Measuring Ourselves Against The Best

Over the past few months, I have spent some time talking with Board Presidents and Vice-Presidents at several different clubs across the country that have elite synchronized skating prograsms. The goal was to find out how these clubs established and maintain their consistent success. I asked questions about team and organizational structure, Board oversight, coaching compensation, and aspects of their programs that they believe contribute to their consistent success. At the last MEFSC Board meeting, I shared my findings with the MEFSC Board. I wanted to share some of what I learned with our Synchro families.

During the course of these conversations, I learned, not surprisingly, that we are doing many things that are consistent with these clubs. Our ice time is consistent with these clubs. The incorporation of training and ballet were considered vital by almost all of these clubs. We are fielding a range of teams consistent with the top clubs. Perhaps most gratifying, the leadership of these clubs are familiar with us and recognize how far we have come over the last several years.

There are some things that need our attention as well. I’d like to mention two that are particularly pressing. The first concern is recruitment of skaters. The most successful clubs field fully rostered teams and use alternates from the Juvenile level on up. While we have large teams at some levels, we still need to recruit skaters, especially at the younger levels. This provides a continual supply of skaters and allows clubs to develop skaters from an early age. Secondly, I learned from these conversations and a USFS study of synchro programs that we pay our coaches between 25-35% less than the Midwestern average and significantly less than the national average. What many of our families do not know is that our coaches are only compensated for the on-ice time for their two primary teams. Any time they spend in off-ice, working with a third team, on administrative functions or communicating with parents is essentially volunteer time. This is a significant concern for all of us as we seek to retain quality coaches.

The MEFSC Board has begun a review of the administrative structure of our synchro teams and how we compensate our coaches. We want to find a way to continue on the successful path we are now travelling while also finding a way to organize ourselves efficiently and compensate our coaches in a way that demonstrates respect for their skill, commitment, and performance. We are well aware of the cost of skating and the need to keep skating affordable. That is also a priority for our organization.

Thank you to all of you for your commitment to our skaters and their success.