Seen and Heard at #NC2015

[FigureSpins]

I scoped out the vendor tables at US Nationals yesterday.  Olay had a beauty consultant booth set up.  DH thought that was odd for some reason.  (I guess he didn't think about sponsorships and the amount of makeup skaters wear for performing.)

Riedell and Jackson seemed pretty ordinary - stuff on display, brochures to be picked up.  Riedell had the Eclipse blades on display, Jackson had the Ultimas.

MK-Wilson were all about the high end Revolution blades, which were also on display at Edea. 

Harlick had a plain table with their one-sheet order forms/flyers and a few sample boots.

Didn't see SP-Teri or Klingbeil, but it was after 8pm at night.   Will look today.


Smartest vendor of the night was Edea, who brought try on stock. One of my students was able to try on the Ice Fly in the right size.  He ordered the more-appropriate lower model from our pro shop in the same size.


The vendors are offering discounts if you order at the event.  Our pro shop matched the vendor's price.  Ask if they have a rebate coupon if you decide to order later.  The worst they can say is no.

[lutefisk]

Just out of curiosity, roughly what does it cost to attend the Nats?  I've heard that the cheap seats are over $200 and the best seats are $1000.  Are those prices accurate?  If so, are they for the entire event or just one?  I'd love to attend some year.

[FigureSpins]

Cost varies based on what events you want to watch and if attending involves travel.  Greensboro is about an hour away, so I didn't have to get a hotel room.  I have a lot going on at home, work and the rink right now, so being at the event every day for a week or two wasn't an option. 

If you want to see a lot of events, they offer package ticket deals for all events or just the Championship weekend events.  if you have the time and interest to use a package, that's the best deal.  Put your email on their mailing list as soon as the event site goes live and they'll let you know when pre-sales start.  That's the best price for packages, but you're laying out the money well in advance, in some cases over a year earlier.

Here's the ticket brochure for NC2015
http://www.northcarolina2015.com/Portals/0/Ticket_%20Brochure.pdf

I knew I wanted to see Sr. Ladies, the Gala Exhibition and Opening Ceremonies.  A friend's dd was skating in one of the lower-level events, so I added that to my list at the last minute.

The Juv event was $10, which I bought it at the box office that morning.
DH gave me the Sr. Ladies LP tickets for Christmas.  Our seats were in the lower level and cost $60 each.
I was someone's guest for the Ladies Short and the seats were prime so they were pricey - probably $85 each.
I bought the Gala tickets from one of my skating families who had a package but couldn't keep their little ones out on a school night.  They were $30 each for seats in the top tier of the arena.  I might sneak down tonight.   Shhhh!  (Spot the NY'er)

The only event in my list that the Champ Weekend package covered was last night's Sr Ladies LP and the Gala.  The package wasn't worth the cost because I would have wasted/resold a lot of the event tickets.

Parking is an additional expense.  The daily costs ranged from $7 to $15, depending on the event.

There have been empty seats (albeit in the upper deck) at every Nationals I've attended or watched on TV. I think the gala exhibition sells out occasionally but even today there are tickets available for tonight.  So don't feel pressured to buy a package that has tickets you won't use.  Another source is the Facebook pages of the local skating clubs or skating fan sites.  People will offer to sell tickets at face value if they find they have a conflict at the last minute.

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Smuckers was giving out juice pouches filled with what I think is applesauce.  (Feels smushy). Haven't tasted it yet, but I'll update when I do.  They had a raffle for a year's worth of Uncrustables, which I do like.  They also handed out little plush strawberries which were used as tossies for the skaters.  The poor sweepers couldn't gather/carry the baseball-sized strawberries in their hands, so the volunteers thought quickly and gathered baskets and bags for them to fill instead. 



I noticed that the sweepers pick up the toys and hold them stiffly away from their bodies to carry the dolls and stuffed animals.  I wonder if that's so,that they are safe if there's something sharp or nasty on the items?  Things I think about while whiling away the IJS wait time.

[FigureSpins]

At their Membership table, US Figure skating was giving out hand sanitizer, so took a few to refill my skate bag bottle.  (Someone gave me a penguin holder that is attached to my bag, so I use that instead of keeping it in my pocket.). They also had rubber stretch bracelets with their logo and some other trinkets.

There was a formal USFSA merchandise booth, where you could buy programs, posters, clothing, etc.

They also had a ticket table for Worlds in Boston and for the 2016 Nationals in Minnesota
http://worlds2016.com
http://www.2016uschampionships.com

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The event includes a vendor area referred to as the FanFest area.  It's free and open to the public.  Local vendors set up booths like you would see at a festival or fair.  Medical centers explain health information,  municipalities show off fire trucks/ambulances and offer safety info, the newspaper offers subscriptions and trinkets, TV stations show videos and do live news reports.

Theres also a small ice rink where local clubs perform demonstrations of skating skills and a meet-and-greet/autograph area where people can interact with the elite skaters.  It's fun and very exciting for skaters.

There's a couple of photo-opportunity places set up. The TV station offered something called the Ice Castle, which is "Frozen" themed.  I'm not sure what it is yet since we didn't have time to check it out yet.  Hopefully, this afternoon we'll get to see what's what.  Not having little kids any more, it's more of a novelty to me.

They usually give out stuff - last time, there were pens with plastic ice skates on top from a local hospital, Snowplow Sam zipper pulls and US Figure Skating pencils/pens. 

[FigureSpins]

I might be exaggerating (I walked around the arena several times and lost track of my section) but there were several tour group tables for skating events in China, South Korea and Europe.

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Scott Hamilton walked through the athletes area last night. He looks healthy and seemed to be enjoying himself, goofing with volunteers and people he knew.

