- Joined
- Feb 24, 2012
Nope.
Basically the only money they raised was from the one annual event and after 10+ years, they were just exhausted.
The funds were exhaused or the Foundation organizing the event?
Nope.
Basically the only money they raised was from the one annual event and after 10+ years, they were just exhausted.
A noble idea.
For it to work, there would need to be agreement as to how to determine which few skaters would be recipients of funding.
If a small committee were to be empowered to select recipients, there would need to be agreement as to who would be on the committee.
Not trying to rain on your parade. If you can bring your idea to fruition, good for you.
Just sayin' that the devil would be in the details.
That's where the offering of scholarships and other help comes in. The USFS has to step up.
There are a lot of kids who have a lot of talent and drive but not a lot of money who get helped out with ice time by their skating club, or get coaching for free or heavily discounted by coaches who really believe in them.
This is exactly my point. Not many people would do that. Even if we did do that, there is no way I could afford to support an elite skater. For starters, I have another child, and making us all suffer for one kid doesn't sit well with me. My SO and I have already discussed it. There is no way we're putting ourselves in financial peril over one child in figure skating. Not only is it an expensive sport, but it's not a sport that really invests in your child. Going all in on a team sport, for one is cheaper, and for another could set your child up financially for life. Even if it's a simple college scholarship, which is not an option for figure skating. The US just can't compete with countries who financially assist figure skaters.
In poorer areas there aren't even RINKS. And like el henry said, the fact that you even have a house you can mortgage, or extra cars to sell a la Johnny Weir, means you are privileged. No one is saying that all skaters have to come from the Kennedy or the Gates families, lol, but it's just weird to not admit that even living in an area with well-maintained rinks and real skating coaches means you're probably more well off than 50% of American families...
that just sparked an idea...what if WE began a fund for these skaters? there are more than enough members here and many who i'm very sure would donate regularly. it could be done yearly (or every 6 months even) and then we could split the funds between a few skaters? if there are any other big skating forums out there we could ask them if they'd want to jump in as well. just brainstorming!
… I LOVE this idea!
But yes there are practical concerns. How about this?
I have contributed to Starr Andrew's GoFundMe page in the past because I want to support skaters of color. What if we just have a thread with links to skater's GoFundMe pages? That's a start.
.... There are rumors about another scholarship program based on skating, but still the amounts barely put a dent in the overall cost of skating. …
.... Also, the racial disparity is related to weather. Just look at the populations in climates that have naturally occurring frozen ponds to skate on during winter. Are they light skinned or dark skinned?
Both my husband and I grew up in areas without rinks. Figure skating, hockey, speed skating is all totally foreign to us. We grew up middle class in warm climates. Neither of us ever even considered any sort of ice sport as an option for our child. We stumbled upon it and kiddo fell in love. But we still live in a warm climate. There is no 'free ice' to ever practice on. That 'frozen cornfield' story that Johnny Weir tells... it's for people in cold climates. We could move to a cold climate... but the ability to move freely about the country is also a privilege, usually related to wealth. ...
I'm curious about this. In general I think it's a good idea to offer some scholarships and assistance, but I'm not sure it would be enough.
The clubs in my area have scholarships but they are small. They require writing an essay, which just didn't make sense to us for our young skater (who has basically only ever written two essays in his life). There are rumors about another scholarship program based on skating, but still the amounts barely put a dent in the overall cost of skating.
What kind of scholarship program would make sense?
Lots? Really? I know of a few skaters who get some discounts due to a sort of bartering the parents do (example: a parent is a photographer and does pro photos for the rink in exchange for ice time) but the vast majority of us parents just pay everything out of pocket and try to make it work. And the skaters who go far? They all have parents with money.
We only have the one child, in large part because it became apparent relatively early on that this one was going to cost us a lot of money one way or another. And now with skating it just seems impossible to take on another child. I would LOVE another child and have always wanted 2-3 kids, but practically speaking it's not in the cards for us if we really want to give this first child the best chance at going far in this sport. I don't want to make it seem like we chose between skating and a sibling for our child, but I do want to agree that the very high cost of skating factors into our family planning decisions.
