Everything you should know about figure skating — Part 1 (of many)
Along with details about skating techniques, this site will also be sharing other interesting tidbits, including the big question some of you have asked, “Who watches ice skating?” The short answer is “more people than you think.
*As a sport, figure skating has the largest fan base of females 12 and older. These fans prefer to watch skating over the NFL, MLB, NBA and college football.
*Figure skating has the sixth-largest fan base of people (male and female) 12 and older. (Only the NFL, MLB, NCAA football and NCAA basketball rank higher).
*Figure skating ranked third in the Fan Intensity Index (percent age of fans who consider themselves avid).
*65% of women over 18 consider themselves figure skating fans.
*75% of women over 55 consider themselves figure skating fans.
*46% of high school graduates consider themselves skating fans.
*68% of figure skating fans have college degrees.
*Median household income of figure skating fans is approximately $90,000.
*34% have household incomes of more than $100,000.
*52% have household incomes of more than $75,000.
*The number of female attendees more than doubled the number of males (68% vs. 32%)
*40% of the respondents had attended the U.S. Championships for three or more days.
*57% had household incomes of $75,000+ and 35% had incomes of $100,000+, with a median income of $90,000.
*Nearly half (46%) gave the event the highest rating (“excellent”), and eight out of 10 (84%) felt that it was “excellent or “very good”.
*Based on the 2003 ESPN Sports Poll and performance research at the 2004 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships