A question about skating clubs of famous skaters

[FSWer]

Say I was wondering about Skating Clubs of famous skaters. Does anyone know if just famouus skaters belong to those clubs? Or are there young kids who skate there as well? Just wondering.

[Clarice]

Skating clubs are made up of members of all ages and levels, not just famous skaters. Some clubs have more famous skaters than others, but any club will have many more non-famous skaters than famous ones. Some of those might later become famous, but there's no way to tell when they're young who will and who won't. Some famous skaters continue to represent the club they belonged to when they were young, and some change clubs if they move somewhere else to train. For example, Evan Lysacek has always represented the DuPage FSC in Chicago, even though he no longer lives or trains there. The DuPage club has many, many members, though, from young kids up through adults. A skating club couldn't function if all they had were famous skaters as members - there wouldn't be enough of them in one place to have much of a club.

[littlekateskate]

I have noticed when its listed.. A lot of pairs skaters list different "home clubs". So if they are a well known pair they represent different clubs.

I cant imagine any club being able to survive off just a few famous skaters ;) hehe...

However it does seem to me that when you find really really good skaters... Alot of them seem to train at the same clubs :).. But that is just my opinion and i am quite new to the sport.

[Clarice]

However it does seem to me that when you find really really good skaters... Alot of them seem to train at the same clubs :).. But that is just my opinion and i am quite new to the sport.

In many cases that's because really good skaters tend to gravitate to training centers, and then many will join the club there. A kind of momentum can build, too, in that if a club has enough skaters doing well, others will want to join that club so as to be associated with that success. It would be interesting to know how many successful skaters at any given training center started their skating lessons there, and how many moved there specifically to train there. Does that training center actually form more really good skaters than other places, or does it attract really good skaters from other places and polish them?

[FSWer]

I have noticed when its listed.. A lot of pairs skaters list different "home clubs". So if they are a well known pair they represent different clubs.

I cant imagine any club being able to survive off just a few famous skaters ;) hehe...

However it does seem to me that when you find really really good skaters... Alot of them seem to train at the same clubs :).. But that is just my opinion and i am quite new to the sport.


How is it possible to represent a different club then the one you train at,and why would they want to?

[Rob Dean]

How is it possible to represent a different club then the one you train at,and why would they want to?

As to the "how", even *I* skate at four different rinks and belong to two of the clubs. However, the USFSA requires each (non-independent) skater to register with them through one home club. So I've got a home club and one where I'm an associate member...and on my one occasion competing, my name was announced "Representing Home Club", because that's the way they do it. :)

As to why, I'd suppose it's a loyalty thing. If you were raised and trained at Home Club for years, it would probably seem disloyal to transfer your membership to Famous Training Center Skating Club just because you got better. (I also think there are potential issues regarding regional qualifications, which go, if I'm not mistaken, by home club location.)

Rob

[SynchroSk8r114]

How is it possible to represent a different club then the one you train at,and why would they want to?

I can't answer why anyone would want to represent a club other than the one he/she skates out of, but the reason you can represent a different club other than the one you train at is because as long as you pay the dues/membership fees for the club you wish you belong to, the USFSA has no control over the club you are a member of. Of course, you must be a member in good-standing and belong to a club if you want to test/compete in USFSA-sanctioned events.

I've known skaters who skate out of my rink in Western Pennsylvania who belong to clubs such as Detriot FSC, Delaware FSC, as well as clubs located across the country.

I bet you'll find some of the answers you're looking for here: http://www.usfigureskating.org/content/howto-formaclub.pdf

[wasabi]

How is it possible to represent a different club then the one you train at,and why would they want to?

Beyond the loyalty thing, many skaters go the other way -- choosing to represent a club out of their region at a rink they don't skate at. Certain regions are way overpopulated in term of skaters and talent -- South Atlantic has been for years (had 8-9 groups of juveniles while many other regions had 2-3), as has Southwest Pacific. It's much easier to qualify for junior nationals/sectionals out of smaller regions with fewer major training centers, so many skaters represent these club. A skater living and training in LA (normally Southwest Pacific region) can represent a club in the Central Pacific region and make it to junior nationals/sectionals where they couldn't out of their own region. South Atlantic skaters represent North Atlantic clubs for the same reason.

Recently the USFSA made a rule prohibiting this -- requiring juvenile and intermediate skaters to skate out of the region where they reside or where they train, regardless of club affiliation. All three section are pretty well matched as far as going to nationals (but qualify for junior nationals right out of regionals, not sectionals), so region hopping is less common among higher level skaters. They also added a rule that larger regions send more skaters to junior nationals.

[Skate@Delaware]

Say I was wondering about Skating Clubs of famous skaters. Does anyone know if just famouus skaters belong to those clubs? Or are there young kids who skate there as well? Just wondering.
hehehe I'm famous at my club!!! Maybe it's my "MOVE IT" yell that has made me so well known???? ;)

[UDsk8coach]

How is it possible to represent a different club then the one you train at,and why would they want to?

All comes down to regionals in a lot of cases... many ppl will pick a "home club" in a section where their regional competition will be less severe... I can't say I blame them, it does make sense.