IS FIGURE SKATING EXPENSIVE?! How Much I Spend & How I Budget

How much does figure skating ACTUALLY cost? And here's how you budget for it.
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[@cathydingg]

Hello friends! Subscribe if this was helpful and comment below if you have any other questions about figure skating finances! (Who would've thought skating would be this complicated 🫣)

[@Abbyonice]

If anyone is interested in skating, please don’t be scared off by this video. I think New York is very expensive. Here’s a different perspective from Texas and some ways you can reduce the cost. A lot of the skaters at my rink or their parents work at the rink so they can get free lessons and freestyle sessions. That’s an option. You can volunteer at competitions to reduce the cost of competition fees but in my experience it’s sooo little you’d make more working a part time job. I think coach fees depend on where you are. Coaches at my rink charge $30-$45 for 30 min. In Texas. We also have a dress donation program. When girls grow out of their dress or don’t want to wear it again, they donate it. You can rent one for $10. This is great for anyone to start at their rink to lower the barriers to entry. Also 2 of the coaches at my rink make dresses for their students to use as long as they return them for free. Not every coach will do that, but you’d be surprised how many of them can sew. We get free public sessions as long as we take lessons. The morning/afternoon public’s are empty pretty much.

[@cathydingg]

Yes! Thanks for sharing Abby! 100% agreed with all of the above- as mentioned most of the price ranges I listed was for NY so it will be more expensive! But that should 100% not discourage anyone who’s watching from starting to skate! The second half of the video is all on tips about how to make skating more manageable wherever you may be! If anyone else has advice from their experience on how to reduce skating costs- please do share 🫶🏼

[@cutekiwi5389]

I live in Michigan and my coach charges $20 per 30 mins and my freestyle ice time is free! Don’t get discouraged guys!

[@cathydingg]

Agreed!! Different cities are priced VERY differently for skating and also there’s a wide range of coaches too!

[@c_t_skate]

What club are you with in MI that's giving free freestyle ice time?? Also in Michigan, looking to save some money lol

[@imasleepyburrito]

I am here just to trauma bond over how much I'm paying for this sport. Which I love. But the expenses? Not so much. 😭

[@cathydingg]

Trauma bonding it is- the comments section is for the constantly broke figure skater support group

[@PeachyBoris]

I see the management consultant part of you come out as you go through the numbers and cost breakdowns 😂 This was all good to learn! I’m gradually putting more time and money into figure skating, so now I’ll start budgeting for more frequent coaching sessions and testing.

[@cathydingg]

HAHA I suppose you can’t the consultant out of the girl 🫣 hope I can use some of my corporate girly budgeting skills to help out skaters of all of levels!

[@tacsi52]

well honestly it is, especially if you are a professional skater. like to get professional skates, for an example, ice fly skates cost around 900-1k dollars, and thats just the skates. not to speak of the classes u take, competition dress cost, competition cost and sm other stuff!

[@cathydingg]

It can be unfortunately but there’s always some work around and it can vary a lot by city! For example I got my ice fly skates for a bit less because my rink was selling them for cheaper than retail! So for skates, which dealer you go to can also matter!

[@jaycho6747]

Just finished watching the Olympics with the Turkey shooter. I might just ice skate in my boxers from now on. 😂

[@cathydingg]

@@jaycho6747 HAHA dying

[@cathytussing4718]

Blades have gotten really expensive this year, your GS revs are about $1,000 now. The ice fly Edea are $885. Your dress was so nice, worth the expense!! Actually loved the emotional dress better, it was stunning on you

[@cathydingg]

Thank you so much that’s so kind of you! My emotional program dress I literally bought for $50 dollars and cut it myself! So very cost efficient haha!

[@R0SEIYN]

Im not sure if it was mentioned yet, but in NYC there are also some monthly passes where u can pay to visit the rink once or twice a week throughout the whole month for a cheaper price than what you would be paying regularly without the pass. At my rink its like 152$ for twice a week visit a month with up to 5hrs of ice time. i also think its cheaper in the winter if you have your own skates. for example bryant park is free just by reserving and the NYC culture pass gives free tickets for the wollman rink! and honestly the general public avoids the middle so all that space is great for practice.

[@cathydingg]

Agreed that is great advice! Yes most places do passes and I do buy the passes because it’s cheaper overall- it’s still unfortunately $25 even with the membership packs but it’s just because the closest rink for me happens to be crazy expensive ):

[@iloveeatingicecream]

Is there some type of discount at chelsea piers? all the freestyle sessions I've been to are $33-39 which has been hard to swallow

[@cathydingg]

Ahhh yes it is so crazy expensive- you can buy 10-packs that lower the cost ever so slightly. Check with the front desk in August, sometimes once a year, they will have a promotion where if you buy like a huge amount at once, the per session cost goes down to closer to $25 (which quite frankly is still quite hefty but if you know you need to skate there, it can be worth). Hope that helps!

