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- Jan 20, 2019
I understand and respect those sacrifices immensely. I just don’t think we can go beyond a certain limit as a family, for several reasons. We have more than 2 kids so this is a huge factor also.
New Ice Mom ISO advice
- Thread starter NewIceMamaMidwest
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- May 19, 2018
The reasons I’m pushing for ice dance are he does have this amazing innate grace and he loves to dance, and also mainly due to relatively lesser risk of injuries. It seems to be a good compromiseplus I understand he’s be in high demand eventually, right? Not enough boys and all that.
At least let him start jumps and see if he likes them first. That grace could make him the next Yuzuru Hanyu if he's equally good at jumping... and wants to, of course.
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The reasons I’m pushing for ice dance are he does have this amazing innate grace and he loves to dance, and also mainly due to relatively lesser risk of injuries. It seems to be a good compromise
Him being male would put him in demand in ice dance but know that ice dance doesn't equal less injuries. Also, floor dance does not translate to ice dance.
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- Jan 20, 2019
Deal 
thank you again for all the input!
thank you again for all the input!- Joined
- Jan 20, 2019
Hm, I recall hearing about skaters turning to ice dance due to reduced risk (no jumps) but really I have no idea, this is all very new to me.
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Yes, but there are other risks for injury. Falls, lift injuries, etc.
This is coming from myself, a former competitive elite ice dancer and singles skater, turned pro.
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- Jan 20, 2019
Good to know. Thank you!! Any other advice/input for us? Really, anything. I never expected my kids to go into this - as a kid my mom made me take ice skating in Europe and I seriously sucked at it - so I’m grateful for any bit of input, no matter how trivial! (For instance, is 5 years old too young for a month of 2 plus hours a day of ice time, 5 days a weeek, for a month? I think he wants it but I don’t want to become one of those monster moms).
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- Jan 9, 2017
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No, not if he truly wants it, knows what will go into it, and you as mom are okay with it.
Also, my inbox is open if you have any questions along the way, I can't just randomly offer everything I've learned and know about skating over the years I've done so or I'd have a few books written.
Good luck!
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- Jan 20, 2019
Thank you so much again ! 
will direct any more questions to the inbox as appropriate.
will direct any more questions to the inbox as appropriate.
- Joined
- May 19, 2018
Take your kids' lead. Go with what they want. Encourage them realistically if they get discouraged, of course, but don't force them to continue, or to quit, or to choose a certain path.
I would have loved that much skating at age 5. Or 15. Or 25. Or now. Maybe let both of them know that the camp exists without suggesting that they do or don't go. If they want to, they'll probably beg you to let them.
Also really, really, really make sure they have proper skates, both size and level. Ic3Rabbit can most likely help you with that. She saved me a very expensive mistake with my own.
As for risk of injury, there's risk of injury just walking down the street. Take precautions of course, but if the risk of injury weren't well worth it to us, there would be no passionate skaters.
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- Jun 23, 2018
Hey! I’d read your book, Ic3Rabbit!
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- Nov 16, 2015
This is what you are looking at for the beginning levels. For ice time.
Decent coaches start at around $60-$80 per hour going up to $100-$120. You will need a private coach once your children show an interest in competing. At the very lowest competition levels you will need at least a couple hours a week of private lessons. Soon this goes up to a couple hours a day.
After about 6 months or a year, your coach will encourage you to add a jumps coach. And then a spins coach. And then a moves coach. And then a choreographer. And then you will need better competition costumes. All of these things will cost you. It's like boiling a frog - before long you are putting all of these things on credit cards and a number of people take out second mortgages on their homes.
Then the competitions by themselves will cost you thousands. A couple hundred entry fee, another $20 for every 15 minute practice session, then coaches competition fees, then your own travel and hotel costs, then your share of your coaches travel and hotel costs. Thousands of dollars a year, even if you are only doing local competitions.
At the juvenile level, to be competitive at the very lowest of the qualifying levels, you will be shelling out $40,000 a year. This is after a number of years of working just to get to that level.
Many kids quit at this time, they burn out from spending all of their free time at a skating rink and want to move on to other things. This is why there is such a huge drop in numbers from Juv/Int at the regional level. You will be a good $100K out at this point. In the US there will be no recoupment of your money even if your kid makes it to the very highest level and starts winning internationally. Senior level national competitors are spending over $100K a YEAR to compete at that level. You could send your kid to medical school several times over by the time they are at that point, and getting to that point is as small of a chance as winning the lottery.
I honestly wish someone had laid this all out for me in the very beginning when I thought $120/6 week session wasn't so bad. It gets much much more expensive very quickly. Just be prepared.
