$22 for a 1 hour freestyle session!

[Query]

OMG. The only open rink within a couple hours driving distance of me, Piney Orchard, is charging $22 / (1 hour) freestyle session. No public sessions available. You must pay in advance over the Internet.

I guess as the one open rink around here that is open, they can charge what the market will bear.

This may soon be a good time for figure skating clubs again - maybe we will have to join skating clubs to find open ice. Before Covid19, DC had so many competing rinks, that wasn't necessary, especially if you could skate mid-day.

[tstop4me]

What was the pre-pandemic rate in your area?  In my part of NJ (rinks still closed), rinks already charged ~$18/hr for 1 hr of freestyle (single session rates).  When they reopen, I would expect rates to go up, given reduced capacity plus extra expenses.

[Query]

What was the pre-pandemic rate in your area?  In my part of NJ (rinks still closed), rinks already charged ~$18/hr for 1 hr of freestyle (single session rates).  When they reopen, I would expect rates to go up, given reduced capacity plus extra expenses.

Excellent question!

I can't find the pre-covid19 rates for Piney Orchard Ice Arena (the relevant rink) from one year ago.

Could anyone else here give an estimate of what they typically pay for freestyle sessions? Perhaps he is right, and $22/hour is reasonable??

Truth is, I wasn't going to freestyle or dance sessions any more, because there were so many uncrowded mid-day public sessions.

At Wheaton Ice Arena, another Maryland rink near me, but which is currently closed for Covid19:

FREESTYLE $8.50 for each 30 minute session; 20 sessions = $150; 40 sessions = $280; 80 sessions = $480
DANCE      $13.00 for each 2-hour session

I think that Gardens Ice House, another private rink, which was more expensive than the government subsidized rinks which dominate our area, was charging about $15/45 minute freestyle or dance sessions during prior summers, though that went down to about $11 or $12 if you bought multiple sessions at once. But they often kicked off or scared off skaters who couldn't skate up to the required level, which not all rinks do - in fact Piney orchard has no level requirements except during special "high freestyle" sessions.

Since I could skate during the day, I used to be able to find uncrowded public sessions at my favorite rink for $6.50 for 2 hours - $6 for kids and seniors, or about $300/season pass. (The season was about 10-11 months, and had 3 - 4 two hour public sessions / day, much more than I needed.) If I picked the right session, I could count on being the only person there for 30 minutes to an hour of that, or sharing the ice with 1 - 3 people for that long. But that is for public sessions on a a government subsidized rink. (That particular rink does not limit what figure skating moves you can practice during uncrowded public sessions.)

When I played rink guard at Gardens, I could skate their other publics for free, though they were more crowded.

So, to me, $22/hour seems outrageous. But perhaps it doesn't seem so to others here?

[Bill_S]

If you didn't buy passes in quantity, the local university rink here charged $6/15 minutes for walk-on freestyle sessions. That's $24/hour - even for students.

I bought the largest quantity of passes offered, which discounted the rate to $8/hour.

Here's the web page with the rates, and quantity discounts... https://www.ohio.edu/recreation/memberships

Keep in mind that they were last season's rates.

[tstop4me]

As businesses re-open, I see posts popping up here and there on various forums concerning price gouging.  But before anyone concludes that price gouging is in fact going on, they must be careful to compare post-pandemic to pre-pandemic pricing for exactly the same service or item.  You simply can't compare the post-pandemic price for a single freestyle session to the pre-pandemic price for a discounted (senior rate, off-peak) public session. 

Similarly, some rinks have re-opened with no regular sessions, but coaches can rent private ice time, with a maximum of 10 - 20 skaters (depending on the rink).  Rinks in my area are still closed.  But I checked what the rates could be under this scenario.  One local county rink has published pre-pandemic rates.  Private ice rental at peak time is $440/hr.  If that were to be split among 10 skaters, that would come out to $44/hr, compared to the single-session freestyle rate of $16/hr.  But you can't compare $44/hr to $16/hr and call it price gouging:  different services (private rental vs. regular freestyle). 

And again, we should expect rates to go up some to cover reduced capacity and extra expenses.

On the flip side, in another thread on this forum, we discussed the shortage of dumbbells, since gyms have been closed, and people have been gobbling up home exercise equipment.  The major retailers are all out of stock, but "just launched" sellers have popped up on Amazon and elsewhere.  A 5 lb weight pre-pandemic sold for ~$5; one seller has the exact same unit now for $23.  A 10 lb weight pre-pandemic sold for ~$10;  one seller has the exact same unit now for $45.  Now that's real price gouging.

[FigureSpins]

Pre-COVID, our rink offered online "punch passes" so the cost of each 30-minute freestyle was reduced based on how many sessions you bought up front. 
30 sessions - $5.50; 20 sessions - $6.50; 10 sessions=$7 each; and walk-ons paid $8 at the desk.

In our current COVID state, there are no walk-ins allowed.  You have to use a punch card to pre-purchase slots on freestyle sessions that are now 1-hour or 2-hours long.