Johnny Weir is doing the commentary with Tara Lipinski so they're very much in the public eye.  Everyone remarked on how approachable and friendly Weir has been, not that it's out of character or anything, just that they were star-struck.  They assumed he would be standoffish, which hasn't been my experience with him, but it's a stressful new age.  They took the time, along with Tanith, Charlie, Scott H., to take photos and sign autographs with the kids from the Opening Ceremonies groups.  (Including one of my students, who was Awesome!)

One of my former group lesson teens said she asked Johnny (on a dare) to critique her outfit.  He looked her up and down, gave her a critical look and said he loved it.  The kid was thrilled and will be telling that story for the rest of her life.

[lutefisk]

Thanks for the ticket tips and the event atmosphere report!  Sounds like great fun!

[icedancer]

Thanks for the reports!!!

It is a BLAST to go to Nationals and Worlds and stuff.  And you CAN do it on a budget.  I have bought 4th-tier seats and then moved down for all but a few events, I have bought tickets on ebay for a fraction of their original price, I have volunteered at events and been right there next to the ice holding the door for the skaters or making sure they are all ready for their event. 

It is fun, exhilerating and exhausting.

I have heard that the Olympics are also very much fun and VERY Expensive.

[twinskaters]

Love these reports, thank you for sharing them! We are definitely planning to go to Worlds in boston next year.

[FigureSpins]

As an aside, the local organizing committee (LOC) usually asks for volunteers.  That's a way to see some of the competition and get a break on tickets.  Kids can be sweepers or perform in the opening ceremonies.  Adults can serve on a variety of ways - music, accounting, hospitality, ushers, ice monitors, sweeper chaperones, etc.  You have to ask the local club (or check their website) to see what their needs will be for the event.

One note: you will be asked to submit to a background check if you're an adult.

For opening ceremonies, the skaters paid for their costumes and ice/coaching time.
I believe sweepers paid for their outfits.
The adult volunteers were wearing maroon-and-white jackets, which I assume they paid for, but I could be wrong.

[FigureSpins]

#NC2015  Saw John Zimmerman and Silvia Fontana with their family last night as they were leaving.  Two cute little girls in matching outfits!  He was carrying one sideways, letting her wiggle into new positions every few seconds because it was late and she had ants in her pants.  It was sweet and I'm sure she was secure given who was holding her!

Also saw the gorgeous Ryan Bradley, whom I've met a few times at our rink and at the 2011 Nationals. I said hello, but I know he didn't have a clue.  He did some on-camera commentary for icenetwork and was (as always) well-spoken and thoughtful.  Classy guy.

My bff's father used to go to the Summer Olympics every year, up until the China one.  (He's not in good health and the trip really knocked him for a loop.)
He said the trick is buy a package of tickets and then trade with others to get the tickets for events that you want to attend.  Helps keep the cost down.


We had upper-deck tickets for the Gala last night, which were okay except for the people around us who insisted on leaving/returning to their seats during skaters' performances.  It was very rude and distracting.  One ninny left ten seconds before Max's big finish and then came back during another skater's program. 

I wanted to sneak down a level, but DH was comfortable so we stayed since he was such a good sport to go with me two days in a row.

[icedancer]

The adult volunteers were wearing maroon-and-white jackets, which I assume they paid for, but I could be wrong.

Maybe but maybe not.  I have volunteered for Nationals and Skate America and have a "free" sweatshirt (Nationals) and a very nice jacket (from Skate America) - these are treasured of course!

[FigureSpins]

Maybe but maybe not.  I have volunteered for Nationals and Skate America and have a "free" sweatshirt (Nationals) and a very nice jacket (from Skate America) - these are treasured of course!

That makes sense: I would think that "volunteers" would not pay but we paid for Sectionals' sweeper dresses one year.  The LOC did state in advance what the volunteers would receive in exchange for their time but because I couldn't commit the time, I didn't really read the document.

[icedancer]

That makes sense: I would think that "volunteers" would not pay but we paid for Sectionals' sweeper dresses one year.  The LOC did state in advance what the volunteers would receive in exchange for their time but because I couldn't commit the time, I didn't really read the document.

IIRC the sweepers did pay for their dresses/outfits, etc.

We had "all-access" passes - could go anywhere in the arena depending on our jobs - also had access to a lot of events IF you weren't doing your job somewhere else in the building (or at the host hotel or something) - but I think we also got a few tickets for various events.  I know that at Nationals the volunteer coordinator made sure I got to go to all of the dance events - and I was at the practice arena during the Ladies SP and they made sure we could leave our posts to go watch the final flight... which was very nice! 

[Query]

Didn't see SP-Teri or Klingbeil, but it was after 8pm at night.

Klingbeil's presence would have been newsworthy. Unless something has changed, they are out of business.

Hope you folks had a lot of fun there!

Did any of you compete, or had competing family or students, or were you all there just to dream?

[ChristyRN]

The adult volunteers were wearing maroon-and-white jackets, which I assume they paid for, but I could be wrong.

One of my friends volunteered and she did not pay for her jacket. An added bonus was that she got "pulled" to skate on the official practice ice.

[karne]

We had upper-deck tickets for the Gala last night, which were okay except for the people around us who insisted on leaving/returning to their seats during skaters' performances.  It was very rude and distracting.  One ninny left ten seconds before Max's big finish and then came back during another skater's program. 

I have never understood this. If I was able to go to an event like this wild horses couldn't drag me out of my seat (except for, you know, requisite bathroom breaks at scheduled intervals). Leaving in the middle of a program and coming in during another one? Rude. On every level.

(Max got chacked from the broadcast of the Gala, so I'm waiting for IceNetwork, but what was his big finish?)