How much do you spend a month on skating?

[dlbritton]

LTS averages $17/lesson but does include a skate card for same number of public sessions as classes.
Adult skate $2 / public skate $3 after skate card used up.
Gas 35 miles r/t twice a week ($10/week).

Adds up to $120/month for now.

But I plan to add private lessons (probably $80/month) in the next month or so.

Not sure what average for sharpenings/ equipment/ etc. will total.

[mamabear]

Littlerain-My guess is that the rink rates may reflect where you live.  I'm in the Midwest and often told by our administration that the reason our pay is so much lower than comparable institutions is the cost of living here.  I'm in the Midwest and our rink is part of the parks department.  My guess is that both factors play a role.

[littlerain]

Littlerain-My guess is that the rink rates may reflect where you live.  I'm in the Midwest and often told by our administration that the reason our pay is so much lower than comparable institutions is the cost of living here.  I'm in the Midwest and our rink is part of the parks department.  My guess is that both factors play a role.

I think you're right I'm in the suburbs of Chicago and the park district rinks are less $$ than private rinks, and I think probably pretty well priced compared to some of the freestyle rates I've heard.

[AgnesNitt]

[pegasus99]

littlerain, I manage to offset a lot of my costs with my Freelance work. The ultimate goal is to make my Freelance stuff pay for the skating. Sometimes it goes in the black, sometimes in the Red, but I do have a master plan for making it work.

The trick is when unexpected expenses come up... I talked with my coach this week about how we go about testing. He charges an hour of his time to come with me on the test. This makes total sense, I am in no way begrudging this, but it's an extra variable. Plus there's Club Membership and Testing Fees, more variables.

And I use a lot of weekend Public Ice, which is really cheap but a bit of a gamble when it comes to how useful that will be. I have lists of what I practice on any given session: Main Ice Practice Ice is limited to things I need space on like Jumps, Power Stroking, Spirals and those kinds of things. Studio Ice Practice Ice is all about Edges, Figures, Spins and new turns, since that ice is usually really quiet and I can focus without needing a lot of room. Public Ice I use for very new things where I am touching the wall, or  things I'm scared to practice alone. (Public Ice right now is all about BO3, Brackets and Rocker/Choctaw patterns, Loop Prep and Sit Spin Awkwardness.)

It's not so much How Much Ice Time you can get, but How you can best use the ice time available to you.

[littlerain]

littlerain, I manage to offset a lot of my costs with my Freelance work. The ultimate goal is to make my Freelance stuff pay for the skating. Sometimes it goes in the black, sometimes in the Red, but I do have a master plan for making it work.

The trick is when unexpected expenses come up... I talked with my coach this week about how we go about testing. He charges an hour of his time to come with me on the test. This makes total sense, I am in no way begrudging this, but it's an extra variable. Plus there's Club Membership and Testing Fees, more variables.

And I use a lot of weekend Public Ice, which is really cheap but a bit of a gamble when it comes to how useful that will be. I have lists of what I practice on any given session: Main Ice Practice Ice is limited to things I need space on like Jumps, Power Stroking, Spirals and those kinds of things. Studio Ice Practice Ice is all about Edges, Figures, Spins and new turns, since that ice is usually really quiet and I can focus without needing a lot of room. Public Ice I use for very new things where I am touching the wall, or  things I'm scared to practice alone. (Public Ice right now is all about BO3, Brackets and Rocker/Choctaw patterns, Loop Prep and Sit Spin Awkwardness.)

It's not so much How Much Ice Time you can get, but How you can best use the ice time available to you.

That sounds very well planned. If I happen to make it to a weekend public, I tend to get distracted by the crowds or skaters spinning etc lol. I'm a bit hesitant to get on freestyles, as I've always found that intimidating, even when I was young. Lol

Ok, I clearly have to plan better! Thanks for the tips!

[pegasus99]

I used to be intimidated by Freestyles... usually the ones I'm on are not that populated anyway. But when they do get people on them, you have to be bossy.

They're kids. Don't forget that. Be nice, be polite, but a few well vocalized " 'SCUSE ME'S!!" and "COMING THRU'S!!" do well to break up kids who are just taking up space. I had a kid literally lying down on the ice, supposedly being playful, right on my BO Edge pattern. (Her mom was mortified.)

I'm kinda to a point where I like a civil yet populated session. It forces me to move faster! Again, everybody has to be civil; I give and get a lot of "Sorry, 'scuse me!" and "I see you! Don't worry!" and "Look out, sweetie!"

And I smooth over any ruffled feathers by offering to play their music and asking about their programs.

[littlerain]

Lol good call haha. Gosh, lying down on the ice seems to be a bad decision! In any event, I think the ones I would attend would be pretty quiet, at least until the summer. Which doesn't leave me much time!

What test are you working on right now? I'm considering if I want to test, but can't seem to decide! But I'm having my first private lesson as an adult after group class today. Yay!

[kr1981]

What test are you working on right now? I'm considering if I want to test, but can't seem to decide! But I'm having my first private lesson as an adult after group class today. Yay!

