Four Things They Don’t Tell You as a First-Time Figure Skater Parent

One of the main reasons my wife and I were so supportive of our daughter when she started skating was, at the time, we thought it was going to be considerably cheaper than the ballet classes she had been taking (and wasn’t really in love with). And, to be honest, that is still somewhat up for debate because those lessons weren’t cheap.

Figure skating, however, has proven to be a major item on our monthly budget, especially since we have two girls in it. Last month, for example, we spent close to $400 on competition registrations and registering them for the annual ice show.

The lessons themselves run about $125 (for both) every couple of months and the skates we purchased for our oldest daughter (which were customized to fit both her feet and the moves she’s expected to do at her current level) were around $170. Then, of course, you have the costumes (which my wife actually saves money on by making them herself) and the cost of gas/hotel rooms for away competitions. My wife is currently not working but will likely have to find a part-time job just to help out with some of this.

One thing I do recommend to first-timers is to make friends with the other parents. A lot of times they can help you reduce some of this cost by selling you used outfits and bags or maybe referring you to a private coach (oops, another expense I forgot to mention), if you need one, that won't charge you an obscene amount of money.

Chances are, if your kids decide to take up figure skating, it’ll be with a parent-run club like ours is. That means everything from the concession stand to the zamboni is run by a volunteer in an effort to keep the costs down.

My wife and I, for example, spent close to 12 hours of our Valentine’s Day weekend at the rink doing everything from selling t-shirts to checking wristbands for our annual synchronized skating competition. We spent 4 hours of our New Years Eve helping out at the open skate.

Of course, volunteering isn’t required. We could decide to opt out and just pay a buyout fee. But, as I mentioned before, skating is already pretty expensive as it is. And, since we haven’t won the lottery yet, that isn’t really an option for us or most other parents.

Mostly because it occurs on ice, it's easy to assume Figure Skating is a winter sport. However, it's actually a sport that goes all year long with little or no off season.

In the past, my wife and I have made our daughters take the summer off from skating, mostly because it is much easier to plan family vacations when we don't have to worry about working around lessons. This year, with our daughter now competing (and at least one of the competitions being over the summer months, that probably won't happen. 

On a positive note, the ice rinks feel really nice when it's 90 degrees outside.

Yes, most of the things I’m referring to in this article are negative. However, one other thing that they forgot to tell us when we started (which is a little ironic when you think about it) is it is well worth it.

My daughters are both very shy, much like I was when I was their age. Yet, when they are on the ice, they are little divas that love to play to the crowd (especially my oldest daughter). They have also made quite a few friends they probably wouldn’t have even met if they weren’t skating (our club gets skaters from several school districts and private schools).

One of the things I personally love is the fact they are exposed to quite a few positive role models. The older skaters are often asked to coach the younger skaters and, because they went through the same challenges when they were younger, are very supportive and treat our daughters like they were their own sisters. There just aren’t that many sports you can say that about.