Tuition and Fees

Tuitions are in place to keep the business side of skating simple. If we don’t do this, as a coach, I spend lots of my time working on billing and scheduling rather than focusing on the coaching and keeping myself educated. Rather than being a coach, I am more of an administrator. Tuitions are also in place for skaters and families to take responsibility for their skater’s success without affecting our ability to run a business. The skater’s who want to achieve their goals are always going to skate, keep cancellations to a minimum and are conscientious about the decisions they make and how it effects the skating.

Tuitions are a flat rate that are automatically billed to families through an automatic payments we set up through Quickbooks. Each tuition rate includes a certain number of on ice coaching hours and off ice coaching per week.

Overall, this first year, the tuitions are going to vary slightly. For the most part, the tuition is going to be the average of what you are currently paying, however, skaters who have moved up a level or two in competition or in tests may have an increased rate since now they are requiring a more advanced level of coaching. Skaters whose time slots only include themselves or one other skater will have a rate more equitable for semi-private or private lessons.

Tier 1 Tuition

-Tier 1 skaters are skating 5-6 days per week, and you are receiving 1-2 hrs of coaching time per day. “Coaching Time” is small group training teams.

-If there is time in the schedule, and it’s needed, Tier 1 skaters will have a certain number of private lessons per month built into their monthly tuition.

-Skaters in this tier are going to see a lot more fluctuation in their training schedule since their schedules will change the most with each season due to us varying the workloads, however, your tuition rate will stay the same despite all of that since it will all even out in a one year cycle.

-Tier 1 skaters should not be re-scheduling training time a lot since it will mess with their plan, but if they are going to miss a day, they should be considering making it up, IF there is time in the schedule. Please use the re-scheduling link to request a re-scheduling time.

-Because travel is required for NQS, skaters in this tier have a monthly travel rate also built into their tuition rate so that their rate stays the same no matter what competition we are going to. This fee covers the cost of a coach to go with you to any competitions and also covers the coach’s travel expenses. This makes it easier for families to plan for the tuition and plan for the costs of travel for themselves.

-Keeping tuition the same will also allow families to plan for other expenses such as a high quality dress and more choreography lessons.

Tier 2 Tuition

-Tier 2 skaters pay for 3-5 days a week of on ice coaching time and off ice coaching.

-Tier 2 skaters are in small group training teams for approximately 1.5 hrs at a time (on ice). Private lessons are only if the family schedules them through the drop in calendar or if I decide they are needed for the athlete.

-Skaters pay for the number of days they need to skate to achieve their goals or to build towards their future. Skaters should not be gone a lot. However, if a skater does need to be gone, they should be making up their missed time. Skaters in Tier 2 can make up maximum four times the next month if they were gone the previous month. However, time may not always be available for your skater to make-up missed training time. Requests are first come, first serve.

-Not all Tier 2 skaters compete or if they do, it isn’t the same as a NQS skater. Therefore, competition fees are separate. Competition fees as of Nov 1, 2024 will be:

$70 flat rate for coach to go with you to a competition- it covers practice ice and any events

If a competition is more than an hour away from the VMCC, there will be travel fee for coaches to attend the competition. Travel fees include airfare, gas and hotel. The total fee is split between all skaters who are going to that competition. Once the fee is figured out, it will be emailed out to the Tier 2 skaters, and the fee will be added to their next month’s tuition as a one-time add on.

Note on Travel Fees: We always try to be as cost effective as possible with travel fees, but I also need to stay in hotels that make sense for the type of competition, when I have to be there and where it is safe. Where myself or coaches stay or how we transport ourselves to the competition is at our discretion.

Tuition Adjustments

Tuition may be adjusted for the following circumstances:

  • if the ice schedule is limited so we cannot skate the number of days the tuition is allotted for

  • extended injuries or illnesses- this is only if a skater is unable to skate for 14 days or longer

  • if something changes and the family and I meet to increase the coaching time, then expect the tuition rate to increase

For the most part, tuition won’t be adjusted since skaters can make up lesson time through the re-scheduling link. This helps skaters stay on track towards their goals and keeps the amount of skating consistent.

Other Fees

Tuitions do not cover other fees. The fees that tuitions do not cover include:

  • Ice time- families pay directly to organization hosting the ice time

  • Sign up fees for test sessions and competitions- families pay directly to hosting organization

  • Guest Choreographer fees-pay directly to choreographer. Preferably you will have a contract with the choreographer so fees are paid upfront.

  • Boots and Blades and Skate Sharpenings- families pay whomever you are purchasing the boots and blades from. Also, you will need to pay a skate technician for skate sharpenings and for mounting any blades.

  • Workout and Dance Classes- families pay to hosting organization

  • Costumes and Dresses-families pay to dress designer or whomever is selling the dress

  • Ice Show Numbers and Costumes-families pay GRFSC

  • Excessive Emails- families will be notified if this applies to them

  • Any Other Extraneous Fees, i.e. an additional workshop, extra skating class, etc.

  • Extra Paperwork if your skater needs a specific document created by a coach (i.e. an at home jump chart, a practice list, etc.) these documents are charged at a rate of $70/hr for us to create. For the most part, documents are usually created for everyone so then there is no extra fee. This is mostly for special-request situations. I will notify the family if this fee applies.

  • Music

    • If Melissa or another coach edits your music, the cost is anywhere from $30-$50 depending upon the length of the music and how difficult it is to cut.

    • A professional music editor will cost anywhere from $60-$200 for a piece of music, depending upon how the music needs to be edited, mixed and how long the music is.

    • We are going to be using professional music editing services as much as possible.

    • If your music needs a special license to be used, families will need to cover the cost of the license.

Payments

  • All tuition payments must have a current card on file.

  • Tuitions will pull on the first of the month.

  • If your payment does not go through, we need to receive a payment from you ASAP.

  • All other fees, need to be paid to the right party as promptly as possible.

  • Not paying is unacceptable. It makes us look bad as a business, and then other coaches, music editors, choreographers, etc. do not want to work with us.