How can I convince my parents to let me take figure skating lessons?

My level right now is Pre-Alpha. I'm 10. I started last year. I really want to go through the levels quicker because I want to compete. My parents don't want to me to take lessons during the school year because it might affect my school work. I have always been a Straight A student.How can I convince my parents to let me take figure skating lessons?
Skating is a great way to find achievement in a different aspect of your life other than academics. It sounds like you are already a very responsible student, and if you can give your parents a plan on how you intend to balance your school commitments with your skating commitments to find success in both areas, you should be in good standing. Talk to them openly and honestly about what you think it will take for you to be successful in both areas. Also, please feel free to share my answer with them if you think it will help. :)





It is important to tell your parents that skating will teach you many things outside of just ';how to skate'; - it will help you work on performing well under pressure (good for taking hard tests at school, interviewing for college later, etc.), teach you how to win and lose with grace, how to stand up - literally and figuratively - when you fall down, how to support others around you as well as be positive about your own achievements, how to take care of your body in a healthy way and have good self-esteem, how to show a strong commitment to ethics and fairness in all areas of your life, and how to be responsible and independent - skating incorporates many vital ';life lessons'; that will benefit you for years to come.





I would also just like to point out that many of the best skaters out there are also really stellar students - the drive it takes to do well in skating is the same sort of drive it takes to do well in school, and skaters are generally very motivated to achieve in all areas they pursue. There are many, many skaters out there who maintain really high grades while skating - I've known skaters who graduated from high school in the top 2% of their class, skating 5 - 6 days a week the whole time, and excelling in both areas. It takes dedication, but it pays off in scholarships, jobs, and other areas later. I've never met a college admissions officer who has not absolutely loved a figure skater!





I'd also like to add that if you do well at skating, you'll have a job ready to go when the time comes - skaters who work hard at learning technique and do well in the sport can go on to become coaches - a great job to have during college due to its flexibility in schedules and high rate of pay. I've taken this route, and paid my own tuition through college by teaching skating - far better than student loans and debt! Teaching skating can be a great way to supplement your income later in life, or can serve as a primary profession or ';back up'; plan if you need it to.





I hope that this helps you convince your parents that skating and school can go together, and one can help the other!





As far as ';last levels'; in skating, right now your level is in the International Skating Institute (ISI) system. Those classes run from Pre-Alpha through Delta for basic skills, and then go from Freestyle 1 -10.





Senior level is under the United States Figure Skating (USFS) system, which is usually taught privately through lessons with a coach. That starts at Pre-Preliminary, and goes through Senior (8 levels total), with lots of different areas of skating: Moves-in-the-Field (footwork and edges), Freestyle (individual jumps and spins), Pairs (team jumps, spins and lifts), and Ice Dance (team edges, footwork and lifts). A Senior test under the USFS system earns you a gold medal, and if you have your Moves and a different discipline test, you can compete at the Senior level (like those lucky few who make it to national competitions or the Olympics) by skating well competitively.





Good luck with all you are working on, and I hope that this information helps. I can personally say that skating made all the difference in the world to me in finding success, and I hope that you will have a chance to discover the same!How can I convince my parents to let me take figure skating lessons?
Have your parents come and watch one of your lessons, this way they can see how well you are doing in figure skating. You can also have your parents let you take lessons on the weekend instead of the weekdays. When your parents finally let you, start slow, and take one lesson a week, once you prove to them that you can keep up your grades and skate maybe then you can start taking more. Have fun and keep skating! You sound like a really good skater who is dedicated to your sport!
just tell them that skating is really important to you and is apart of who you want to be.tell them if they belive in you they will let you continue skating because they will trust that your grades wont slip and you will study hard. plus your only 10 years old. you cant really get a bad mark in grade 5
The last level in figure skating is ';I won the Olympic gold medal.';





You are most unlikely to get anywhere unless you skate year round. An hour a week wouldn't hurt your schoolwork - in fact regular exercise has been proven to help kids concentrate better.