And now, as a member of the sandwich generation, I can't imagine putting the burden of financing my retirement and elderly care onto my child and thus, like you, I would not 'put ourselves in financial peril over figure skating.' My skater wants to go to the Olympics, sure. And he has quite a bit of talent so it's not completely out of the question. But if the costs of skating require sacrificing HIS future financial security by BEING a financial burden on him during my retirement and beyond, then I will not do it. I think it's highly irresponsible for parents to do such a thing. It's one thing to mortgage the house to pay for expensive healthcare but it's quite another to do so in order to pursue an Olympic dream.
Agreed.
Also, the racial disparity is related to weather. Just look at the populations in climates that have naturally occurring frozen ponds to skate on during winter. Are they light skinned or dark skinned?
Both my husband and I grew up in areas without rinks. Figure skating, hockey, speed skating is all totally foreign to us. We grew up middle class in warm climates. Neither of us ever even considered any sort of ice sport as an option for our child. We stumbled upon it and kiddo fell in love. But we still live in a warm climate. There is no 'free ice' to ever practice on. That 'frozen cornfield' story that Johnny Weir tells... it's for people in cold climates. We could move to a cold climate... but the ability to move freely about the country is also a privilege, usually related to wealth.
I LOVE this idea!
But yes there are practical concerns. How about this?
I have contributed to Starr Andrew's GoFundMe page in the past because I want to support skaters of color. What if we just have a thread with links to skater's GoFundMe pages? That's a start.
Semi-rhetorical question: In 2018, how many Americans have their first skating experience on a frozen pond???
My guess is that the percentage would be very low??
My two cents: No question that there is a racial disparity, but lack of access to frozen ponds in 2018 does not strike me as a reason.
Go read about people like Jeremy Abbott, Adam Rippon, and so many other skaters that their parents (just as mine did) have to take out several mortgages on homes and work multiple jobs to keep their skater going.
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I'm not an expert and certainly don't play one on tv but I wonder if supervised practice sessions at the lower level would be workable since I see a lot of fluffing around on the ice amongst lower level skaters. Perhaps something to replicate that focus that ballet has. Like a coffee club session for kids. Something between just an open session and an actual class.
I'm interested to see if having Med training in the US will push our skaters to improve their tech skills. When I was dancing, just being around the Russian dancers made me push even harder to match them. They were very nice to all of us. After a while, we were no longer rivals but training mates. I hope that happens for Med and that she enjoys her time here.
Places that have frozen ponds are also more likely to have ice rinks, because ice sports are more likely historically to have been part of the local culture. Of course climate isn't the only factor; you also need to keep in mind total population and land area and average income.
From a quick search through the USFS directory, it seems that the states with the most figure skating clubs are
New York 58
Michigan 51
Minnesota 48
Massachusetts 38
Wisconsin 31
Pennsylvania 27
California 25
Ohio 21
Colorado 20
Florida 17
Connecticut 16
New Jersey 16
Illinois 15
Washington 14
Texas 12
There does seem to be a trend favoring the colder, more densely populated states.
Uh, last I knew, Med was going to be training in Canada.
That's right.....Who is the new skater who just switched to Raf? Wakaba?
Marin Honda.
Thank You Ic3Rabbit......You always come through.....
That would probably be useful.
But there needs to be some actual instruction as well, so they know what to practice and have the skills to do so.
Wow, I don't think Russia has half as many figure skating clubs. :shocked:Places that have frozen ponds are also more likely to have ice rinks, because ice sports are more likely historically to have been part of the local culture. Of course climate isn't the only factor; you also need to keep in mind total population and land area and average income.
From a quick search through the USFS directory, it seems that the states with the most figure skating clubs are
New York 58
Michigan 51
Minnesota 48
Massachusetts 38
Wisconsin 31
Pennsylvania 27
California 25
Ohio 21
Colorado 20
Florida 17
Connecticut 16
New Jersey 16
Illinois 15
Washington 14
Texas 12
There does seem to be a trend favoring the colder, more densely populated states.
Well if only the richer / more privileged kids can skate, then yeah, there's less talents that can make a big name for themselves...it really sucks ...