65,000 USD last year including all expenses

I'm curious as to what level of skating you are at and what level of success you have achieved for such a high annual expenditure for skating. Sunshine21 posts an annual expense of $38,000 at Novice level at a large training center. I'm wondering if you travel more extensively than the average skater...Does your higher annual expense perhaps include the expense of sectionals and nationals each year, or maybe some International competitions in the mix?
Or is it just that your location dictates a higher expense?

Just curious!

[sk8rT]

Why do we spend $65,000 a year?

Ice time= $15 per hour
Coaching= $120 per hour???not exactly sure
6 days a week, 5 sessions a day
12 lessons a week
Gym membership: $220
Costumes: $2500
Private ice for choreography=$175-$200 per hour plus coaching fees
Travel=Cost of private jet...anywhere from $1000-$3000 an hour
Rental Cars=$50 a day
Hotels=$120 per night
Competition entry fees= probably around $500 yearly
the list just keeps going....on and on

[jp1andOnly]

obviously money isn't an issue with this particular skater as they can afford a private jet.

[sk8rT]

ok...thanks?

[sk8rT]

I was thinking...included in that $65,000 cost quote....I didn't include the wear and tear on the cars, price of buying new cars and gasoline...if you consider that a skating cost.
Our rink is about 55 miles away from home so we drive so much!
Our family has designated three of our 8 cars just for skating!

In the spring and fall we use a Cadillac DeVille limousine and a Mercedes S600
In the winter we use a Lincoln Navigator SUV

Since we put so many miles on these cars a year (70,000+ a year) we need to replace them every three years!! Considering that an S600 is $120,000, a Navigator $55,000 and the limousine $65,000, this is a big financial committment. Also, these vehicles are all gas guzzlers so we have to pay absurd amounts for gasoline, insurance costs are extra, luxury and other taxes are extra as well as the cost of a driver. If you consider these numbers, the annual cost of skating is even higher! What an expensive sport!!! If we only knew what we were getting into years ago......

[Sk8Bunny]

Um, right......

[Elsy2]

Thanks for your breakdown of expenses....I'm still curious as to your competitive level and whether your competition fees include week long stays at Nationals for example.

Our rink is currently offering only 4 high sessions a day, many skaters average 3 per day, 5 days a week. Our coaching rate is half yours.

You are lucky to have the affluence to go first class all the way. Not all skaters can do that.

I'm assuming Sk8rt that you are the skater in the family, or are you the parent? Is there only one skater in the family? I ask that because your family obviously spends a huge amount of time on skating.....

[sk8rT]

our family only has one serious skater...thank God!!! another child in our family skates--but not seriously---just recreationally or should I say "for fun". I couldn't imagine have two competitive skaters....

[PointBleu]

Is it just my perception of the situation... but you really WANT to pay that much for skating?

If you are indeed serious and amazed by the cost of skating, just re-read your post and you will know where to cut expenses...

I might be harsh... but the whole post doesn't look like a real situation to me.

That's maybe because I've know international skaters having great results who were paying much less. Who knows.

[jp1andOnly]

like I said in my above post. Obviously this family is not concerned with money. And that is fine. It's just that many peopel are, and paying that amount shows that money is not an issue for your family

[sk8rT]

yes, money is not an issue for us--and we could cut costs if we needed to...it's also the lifestyle that does make it more expensive, like the private planes, but we can afford it and we like it so it's not an issue. It's just interesting comparing our expenses with the expenses of other families whose children play soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey and other sports.

[Dolly]

Didn't I read somewhere that Sasha Cohen's expenses were around $250,000 US annually? She wins money though when she medals at many of the events which covers much of the expenses. Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember it discussed on this board during Nationals or Worlds?? Not sure if she uses private jets and limos as her means of transportation.

Good thing my daughter is a rec. skater.

[Elsy2]

So, how does 30 hours of ice time per week, 12 lessons per week, and all that expenditure equate with your skater's success?

[sunshine21]

$38,000 a year is for everything such as ice time, lessons, new boots and blades, practice dresses and tights, sharpenings, competition dresses, travel to competitions, application fee for competition, travel and gas in the car, off ice conditioning, and dance classes. My daughter is an average Novice skater who competes at the Regional level and is hoping to make it to Sectionals. She is striving for the best she can be and is a very hard worker. She loves skating and as long as she does well in school and can keep up with the grueling schedule of both, I support her 100%.

[Michigansk8er]

Let me see...............private planes, expensive cars with drivers, private ice.......and budget hotel rooms, rental cars and gym fees? Where does that fit into the "lifestyle" of rich and famous? Sorry.....something just smells fishy here. You also never mentioned what level you compete at. I'm curious if all of this expense is worth the outcome, and the incredible amount of time you are putting into the sport (ice time and commuting time).

[dbny]

Originally posted by sk8rT
yes, money is not an issue for us--and we could cut costs if we needed to...it's also the lifestyle that does make it more expensive, like the private planes, but we can afford it and we like it so it's not an issue......... It's just interesting comparing our expenses with the expenses of other families whose children play soccer, baseball, basketball, hockey and other sports.

