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Approximately 732,000 people globally are figure skaters. While most people think of figure skating as festive winter activity, many people, including members of Vanderbilt’s figure skating club, find it to be much more than a seasonal pastime. It is their outlet, their sport, their happy place. With choosing the ice to be one’s home comes at a cost, and a significant one at that.
At face value, it may seem as though getting a pair of skates and having access to ice time is all one needs to become a figure skater. While these components are certainly crucial, they are far from sufficient to allow for a skater to train, improve, and compete.
The Breakdown:
- First, a skater will obviously need their skates. Figure skates and blades are sold separately. As one’s skill level improves, they must acquire specialized skates, which can cost upwards of $2,000.
- A skater will also need to identify a rink to go to. It is very common for rinks to be in suburbs, meaning commute times to go to the rink are an important cost a skater must undertake if they live in an urban area or far from the rink. Not to mention, in my experience, practices are almost always early in the morning.
- Once one identifies a rink, they must pay for ice time. Per hour, ice usually costs around $20-$40, but it is not uncommon for it to be more.
So, now, ice has been paid for, a skater has acquired their skates, located a rink, and has committed to waking up before the sun rises to practice. But that’s still not all. In order to even be eligible for and compete at competitions a skater is training for, they must be a US Figure Skating member, another $100+ fee. The ability to retain this membership often requires a skater to volunteer for their club to remain in good standing.
The list of fees could go on, but the point is simple. Figure skating is an expensive sport.
Why This Is Relevant:
Recognizing the costs of figure skating and how inaccessible a rink and practice times can be for people, Vanderbilt students find themselves in a unique position that Centennial Sportsplex, a facility with two rinks, is a 10-minute walk from main campus.
The Vanderbilt Figure Skating Club (VUFSC) seizes this opportunity to make skating an option as an outlet to Vanderbilt students. As the skating club president, Sophia Jiang is committed to making skating affordable: “I really want to support students and make skating accessible, so the club covers most of the cost.”
Covering the cost of ice time is difficult in a normal year. However, this year is anything but normal. As Jiang says, “VUFSC is having record turnout at general club practices, 5 times the number we had last year! We get an average of 30 people skating during club time. Also, this year I started a competition team of 10 skaters who practice together every week.”
That’s where funding comes in. Jiang told me that, based on attendance in prior years, VUFSC did not get sufficient funding to cover the costs of ice time for the number of people showing up to skate at their general club practices. In addition to needing to fund ice time, the competition team is seeking to compete for the first time in February at an intercollegiate competition hosted by Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. The travel costs, registration fees (totaling over $1000), food, and hotel add up quickly and are difficult to balance with the need to pay for ice time.
In fact, the club was planning on going to more competitions: “Our goal was to compete in 3 qualifying comps and make it to Nationals, but financially it doesn’t seem possible. VUFSC feels like a new club with all the new people, but with all of the new expenses, too,” Jiang says.
She also says that VUFSC finds itself in a position where it must balance its goal of making figure skating accessible to students by keeping membership costs down, while also paying for ice time for the whole club every month. At face value, these two goals seem to contradict one another, which is why Jiang says VUFSC is focused on mitigating its costs outside of competitions and ice time. These goals are especially difficult to balance this year because, as club membership has increased, VUFSC must purchase ice more often.
According to Jiang, “it’s difficult to keep up because skating is expensive. As president, I really want to support students and make skating accessible, so the club covers most of the cost. So, we have to keep buying more ice time and rental skates and now we also have to find funds to send our competition team out of state for intercollegiate competitions.”
The club membership fees do not completely cover the cost of ice time for each member for a semester. Therefore, this gap in funding must be covered through fundraising.
How is VUFSC Fundraising?
According to Jiang, VUFSC’s Executive Board has been working hard to raise funds by partnering with restaurants like Jeni’s and Chipotle, as they have pre-established fundraising programs, as well as hosting events open to the Vanderbilt community. However, companies who have existing fundraising programs are not the limit.
Jiang also says that, when selecting partners to help with fundraising, the club’s executive board often seeks out small businesses around the Nashville area that may be open to collaborating or providing food for events. These partnerships can be effective because, many times, these small businesses cater to demographics like Vanderbilt students. Therefore, by seeking out these community-owned businesses, VUFSC can decrease its costs of hosting events and allow small businesses to promote themselves via Vanderbilt’s events.
Interested? VUFSC meetings are held every Friday at 3pm at Centennial Sportsplex and include coaching from team members for those who pay a $50 club membership fee. In addition, for those looking to support VUFSC and get a taste of figure skating, the club’s primary fundraising event is its annual skate night at Centennial Sportsplex at 7:30 on Friday, November 14th. Tickets will be $12 and can be purchased here through the Rec Center. Food, snacks, and lots of fun will be provided!
