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New Survey Pinpoints the True Cost of Youth Travel Sports Participation

Families with children who participate in one or more travel sports leagues spend, on average, $8,500 per player per year, according to an online survey conducted by Travelsports.com, a leading provider of information for the youth and adult sports industries.

Survey respondents were asked to include all travel sports-related costs into their answers. The data shows that nearly 20% of respondents reported spending “$20,000 or more” per player per year on youth travel sports, ranging from ice hockey and baseball/softball to golf and soccer.

Equipment Costs & More

Out-of-pocket costs incurred by families involved in youth travel leagues include more than just equipment purchases and registration fees. Travelsports.com’s survey also captures other expenses – such as transportation, hotel/lodging, dining, and entertainment – that help portray a more accurate summation of the overall financial impact on family budgets.

“Our respondents are parents, team managers, and tournament directors across the U.S. and Canada, so these results paint a clear picture of the true costs that families incur when participating in travel sports,” explained Travelsports.com founder Christopher Pauly.

“This information is useful in highlighting the financial barriers many families face when considering competitive youth sports for their athletes,” he added. “More importantly, it presents opportunities to find ways to level the playing field and expand access for more young athletes to get involved in the sports they love.”

Explore Options, Compare Costs

Travelsports.com is doing its part to address the issue of rising costs by creating a single platform where parents, managers, and other audiences can navigate the world of travel sports. As an informational clearinghouse, Travelsports helps users explore their options on everything from tournament & facility locations, local/regional clubs, hotel and dining accommodations and more. “The sheer volume of tournaments, clubs, and facilities listed on Travelsports, over 150,000 and growing, reduces the time needed to research and compare tournaments to attend, clubs to join, etc. while also allowing parents and managers to discover tournaments and clubs whose costs are a better fit for their needs.”

Moreover, Travelsports.com’s partnership with InstaRaise offers a complete, end-to-end platform with donation or product-based fundraising options to help teams reduce families’ personal financial burden and expand their team’s experiences.

About Travelsports.com

Travelsports is the leading aggregator of information for the youth and adult sports industry. We strive to connect, inform, and inspire the sports community by providing a one-stop destination for tournaments, clubs, facilities, insights, and resources.  Our goal is to support the success and well-being of individual athletes and the vibrant sports ecosystem.

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Featured Figure Skating

Youth Figure Skating: The Basics

Whether or not you live in a wintry climate, kids’ figure skating is a year-round activity that can lead to several other competitive youth sports. Or it might be a hobby your child will enjoy their whole life!

The basics: Skating starts with learning how to balance on skates and move from point A to point B, usually in a “Learn to Skate” or basic skills program.

From there, kids can branch out into freestyle figure skating, ice dancing, hockey, synchronized skating, or speed skating. And on dry land, roller skating or in-line skating!

Age kids can start: Toddlers of two and three years old can begin to skate, sometimes with a metal bar to hold onto for balance. Learn-to-skate lessons can begin at about age 4.

Skills needed/used: Flexibility, muscle strength, endurance, balance and coordination.

Best for kids who are: Patient and persistent—it can take time to see results. Figure skaters need to be both athletic and artistic.

Season/when played: Winter; many (but not all) indoor ice rinks are open year-round, and competitions happen year-round too.

Team or individual? Figure skating is performed individually, in pairs, or in small groups for artistic events. Synchronized skaters compete in teams. And don’t forget that boys can and do figure skate. In fact, they are in demand as pairs and dance partners!

Levels: The U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Program has a series of levels that young skaters pass through depending on their performance of specific sets of skills.

Competitive skaters also take a series of tests in several disciplines: moves in the field (formerly figures), freestyle, and dancing.

Appropriate for kids with special needs: Yes. Kids with intellectual and physical disabilities can even participate in a Special Olympics skating program.

Fitness factor: Recreational skating burns 250 calories or more per hour; the rate is higher for competitive figure skating. As with swimming, if your child is taking lessons, make sure they get plenty of active ice time (vs. waiting-their-turn time).

Equipment: To start, skates (can be rented at ice rinks) and warm clothing, especially water-resistant mittens or gloves. Helmets are recommended for kids 6 and under and all beginning skaters. As figure skaters progress, they will need costumes for performances and competitions. You will need to pay for ice skate sharpening after every four to six hours of ice time. (When you buy skates, find out if the retailer offers free sharpening.)

Costs: Group lessons for beginning skaters cost about $10/half-hour, often including rental skates. Rental skates cost a few dollars per session, as does open skate time. But competitive figure skating can be very expensive, when you add up costs for private coaching, gear, ice time, costumes, fees for tests and competitive events, and travel.

Once a figure skater is receiving private coaching, they typically join a figure skating club for access to ice time, as well as special events such as ice shows.

Time commitment required: For beginning skaters, weekly lessons (usually 30 minutes) and some practice time. As skaters progress, they will spend significantly more time on the ice. Serious skaters practice or take lessons at least four to five days a week, plus train off the ice. Competitive figure skaters also travel for testing and competitions. Top figure skaters may turn to homeschooling or online learning to balance skating and school commitments.

Potential injuries: Falls onto the hard surface of the ice can be risky, which is why novice skaters should wear helmets—and learn the correct way to fall down and get back up. More experienced skaters who do not wear helmets should know how to prevent and treat concussions.

Skaters can be susceptible to both overuse and traumatic injuries, usually to the hips, spine, or lower extremities. Get a tip sheet on preventing figure skating injuries from the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine.

Associations and governing bodies:

U.S. Figure Skating
Professional Skaters Association
Ice Skating Institute

If your child likes figure skating, also try: Roller skating or in-line skating; ballet; gymnastics; ice hockey; speed skating.