A one-hour freestyle uses 3 "punches," so the cost is $16.50 to $21 for the session. Pre-COVID, that would cost a passholder $11 to $14 for the hour.
A two-hour freestyle uses 5 "punches," so the cost is $27.50 to $35 for the session. Pre-COVID, the cost was $22 to $28.

It is more expensive overall, but it's understandable because there is less ice time available overall.  The facility has to take longer breaks to zam and sanitize the rink.  They're offering longer freestyles to cut down on those breaks, so that the same group of skaters is on the ice the entire time. 

There are skaters who take a lesson during part of a 2-hour session, either coming late or leaving immediately because they took whatever session they could get online.  With the skater limits, there's a lot of competition for the one-hour time slots.  When they're full, some of the less-serious skaters have to take the more-expensive two-hour sessions. Some skaters just don't have the time/discipline to stay for the full two hours.  An hour is pushing it with some skaters.

I really miss the 45-minute ones from a few years ago; skaters had 15 minutes before or after lessons, which for some was the only time they practice!  (Sorry - pet peeve)

Since this time of year is the "off-season" here, the rink's rental rates are usually $20 less per hour.  Our "in-season" rate was $340/hr.  Just to break even with 20 skaters/hour session, we'd have to charge them $17, substantially higher than the rink's freestyle sessions.

[Query]

Because my schedule allows me to previously skate at times when there were no or very few other people on the ice, I was able to get very good deals, sometimes private ice, at much lower cost.

E.g., during certain summer months when my favorite rinks closed, I attend 5:00 AM freestyle sessions. Few if any others were that insane. (I wouldn't have gone if they were more expensive than about $10-$15 in bulk.)

Likewise, at the suggestion of my then coach, I used to take private ice dance lessons at another rink while the Zamboni resurfaced the ice. (Avoiding the Zamboni there was easier than avoiding other skaters on crowded public or freestyle sessions.) Including the time that rink allowed after the resurface, we got about 30 minutes of private ice, for the $25 or $30 I paid for the lesson, which I also wanted. It never occurred to the rink to charge for that time.

And again, for a few years I volunteered for a charity-run ice skating lesson program. As part of the deal, I skated public sessions free, and I think freestyle sessions would have been discounted. I and the other volunteers traded our time, doing something we enjoyed, for ice time.

So I have grown used to taking advantage of the best deals I can find. It is much harder to find good deals now. So yes, I am comparing apples to oranges, because that is what is available.

Still - $22 is too much. I won't go. I wonder how many others will.

[tstop4me]

Rinks in NJ were allowed to re-open July 2.  My home rink has re-opened on a very limited basis.  Freestyle is $25/hr.  Maximum of 20 skaters on the ice.  The skating director told me that skaters initially had to book a 2-hr session to minimize the number of skaters coming and going.  But that turned out to be too long for many skaters who have been off ice for 4 months.  So they later relented and gave the option of booking 1 hr sessions.  Alternatively, a coach can book private ice at $450/hr.  With 20 skaters, that would come out to $22.50/hr for each skater.

Even though I could afford it (for at least a few months anyway), I'm staying away for now.  Not sure I could have a fun, relaxing skate under the circumstances.  Still too much unknown about this virus; and, as with all businesses, safety protocols evolve over time.  I still remember the craziness in my area in Mar/Apr with grocery stores and takeout.

I even turned down a freebie.  My coach called me to tell me she had booked private ice, and one of her skaters had to cancel for the next day.  Skaters need to prepay; no refunds under these circumstances.  So she said the slot was mine, if I wanted it.  I was tempted, but I thanked her and said no.

The skating director also told me there are no plans at all for now for public sessions:  certainly not before Sept (maybe after school starts), possibly not until Dec (mainly because the rink does not want to hire back more support staff until they see what's viable).

[lutefisk]

Not all rinks in Maryland are open.  PG county, a "hot spot", is behind the rest  of the state.  In addition to Piney, one can go to the Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf.  FS sessions are $14 bucks per hour and limited to 15 preregistered skaters.  No refunds--be there on time or kiss your $14 bucks goodbye.  Unlike Piney you don't have to wear your skates as you enter the rink!

[AgnesNitt]

I think at my rink it's just $22 a 45 minute session.

[Christy]

We're paying around $20 for a 1 hour session. Happy to pay that if it allows me to skate.

[Query]

Not all rinks in Maryland are open.  PG county, a "hot spot", is behind the rest  of the state.  In addition to Piney, one can go to the Capital Clubhouse in Waldorf.  FS sessions are $14 bucks per hour and limited to 15 preregistered skaters.  No refunds--be there on time or kiss your $14 bucks goodbye.  Unlike Piney you don't have to wear your skates as you enter the rink!

Cabin John has opened and was much cheaper - but is in Montgomery County, so you should include the cost of travel. Also note minimum level and skating style notes on
  https://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks-and-trails/cabin-john-regional-park/cabin-john-ice-rink/schedules-info/figure-skating/
In the past, Cabin John had some very busy freestyle sessions, like 30. Contact them to find out how busy various times are likely to be.

A week or two ago, I contacted Piney, and they didn't actually require you to wear your skates as they enter, despite what the website said when I looked. Also, one could bring skate guards. I don't know if they still charge $22.