I don't think you can compare your expenses to other families in any other sport. Very few people on this planet have the kind of money to literally burn (in those gas guzzlers, for example) that you seem to have. We just do not routinely stay in $120/night hotels etc. If comparison is what you are interested in, you are looking at apples vs oranges.

[sk8rT]

$120 isn't really a budget hotel room at most competitions--and besides at most competitions they aren't really fancy hotels, you usually find Comfort Inns and Holiday Inns that don't have $500 per night rooms. And I'm not sure what is fishy about joining a gym....do you mean why don't we have a home gym? We do but it's a lot easier to make appoitments with the trainer that I like at the Fitness Edge rather than having them come to our house.

[sk8rT]

rental car? doesn't everyone have to rent a car? it's not like we're going to buy one when we go to a competition. $50 a day for a rental car gets you a decent car in most areas. Or are we not allowed to rent cars because we're too wealthy?

[Elsy2]

I don't recall anyone listing their expenses for other sports here, maybe I missed it? I spent all of $30 for several weeks of league baseball and that included the uniform. A four day baseball camp, 6 hours a day cost me $100. Big deal when you compare that to our skating costs...Geez I'm beginning to really love baseball!

[mary]

I'll know I'll get some flack for this, but anyone spending $65,000 a year for a mediocre Novice level skater must have rocks where there should be brains. Sorry, just my honest opinion. :lol:

OOPS! I got the "average Novice skater" thing from Sunshine 21 and not the one who spends $65,000 :!: :!: a year for skating. Yeah, sounds like bragging and going a little bit overboard to me.

[dbny]

Originally posted by mary
I'll know I'll get some flack for this, but anyone spending $65,000 a year for a mediocre Novice level skater must have rocks where there should be brains. Sorry, just my honest opinion. :lol:

Well, as much as I deplore the wasting of our precious natural resources on gas guzzlers, I must say that if I had a very great amount of money, I would definitely spend some of it on things that others might consider absurd. For example, I would wear custom made shoes, as I value foot comfort highly and am hard to fit. I would also spend without limit on my skating, although I will never be any kind of competitor. What we do with our discretionary income, is definitley a personal choice.

[sk8er1964]

Edited to remove my post. I have a sneaking suspicion what might be going on here with the posts about sky-high costs and limos and such, but I'm going to MYOB.

[Elsy2]

Originally posted by mary
I'll know I'll get some flack for this, but anyone spending $65,000 a year for a mediocre Novice level skater must have rocks where there should be brains. Sorry, just my honest opinion. :lol:

Sk8erT hasn't really said what level they are competing at, or what success they have attained.

[blades]

8-)

if one can afford it and enjoys it...what does it matter???

[sk8rT]

I'm a bit confused as to why everyone is so interested in my family's financial situation and spending. Doesn't anyone have their own life? I do not really want to say who this or at what level our skater skates just for their privacy. I'm sure if you really wanted to know and had nothing better to do you could research it or look for our motorcade at the competitions:roll:

[skaternum]

Originally posted by sk8rT
I'm a bit confused as to why everyone is so interested in my family's financial situation and spending. Doesn't anyone have their own life

With all due respect, you're the one who put it out there for everyone to talk about. You're the one who gave us the itemized laundry list and keeps on about private jets (I think that's been mentioned in 2, maybe 3 threads already) and so on. If you make statements about pumping enormous amounts of money into a sport or the fleet of luxury cars you use to support your skater, you have to expect people to talk about it! Don't pull a Madonna on us: "Look at me! Look at me!" then "Stop looking at me!"

[Elsy2]

I certainly never asked who you were.....but fail to see how telling your skating level would breach your privacy. The original post asked about costs for a 10-11 year old juvenile level skater. It would certainly make sense that you could spend a great deal more at a higher competitive level. If you don't wish to say, that's fine.

Sounds like many of us here actually have a very similar "life" to yours....without some of the frills, however...

[sk8rT]

the skater is relatively young and skates above the juvenile level

[sk8taxi]

This is such a great forum with some great parents. I truely have enjoyed lurking and learning for the past few months.
Please be wary of outragous and precocious posts. They are only meant to incite an argument.

A simple search of previous posts will show the waffled responses to simple questions.

"my Parents fly from coast to coast" oops ...I thought this was a parent.

"motorcade at competitons" How many cars does it take to drive a skater?

Best to ignore

[sk8rT]

The motorcade thing was sacastic--that's what the :roll: denoted---it was because someone implied that we are too wealthy to rent cars.

[dbny]

Originally posted by sk8taxi
This is such a great forum with some great parents. I truely have enjoyed lurking and learning for the past few months.
Please be wary of outragous and precocious posts. They are only meant to incite an argument.

A simple search of previous posts will show the waffled responses to simple questions.

"my Parents fly from coast to coast" oops ...I thought this was a parent.

"motorcade at competitons" How many cars does it take to drive a skater?

Best to ignore

But we see so few trolls on this board! Please, please, can't we feed this one?

[sk8taxi]

giggle dbny ,you are so right!

Geez, just look at the number of views for this topic!

I must admit, I checked it regularly hoping for the posting of a Financial Statement!
Perhaps a Profit and Loss would be more amusing.

[Elsy2]

Yes, we are too smart for this....but as the song says sometimes "girls just want to have fun" ;)