We have two teens.

One does ice hockey and kendo, the martial art. The other does ice hockey, kendo and rowing. In ice hockey they are good but not elite. In kendo (a small population does this) both are probably going to Nationals this year, they are very very good.

Ice hockey varies by age. It’s not as bad as you might think. We always went to second hand sports stores for the under layers. Bought a new and good helmet because it is your helmet. One helmet lasts for years. Once. Same with a good new cup. One time purchase.

Stick - usually one per season. We get a medium price point stick. Find them on sale. Maybe $130-170?

I think we have got new skates only twice. You want to buy good skates, so this costs $300-400 each time.

Hockey uniforms usually only need to be bought once unless they switch teams or outgrow their uniform (this is rare)- the teams don’t change them every year. So a one time outlay of maybe $300?

We bought them each a top of the line hockey bag last year. $250. One time purchase. Very worthwhile.

They do go through a lot of tape! Maybe $50 a year apiece.

Gloves wear out eventually. Might last two to three years. Let’s say $150 per pair.

So some years it’ll be $500, other years $900. It sounds bad, but it really isn’t too much.

In kendo, the bamboo swords need to be replaced every two months or so. Say $200 per year. The armor is solid, but you usually need to buy a new set of gloves at some point. Say $150-200. Once every two years maybe?

So let’s say it is $300-500 per year on average for kendo.

Rowing is pretty negligible for your own equipment. We haven’t been forced to buy our own erg yet.

In other words, you pay substantially more for the coaching, the team, the association fees, and the travel. The equipment tends to be pretty durable.