[@trillytrekkie]

Wow, figure skating is really expensive in the US compared to Canada! We have one figure skating development track here- the StarSkate pathway 1-10 (plus gold). At each level, there are tests for skating skills, freeskate, and a couple of pattern dances. Plus Star 5 and up has an artistic test too. Each test is $12, basically an administration fee for the club, plus the coach/examiners time to do the test, which is usually around 5-10 dollars. That being said, a comparable amount of my budget (average of $500 a month) is going to figure skating. Really interesting video Cathy, thanks for sharing. One thing I am curious about though - I know you were talking in generalities about skating boots, but I don't think I've ever heard of adults who do freeskate having their boots last 4-5 years. How long are you getting out of your Ice Flies before they break down? Most adult skaters I know (who still jump) are replacing them every 12-18 months so the boot cost is coming up regularly and less of a "one time" expense.

[@CaraMarie13]

I live in NYC, and that's pretty much what I pay for ice time and coaching. My ice time budget is still manageable since am only skating three times a week, but i already looked into the freestyles and those will definitely add up fast once I reach that level and am able to skate more during the week since thankfully freestyle sessions happen in the early morning. It's good to hear other parts of the country have more affordable options, so hopefully, more people are able to begin skating there. But for us in NYC... the real competition, sadly, is in our wallets. We can only hope something changes, so figure skating can stop being a flex of financial resources.

[@cathydingg]

@@CaraMarie13 agree- I’m so so glad skating is not that crazy else where but still so expensive across the board 😢

[@Marissa_kathleen_]

I live out on Long Island, NY and I thought I'd share some info to help show ranges! At the rink closest to me, public skate is $13 for weekdays and $15 for weekends. If you don't have skates it's an additional $6. There is an outdoor small rink they open down by the harbor during winter and their admission is $12.They have other locations and the prices all vary depending on which one you are at. Length of the session varies from an hour and a half, to two hours, where weekends are three. I believe figure skate sharpening there is around $15-ish!

[@cathydingg]

Thanks for sharing Marissa! Super helpful for everyone!

[@Marissa_kathleen_]

@@cathydingg ❤

[@Shitty_ghost]

for anyone trying to save money, i dont know if this is also a thing in the usa but check if your rink or any rink close to u has any types of unlimited public session passes, they usually cost between 100 to 300$ a year and it's completely unlimited ice time, you might still wanna do freestyle sessions as well but its such a good way to get practice in for cheap

[@Marissa_kathleen_]

I had asked about a package for public skate at my rink and unfortunately they said they don't do them. It would be awesome if they did!

[@cathydingg]

Great advice! I used to skate in Philadelphia when I was in school and one rink there also had like a 1 year freestyle membership where you get unlimited sessions for the year for a flat one time fee. If you plan on skating that much anyways in a year usually those are worth if you do the math!

[@jaycho6747]

This video is perfect for me cause I live in the hood

[@philmon88]

Thank you so much for making a video on this! I wish I had this breakdown when I started.

[@cathydingg]

Of course! I'm so glad this could be helpful!

[@Amanda.Archer]

Ah! Thank you so much Cathy, the resources you gave us are amazing!

[@cathydingg]

Of course!! So glad they are helpful 🫶🏼

[@midnightinlondon3]

My skill level is similar to yours, but I'm joining a synchro team and won't be skating (or jumping) as often. Would you still recommend Ice Fly boots if I were to go the Edea route? They kind of seem like overkill for my use case but maybe they'd last longer than a lower model? I'm a full-grown 30 year old if that helps haha

[@cathydingg]

My first advanced boots are the Edeas Chorus! They are a bit cheaper than ice fly and they are very similar. The ice flys are a bit a stiffer so I would say if you aren’t planning on jumping I would actually recommend the chorus and don’t think you would need the Ice Flys! Hope that helps!

[@midnightinlondon3]

@@cathydingg that is super helpful! I was actually looking into the Chorus and appreciate you confirming!

[@GemaAngelFernandez]

I am an adult also willing to join synchro, i have used chorus and ice flyes For me chorus bend easily but ice flyes are still too stiff I think Concerto would be the perfect mix of both and is a very underrated model

[@midnightinlondon3]

@@GemaAngelFernandez also a good call! I'll try them out when I shop for skates this summer!