Ahhhh! That's awesome! How did your first private as an adult go? I'm planning to start private lessons (for the first time as an adult as well!) in the next few weeks. I'm also in the same boat as you right now--deciding whether to test or not. What are you leaning toward?

[littlerain]

I enjoyed my lesson! Yay! I mentioned that I like the idea of testing, though I'm not certain I would actually take the tests, and coach said "I thought you would think that" lol! (She also is the primary coach for the adult class) In any event, she said that we can work on the moves tests either way, so that's what we're doing but gosh we covered a lot of stuff in the lesson!

[pegasus99]

Right now I'm a revolution away from being good for Pre-Bronze MIF and Freeskate. And if I test in the fall (which is the goal) I should be fine!

Right now coach is pushing hard for "Pretty" and not "Muscle through it" which has been my MO for the past two years. LOL

We're starting on a Sit Spin, which is hilarious on two feet, and a Salchow. Coach is going to visit his fams for 2 weeks at the end of this month, and I told him I'd set a personal goal to get that Salchow by the time he got back. he kind of raised his brow and smiled at me... I'm not sure how to take that!

[littlerain]

Right now I'm a revolution away from being good for Pre-Bronze MIF and Freeskate. And if I test in the fall (which is the goal) I should be fine!

Right now coach is pushing hard for "Pretty" and not "Muscle through it" which has been my MO for the past two years. LOL

We're starting on a Sit Spin, which is hilarious on two feet, and a Salchow. Coach is going to visit his fams for 2 weeks at the end of this month, and I told him I'd set a personal goal to get that Salchow by the time he got back. he kind of raised his brow and smiled at me... I'm not sure how to take that!

I bet you can make it happen! My coach is going to be busy the next two weeks as well.

Coach was having me work on prepre mitf - she seems to think I can test standard track? In any event I just need to tweak technique (mostly body alignment haha) on most of it, and we haven't gone over the waltz 8 yet.

I haven't spent much time on spins/jumps since returning to skating but I can already tell spinning is gonna take work!

[kr1981]

I enjoyed my lesson! Yay! I mentioned that I like the idea of testing, though I'm not certain I would actually take the tests, and coach said "I thought you would think that" lol! (She also is the primary coach for the adult class) In any event, she said that we can work on the moves tests either way, so that's what we're doing but gosh we covered a lot of stuff in the lesson!

That's great! And that's smart--to follow the testing curriculum regardless of whether you actually test or not. That way, if you do decide to test down the road, you'll be covered. I'm almost positive I'm going to the same thing. Initially when I returned to skating a month and a half ago, I didn't want to test because I didn't really want to jump. I was always fearful of jumping when I was a teenager (i.e. why I only got up to FS4 after 5 years), so I was like, no way am I doing it now in my 30s. But earlier this week, I told myself to stop overthinking everything and just do it. Threw myself into a waltz jump, and not only did I land it, but it was quite fun! The next day, my LFO 3-turn reappeared out of nowhere, quickly followed by a half flip... Oddly enough, I seem to have less fear of jumping now at 32 than I did at 16! So, now think that I do want to follow the USFS curriculum. I'm just not really interested in the whole "testing in front of a panel of judges on a specific, pre-scheduled day" thing. The days of stressing myself out about skating are over.

That said, I think it's smart to always keep the door open (hence, following the curriculum as if you were going to test)--passing, and moving up, a level certainly does bring an awesome feeling of pride, and a great sense of accomplishment!

[littlerain]

That's great! And that's smart--to follow the testing curriculum regardless of whether you actually test or not. That way, if you do decide to test down the road, you'll be covered. I'm almost positive I'm going to the same thing. Initially when I returned to skating a month and a half ago, I didn't want to test because I didn't really want to jump. I was always fearful of jumping when I was a teenager (i.e. why I only got up to FS4 after 5 years), so I was like, no way am I doing it now in my 30s. But earlier this week, I told myself to stop overthinking everything and just do it. Threw myself into a waltz jump, and not only did I land it, but it was quite fun! The next day, my LFO 3-turn reappeared out of nowhere, quickly followed by a half flip... Oddly enough, I seem to have less fear of jumping now at 32 than I did at 16! So, now think that I do want to follow the USFS curriculum. I'm just not really interested in the whole "testing in front of a panel of judges on a specific, pre-scheduled day" thing. The days of stressing myself out about skating are over.

That said, I think it's smart to always keep the door open (hence, following the curriculum as if you were going to test)--passing, and moving up, a level certainly does bring an awesome feeling of pride, and a great sense of accomplishment!

My thoughts exactly! And well done on the waltz and half flip!!

[HeidiIce]

I ice skate once a week at one hour group lesson and 1 1/2 hours public skate.  That costs me $140 every 8 weeks.  Sharpening $20 every 3 months, but gas is about $25 a week, since I drive 1 1/4 one way.  I bought the $800 skates used for $350 and paid $20 to a cobbler to have them stretched a bit, they are perfect now.  I only have one costume that I bought for $40, but had it embellished for $180.  Occasionally I take a private lesson for $45 or do freestyle $10 if public is crowded.