Avoid DC EDGE at All Costs

If you're considering DC EDGE, I strongly advise you to think twice. The club fosters a toxic environment where kids face harsh punishments and are made to sit out during competitions if they miss even one practice or are more than 10 minutes late for any reason—no exceptions, regardless of the situation.

One of the biggest issues is how secretive and rigid the club's policies are. As a newcomer, you won’t be made aware of these practices upfront, and they can come as a huge shock when they happen to your child.

For new skaters, this is not the place to be. There are many other clubs where children are welcomed and encouraged to grow at their own pace, instead of facing the constant pressure of performance. DC EDGE's approach to their Aspire-level team is more in line with preparing athletes for the Olympics, rather than fostering enjoyment or development. Eventually, kids lose the fun and excitement of skating as the focus shifts solely to pressure and competition.

Save yourself the stress and frustration—find a club where the experience is more balanced and where kids can thrive both in skill and passion for the sport.

OP here checking back on this thread. Thanks to everyone who responded. DD has been skating about six months and very recently was selected for a program at our rink with an elite coach that is supposed to be a pipeline for more advanced competitive skating. I was a competitive skater growing up (until about age 12) and know what we are getting into in terms of time and lifestyle, but the money has me concerned -- it's the primary reason I had to quit. Thanks in particular to 5/13 15:06 for the $$ breakdown.

My DD is a competitive skater and she loves it and has no desire to stop anytime soon but it is such a time suck I wonder if she is going to look back on her childhood and wonder if she should have made other choices. She is on the ice 2 mornings before school after school 2-3 times a week all weekend in addition to ballet lessons. Then you have to factor in competitions which out of town can be 2-3 days or more test sessions for MITF, freestyle and dance if she is testing dance as well. There are parties she has had to miss once she gets home from the rink she has very little time to eat get her homework done and practice her instrument before going to bed only to wake up before 6 to be back at the rink. Once a moth 1 have to take her skates to the 1 of 2 skate sharpeners that her coach trusts and get them sharpened.

As far as costs my DD has a primary coach ($48/30) , jump coach ($50/30) and an ice dance coach ($42/30). Competition dresses (around $500 each), test dresses ($100) and skates and blades ($1200). Then you have entry fees for competitions and test fees. Off ice training and ballet and this summer she will be at skate camp for 3 weeks. I suspect we are coming in just under 30K this year. My daughter will most likely breakdown her skates before she outgrows them. She is lucky if she can get a year out of her skates.

You also have to be willing to give control to the pro we are lucky that my DD and her coach have such a great relationship but it is hard when she falls really hard and you can't run out of the ice to comfort them.

Best of luck to you DD.

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is now in Freestyle 3. She doesn't compete at all. You don't say what she's doing now in terms of how many times a week or what level she's in.

FWIW, I buy DD's skates on eBay - I sell the old ones and use the money for the next size. Her Zucca bag was a gift from friends (an outrageous gift). She has a pair of skating pants and wears regular t-shirt and sweatshirt. No costumes.

When she's struggling with a level, we do a shared private lesson for a half hour with a friend at the same level once a week, in addition to her weekly class.

Buying used skates is not a good idea! At that level the skates should be pretty worn out by the time they are finished with them and you definitely want good ankle support. A good professional fitting is well worth the money IMO.

Yeah well, we do what we can afford. We got barely worn skates on eBay.

This +1million. I've found very goods deals - even from Craigslist - where kids drop out after mom & dad have just bought a nice, new pair of skates. It's not common, but not unheard of either.

This is fine for a lower level skater but not an upper level skater who is at all competitive. They heat mold the skates to the skaters foot. You need to have skates fitted and sharpened by a professional if your skater is upper level. You can't convince me otherwise of this.

Please see the bolded. Her skates do get sharpened professionally, and the pro shop baked her skates for free. Her skates are fine, trust me.

Please see thread title.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD is now in Freestyle 3. She doesn't compete at all. You don't say what she's doing now in terms of how many times a week or what level she's in.

FWIW, I buy DD's skates on eBay - I sell the old ones and use the money for the next size. Her Zucca bag was a gift from friends (an outrageous gift). She has a pair of skating pants and wears regular t-shirt and sweatshirt. No costumes.

When she's struggling with a level, we do a shared private lesson for a half hour with a friend at the same level once a week, in addition to her weekly class.

Buying used skates is not a good idea! At that level the skates should be pretty worn out by the time they are finished with them and you definitely want good ankle support. A good professional fitting is well worth the money IMO.

Yeah well, we do what we can afford. We got barely worn skates on eBay.

This +1million. I've found very goods deals - even from Craigslist - where kids drop out after mom & dad have just bought a nice, new pair of skates. It's not common, but not unheard of either.

This is fine for a lower level skater but not an upper level skater who is at all competitive. They heat mold the skates to the skaters foot. You need to have skates fitted and sharpened by a professional if your skater is upper level. You can't convince me otherwise of this.

Please see the bolded. Her skates do get sharpened professionally, and the pro shop baked her skates for free. Her skates are fine, trust me.