When you have a very limited income

[hopskipjump]

Do you focus more on your child learning and preparing testing or do you like to do more competitions when they are at the lower levels.

[jjane45]

Could only speak for myself. When budget and ice time are limited (like now), I focus exclusively on learning and improving skills. Testing and competition fees are deemed too expensive and are better spent on coaching and practices, for me. Putting together some choreo to music is the max in my case.

[Skittl1321]

Competition is absurdly expensive (if you click my blog link I just outlined my expenses for a single competition- maybe 5 posts down?).
If income is limited I spend my money on practice and lessons (perhaps fewer than I want, or additional group rather than private) and if I were a kid who actually wants to be competitive someday, testing.

When I lost my job I also stopped private lessons.  If income is truly limited, I'd stick to groups and practice ice.

Competition at the low levels is really just "fun", if the money isn't available, I do not think it needs to be the focus.  Exhibitions are generally cheaper around here and will give the skater a chance to work on performance skills, if they do not have them naturally and need to really develop them.

[momtovanan]

I would definitely concentrate on lessons and practice only. I would practice moves on the cheap public ice and save the free style sections for jumps and spins. My daughter has been competing since she was 5 (She is 7), but I don't think it helps much at all.

[Sk8tmum]

Prepping and testing, absolutely. Comps are expensive, take away from training time, and are expensive (did I say that already)?  When you get to a certain level, you are expected (required by monitoring) to attend certain comps; then, you have to go and pay for it, but, at the lower levels, doing less and making them more "special" and momentous is great - that way they are still exciting and not just an ordinary event.

[AgnesNitt]

Speaking as a non-mom, when I read the question the first thing I thought was "Here's an opportunity to teach a kid over 9 about budgeting and money management." 

[sarahspins]

Even testing can be expensive... USFSA tests past basic skills anyways (consider the cost of moves + freeskate), ISI is pretty reasonable.

[Skittl1321]

Yes, testing is expensive, but if elite skating is your goal, it is necessary.

[hopskipjump]

I have no idea how dd compares with other kids or if she has a future with skating.  I do think if she and her coach focus on tests, she will have options when she gets older...to keep skating as an adult if she loves it, maybe work in a rink, or just the experience of doing things most people cannot do. 

As for budgeting, she knows when she is at the rink in a class or lesson she needs to really focus and then practice.  I don't want her to get too worked up about dollar signs because I don't want her to feel guilt if she decides skating isn't for her down the road.  I had a friend who kept every bill from gymnastics so she could tell her dd THAT was her college money so she needed to get to elite level and get a scholarship.  Her dd quit at at level 8 at 16 and has permanent back injuries and tried to quit that entire year but her mom thought she should get her investment paid off.

[Schmeck]

I gave my daughter a similar scenario, but of course it was her choice - synchro fund or college fund.  She picked synchro, competed at the national level, and that was what got her into her dream college (or so she says).  Luckily, we got a very nice financial need scholarship from the college.

My daughter never competed at the lower levels (well, one LTS club comp) as she was busy testing up to compete in synchro.  She also, because teams folded, only competed for four years, and only two were consecutive.

At lower levels, would it be possible to pick one or two competitions - maybe one smaller local one, and one bigger, fancier one, for the experience?  If that's too expensive, how about doing a small one one year, and then a big one the next?  I think doing at least one competition a year would be a good idea, so that the skater gets the nerve/focus/training issues under control before the comps get bigger and more intense.

[Ellyn]

I would definitely concentrate on lessons and practice only. I would practice moves on the cheap public ice and save the free style sections for jumps and spins. My daughter has been competing since she was 5 (She is 7), but I don't think it helps much at all.

It depends how crowded the public sessions tend to be, what level of skills the skater is working on, and what the rink's rules are for allowing figure skating on public sessions. But at lower levels I would expect it's easier to work on jumps and spins in isolation than on Moves in the Field patterns (or dances or program runthroughs) on public sessions. At higher levels, there's really not much that can be done effectively on a crowded public except maybe spins.

[Sierra]

It depends how crowded the public sessions tend to be, what level of skills the skater is working on, and what the rink's rules are for allowing figure skating on public sessions. But at lower levels I would expect it's easier to work on jumps and spins in isolation than on Moves in the Field patterns (or dances or program runthroughs) on public sessions. At higher levels, there's really not much that can be done effectively on a crowded public except maybe spins.

Moves are definitely hardest to work on in public. Spins are easiest, especially back spins or spins that enter from a right inside three turn. Straightline jumps- flips or toes- are easiest to do on public, though if it is very crowded, no doubles should be attempted at all. I like working on program footwork in public, because I can break it down and work on it piece by piece, and I only need a very small patch of ice for one or two steps in isolation.