Room & Board

[icemama]

Please share any info you may have regarding room & board for skaters. What is the going rate (in what part of the country)? What does one receive for this? Are there legal questions? What has been your (or your skater's) experience? Any anecdotes? Any advice? Thanks so much!

[Elsy2]

Darn...nobody has answered you! Well to get this started, I have kept a skater from another family for a few weeks only, and this was a few years ago. They paid me $75/week room and board, and I simply integrated her into the family as best I could. This was short term in the summer so there were no legal issues, but I understand that some families will be given temporary guardianship during the school year to they can handle school registration issues, medical emergencies, etc. Don't know much more than that. I am in the midwest.

[kgl2]

I have chareged, and have been charged, $100/week. So have most of the parents I know who have taken in skaters or sent their own skater to train elsewhere. THere are lots or variable though: do they have their own transportateion, it is for the school year and what that all entails, etc.

[IceDanceSk8er]

We just started having skaters (ice dancers) stay with us here in Boston and $100 a week is very reasonable, compared to a week at a hotel. We feed them and get them to the rink (they're usually on the same dance session as my daughter and her partner). IMHO, this is actually cheaper for them. We've had up to three skaters at one time.

[lazenpa]

well if your real nice you don't charge. i wouldn't charge people to stay because if they are struggling parents that would help them maybe just buy groceries. i have been lucky when my daughter has stayed. they haven't charged me. but i did buy groceries for herand her friend totake skating with them. if they have money then i guess i would charge if there rich. other wise no i wouldnt charge and i would help them out.

[Dolly]

I was speaking to a parent yesterday who had sent her daughter to a training centre in another province this summer. She paid $150 per week per person(Canadian) for room and board and the room was shared by 4 skaters. This covered the cost of food and transportation to the rink, etc.Also, another family paid the same for their skater who trained in another province.

I guess that's a reasonable fee since they would have the skater 7 days per week and it would cover the costs of meals, snacks, transportation to and from the rink for practice and competitions/tests, laundry, etc. As well, one of the skaters suffered an injury and the host family was responsible to take her to the hospital and look after her while she recovered. She was off the ice for about 2 weeks.

If a skater was just staying for a seminar which lasted 4-5 days, I wouldn't think they would be charged then. Usually, for that amount of time, skaters are billeted, with no charge.

[sonora]

Please make sure if your skater is a minor that the host family and perhaps someone at the rink have a notarized statement that allows them to authorize medical treatment for your child in the event of an emergency. Also, double check your insurance. Some insurance polices, esp. the HMO types, only offer coverage in a limited geographical area. Your skater may not be covered if s/he is living far away!

[WeBeEducated]

I recently paid $50 per week, per person, for 2 skaters sharing a room in an apt with another skater($100 total per week for 2). Food was not included in the price. They also provided their own transportation to and from the rink. For independent, responsible teens it can be very productive, especially for the summer, and not too expensive, but I would not send away a young child for the year
regardless of the skating benefits. If it is really neccessary to get training far away and the child is young, I think a parent needs to move too.

[icemama]

Hey thanks for all of this great info. The going rate seems to be about $100/week, eh? Sure, it would be great to not pay anything, skating parents could always use that, but the old saying "You get what you pay for..." may apply here and with my daughter involved, I guess I'll pay (again.) The medical insurance tip is well received, I had not thought of that in such detail. Please, though, any more thoughts are welcome. Little did we know when they put those first rental skates on that this level of involvement, on all fronts, would ensue. Yet, I am grateful that my daughter has such a focus for her life. The physical, emotional and mental benefits are gargantuan. My husband & I always say that even if she quits tomorrow, every penny, every driving hour, every sacrifice was well worth it for the well-balanced, confident, fit, strong girl we have, not to mention the adult that she will become. 'Preciate all of your comments.

[icester]

As a parent of several skaters who've gone out of state to train, I had to develop power of attorney documents for health matters and for school purposes. Luckily, a skating club friend who is an attorney helped with the language, but didn't want to have his firm's name on the documents because it's not his specialty. And the "zero fee" basis of our relationship wouldn't apply if he had to do actual work!

Usually, school administrators are dealing with guardianship that may be contested by one party or another, so they insist on proper papers. They're not used to cooperative cases where skaters want to live with a "volunteer" family in a training situation.

The mandatory disclaimer: I'm not an attorney and don't give legal advice. But if you would like to see some forms that have proven useful over the years, something that you could TAKE TO YOUR ATTORNEY for his legal opinion and advice, click the following link:
http://131.103.214.250/cnet/index.htm

[mountains4me]

I have had several skaters stay with us in the past. Funny, but all I remember is that we had a great time! These girls became family and the experience was wonderful for us. I think that I charged $100 per week (3 yrs. ago) but that included EVERYTHING! I can guarantee that we did not make a penny off of this endeavor. Our family eats out a lot since I work and we do NOT eat fast food. Our "boarders were taken with us at all times and I would never have asked them to stay home and have a sandwich or fix their own meals. I paid for meals, I paid if we went to the carnival, I paid when we asked them to accompany us for a long weekend (couldn't leave them alone at home!) I suppose that staying with another family can sound like a lonely life for a minor child but there are great families out there who are absolutely not in it to make money. We will never forget our "other family members"!

[icemama]

Gee, mountains4me, I'll just send my daughter to you, never mind the skating situation, I'm sure it would work out. For sure, the housing would! And, icester, I downloaded that legal puppy immediatement. Thanks to you both. Keep those cards & letters coming in, I'm learning a lot.