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It's also possible to take it slower, with fewer lessons and fewer practices per week, and just aim for passing tests or competing in the new Excel track (what used to be called Test Track), or artistic competitions, or just moving up slowly and maybe topping out in Open Juvenile especially for girls, without going the intense competitive route.
If there are any synchronized skating teams in your area, that's another option. Not cheap, especially at higher levels, but not the same as nationals-bound singles/pairs/ice dance.
Ice dance can also be expensive. But the odds of getting to compete nationally are higher. Assuming there is at least one strong ice dance coach near where you live. And when it comes to finding suitable partners someone might need to relocate.
If there are any synchronized skating teams in your area, that's another option. Not cheap, especially at higher levels, but not the same as nationals-bound singles/pairs/ice dance.
Ice dance can also be expensive. But the odds of getting to compete nationally are higher. Assuming there is at least one strong ice dance coach near where you live. And when it comes to finding suitable partners someone might need to relocate.
Wow, what a price tag.
We are lucky to live 5 min away from an ice rink and can get cheap yearly public skating passes. Would that be saving us a lot of money, or is coaching only allowed during specially allotted (and pricey) practice times?
Another question - I have the opportunity to send the now 4, turning 5 in June DS to summer skating camp at that rink. (He’s the kid who loves skating
You won't be able to keep them on public ice for very long. Eventually they need to be on freestyle ice and it will get more pricey.
If they're homeschooled, you may be able to use public ice more than others. It depends whether your rink has (relatively empty) public sessions during the day, and what skaters are allowed to do on those sessions.
How strictly are traffic patterns enforced. Are figure skaters allowed to skate in any direction in any part of the rink? Are all jumps and spins allowed at all? Only in the center of the ice? Are skaters allowed to play their own music?
As they need to start practicing skills and Moves or dance patterns or programs that aren't allowed on public ice, they'll need to do more and more of their practice on dedicated figure skating sessions. Which, yes, will be more expensive.
How strictly are traffic patterns enforced. Are figure skaters allowed to skate in any direction in any part of the rink? Are all jumps and spins allowed at all? Only in the center of the ice? Are skaters allowed to play their own music?
As they need to start practicing skills and Moves or dance patterns or programs that aren't allowed on public ice, they'll need to do more and more of their practice on dedicated figure skating sessions. Which, yes, will be more expensive.
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- Dec 24, 2014
It depends on your rink but I would imagine public sessions would be okay for awhile at your kids age and level if it’s not super crowded. I’m a grown up and I skate 1 to 2 freestyles a week and the rest of the time I’m on public sessions. My rink allows us to do spins in the center (no camels if it’s crowded) and I spend a lot of time practicing basics and footwork. I go during school times and if it’s pretty empty they don’t care what I do as long as I look where I’m going and be careful of other people. I think all the time I’ve spent on basics has made me improve a lot faster. If I could only skate on freestyles I would have to skate a lot less. If you are working on a program or test you will have to go to freestyles but that doesn’t mean you can’t also practice on public sessions. If they are homeschooled you can probably find times when the rinks not too busy.
For your 6-year-old, just being on the ice more might help even if she’s not specifically practicing skills the whole time. I wouldn’t push her too hard into private lessons unless she wants to. Some people talked about how expensive skating is but there are different routes to take. At my rink there are a lot of kids that skate a couple days a week and learn programs and compete once a year at the competition held at our rink. They still have fun skating without spending a crazy amount of money. There are other kids who are there every day and aiming for something higher. So it’s up to you and your kids what you want out of it. I think both are valuable experiences.
For your 6-year-old, just being on the ice more might help even if she’s not specifically practicing skills the whole time. I wouldn’t push her too hard into private lessons unless she wants to. Some people talked about how expensive skating is but there are different routes to take. At my rink there are a lot of kids that skate a couple days a week and learn programs and compete once a year at the competition held at our rink. They still have fun skating without spending a crazy amount of money. There are other kids who are there every day and aiming for something higher. So it’s up to you and your kids what you want out of it. I think both are valuable experiences.
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- Jan 20, 2019
Oh my. No can do...
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That sounds a lot more realistic for us, honestly.
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- Jan 20, 2019
I guess we still have time until then
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- Jan 20, 2019
How does one find an ice dance coach? I assume that will come much later if do ever do go that route.
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Look at the bios at your local rinks, it will tell you what each coach specializes in and or competed in. You can also ask skating director. Not all rinks have ice dance coaches, you may have to travel to find a decent one.
