Coaching Requirements

[jjane45]

Nice discussions on USFS compliance, wonder if we could have a thread split?

With the exception of dance coaches, all of my favorite coaches are primarily ISI without being USFS compliant, and they run the best group classes, adults or kids alike. No, compliance does not magically make someone teach better or act more professionally.

USFS has introductory rate for first year skater members, I wonder if it's possible to have the same for new professional members?

[FigureSpins]

It is pricey to be a USFSA coach, esp. compared to ISI:

. $125 USFSA membership (Club/Family Club/Senior member)  (Required for coach's registration)
. $45 USFSA Coach's Registration
. $140 PSA full membership (renewal; required for insurance)
. $90 PSA insurance
. $50 CER-A / $25 CER-B courses

Total is $450.  You could maybe knock $100 off by choosing lower categories of membership or a cheaper Club.  When you recognize that coaches don't really receive the full amount of their lesson fees, the breakeven point gets even longer.  (Taxes, health ins, commissions, rink/club coaching charges, plus travel expenses all comes out of the lesson fees as well.)

I'm CER-A even though I have no qualifying skaters because I wanted to study IJS anyway.  I think the paid CER courses are okay.  I have really learned a lot about skating through the IJS and Sports Science courses I've taken, less from the USFSA Rules and Ethics courses.  (I like to think I'm an ethical person for whom the courses were not intended.)

[Skittl1321]

$125 USFSA membership (Club/Family)  (Required for coach's registration)

Your club charges coaches a lot.  Ours is only $60, a nearby club is $50 (skater membership is higher).  However, since you say "family", I'm thinking that the fee listed isn't actually a fee all coaches have to pay, but one that gets benefit for your family members too?  What do they charge coaches who aren't getting family memberships?

(But yeah, overall- the USFS 'cost of entry' to coaches is insane.)


It looks like USFS has lowered the cost of registration- it is listed on their site as $40, so that's another $5 in your pocket

Is there somewhere else coaches can get insurance other than PSA?  USFS only requires PSA membership for qualifying competitions, but you make it sound like PSA membership is required to have insurance, and of course, proof of insurance is required to be compliant, so in effect, it appears PSA membership is required for all.  (Is ISI the only other option, in which case it seems like a better idea to pay their $160 for membership + insurance, rather than PSA's $140 + $90, unless you want to be CER A.)

[Skittl1321]

Ah- a 'convenience' fee.  How convenient. 

[FigureSpins]

You have to be a USFSA member in order to register as a coach, so I go through the Club.  I edited my original post wrong: the "Senior" Club membership is $125, the "Family" Club membership is $210.  We have three active skaters, so we have a family membership. 

Our membership fee is reduced based on how many service/volunteer hours are earned the prior year.  It's complicated, but I think our out-of-pocket cost last year was $155 for the family membership.  Since the girls tested/competed, they also received skater support checks.

The USFSA has NOT lowered the cost of the Coaches' registration; the publications say it's $40, but when you go to pay, there's a service fee added on, raising the price to around $44.  I rounded, sue me.  I was using my budgeted numbers for the year.  

The same is true for the alternate Basic Skills Instructor membership: the stated cost is $30, but there's an additional service fee added on at checkout.  However, Basic Skills Instructors (who are not called "coaches") don't have to be USFSA members.  They just need a Basic Skills Instructor membership from each BSS program, which costs around $12-15 annually.

Liability Insurance Options:
$94 - USFSA
$94 - PSA

The ISI offers a combination Professional Membership + Liability Insurance for $170.  

I believe Sk8Dreams said that the coverage varies between policies, so coaches have to check to see if the ISI coverage is sufficient.  

Our rink/club are USFSA-only and I am already a PSA member, the PSA insurance is fine.  It's less brainpower to just go with the flow and get the PSA policy.  There are no active ISI rinks near me; one uses the curriculum but has no competitions or competitors.  

Because I present skaters for USFSA testing, I have to be at least CER-B, but I chose to take the extra course and study IJS since the standards it sets are being brought down to the 6.0 competitions.  (Spins should have a minimum of 3 revs in position, jumps should have difficult entries, etc.)

[Query]

I apologize for pushing this away from the O.P. question of what to do about DD's coach moving away.