Path forward for Canadian figure skating

[sk8girl]

Adult skating in Canada is in a very sad state. A few years ago SC cancelled adult nationals because "it cost too much". As far as anyone can tell, there is no one at SC head office responsible for supporting adult skating. SC loves to promote "skating for life" but adult skating wasn't even mentioned in the most recent strategic plan.

Some sections, like Alberta and Ontario, recognize the value and opportunity of adult skating, and encourage their clubs and competitions to incorporate adult programming. But other sections seem to have taken the message from the national level that adult skating isn't important, and have done very little or nothing to develop or support it.

Yep. I cringe every time Skate Canada mentions "skate for life", while entirely ignoring adult skating. And even Skate Ontario, which really has made an effort for adult skating, cancelled Adult Provincials again this year, since they couldn't find a club to host it. It was last held in 2019. (Of course, the last couple of years have been a mess with covid, but still, lots of other events have taken place during that time...)

At the Skate Ontario Adult Provincials which were cancelled in 2020, solo dance actually had been offered, and there were a decent number of entries at all levels. I do think the interest is there and would increase if there were regular competition opportunities.

 

[overedge]

At the Skate Ontario Adult Provincials which were cancelled in 2020, solo dance actually had been offered, and there were a decent number of entries at all levels. I do think the interest is there and would increase if there were regular competition opportunities.

I totally agree. It's a no-brainer and I honestly don't understand why SC isn't promoting it. They know full well how hard it is for ice dancers to find partners, and having solo dance as a competition option would keep those skaters in the sport for much longer.

 

[Sonata]

I totally agree. It's a no-brainer and I honestly don't understand why SC isn't promoting it. They know full well how hard it is for ice dancers to find partners, and having solo dance as a competition option would keep those skaters in the sport for much longer.

Agree. Most skaters will not go on to elite careers and kids tend to go on to team sports. Adult skating would be a money maker. These are people who choose to continue or learn later in life, and therefore would be willing to spend. Those who choose to learn once their kids are grown have more disposable income to spend on lessons and programs. It seems to me that it would bring a lot of money to a local club.

 

[Seerek]

Speaking of teams, here is Team Les Supremes' gold medal winning free skate from yesterday in Hamilton.

Team Les Supremes | FS | ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships 2022 | Hamilton| #WorldSynchro

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youtu.be

 

[Sonata]

Synchro is way more interesting than I remembered. The twizzles! I wish they hadn’t chosen this odd classical skating music mix though - I was glad when Nathan Chen got rid of Lacrimosa. At least they didn’t skate to Enaudi. I still enjoyed watching them.

I gasped when the top team fell.

 

[barbarafan]

Synchro is way more interesting than I remembered. The twizzles! I wish they hadn’t chosen this odd classical skating music mix though - I was glad when Nathan Chen got rid of Lacrimosa. At least they didn’t skate to Enaudi. I still enjoyed watching them.

I gasped when the top team fell.

I enjoyed so many of the teams...First time I watched Synchro

 

[overedge]

Agree. Most skaters will not go on to elite careers and kids tend to go on to team sports. Adult skating would be a money maker. These are people who choose to continue or learn later in life, and therefore would be willing to spend. Those who choose to learn once their kids are grown have more disposable income to spend on lessons and programs. It seems to me that it would bring a lot of money to a local club.

I meant solo ice dance, but I agree with you about this being true of adult skating in general.

One big barrier for a lot of clubs to providing adult skating is that a lot of arenas charge more for ice time for all-adult sessions. SC is not the only organization that pays lip service to "skate for life" but doesn't address the practical barriers to supporting that. If a municipal or civic rink charges less for ice time for young athletes and more for adult athletes, the club is likely to go for programming for young athletes because it's easier to break even. If there are fewer adult skaters and the ice time costs more, the club will have to charge $$ for skaters on that session, and it can easily become unaffordable for the adults.