Oh no...

[icarus]

I just got the response back from the U.S. Nationals figure skating website. The ticket sales people couldn't tell me the price for the practice session tickets, and I just needed to budget for those.

My reservations are set. I was disappointed at the crappy seats I have, but I figured I'd be closer and get a good feel for the sport during the practice sessions. Those were my main goal, as research for Out Of Bounds.

I've now been informed that only the people who buy the $500 week-long All-Event package are allowed into the practice sessions.

I'm now trying to figure out if that's just what they're telling people who want to buy tickets in advance (because you can't buy them in advance) or if they're really locking people out of the practice sessions unless they come wearing minks. It sounds like the latter.

My entire reason for going has gone up in smoke.



Dismal ETA: We already bought the men's Freeskate ticket and it's non-refundable. We can't get a ticket for WG at the last minute because the seating is assigned and he'd be far away. Basically the whole trip's ruined. I would have done this very differently if the people I asked two weeks ago had known anything about the practice sessions.

So much for my Christmas present.

Comments

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I was going for the practice sessions.

The performances I can get a better view on TV, with announcers to clarify what's going on, if the skater just doubled a jump that was supposed to be a triple. Skating's in the details and unless you're an expert it's really hard to tell, say, a triple flip from a triple Lutz.

What I want is the interaction between the coach and the skater, the feel for the tension before a performance. I have lots of performances on video tape.

Icarus

[roaringmice.livejournal.com]

While the practice sessions are a hoot, I agree - they are only open to those with "all event" tickets. However, lots of people with all event tix don't attend the practices.

If you still have your tix, go to www.fsuniverse.net. That's a HUGE figure skating forum - skaters, fans, judges from all countries. There's a forum for US Nationals. Post, explain the situation, and see if anyone would be willing to hand you one of their practice tickets.

There may also be practice reports, which could be of help. There may be practice video, which isn't allowed, but does sometime become magically available there.

Even if you don't see the practices at Nationals, you can do as I do - attend the event live, and tape the event when it airs on tv. During the event, if there are any closer seats available, walk on down (acting very confident) and try to sit in them. Worst comes to worst, they'll tell you to move.

Have you been to a major skating comp before? You'll know it feels quite a bit different, live, than on tv. Live, you can see flow, power and speed - these things don't show up on tv. And you'll get to see the warm ups, which may be of use to you for your story. You'll also get the atmosphere of the rink, which may help.

[roaringmice.livejournal.com]

Will practice video be of any help? Here are some links to videos of various practices at elite-level events. It's not the same as being there, but they give you a sense of it. I've only included videos I think give you the sense of what a practice at one of these events is like, including the atmosphere, and the student-coach interaction you specified.

This first show brief glimpses of coach/skater interaction:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pp7jBTZVHNI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4BAzC6UpJQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VON_VQuXOgM

This one is good because Stephane is on music, but you can see how he only does certain elements of the program during this practice:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUZcxrAyQOY

This is a much lower level event, but you can see the coach-student thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrTfJpt21VQ

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh.

Thank you. This is perfect. So far the only vids I have of coach/skater interaction was a famous clip with a blow-up between Christopher Bowman and his coach.

This is just great.

Icarus

[roaringmice.livejournal.com]

Another idea as a source for your story - where do you live? Can you get to another event near you? Even a lower-level competition may give you the feel that you're after.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I'm in Seattle. Can you believe I missed the Sectional which took place less than 20 minutes away? On my birthday?

Do you know where I can get schedules so that will never, ever happen again? I only learned the date and location of the Nationals by accident.

Icarus

[roaringmice.livejournal.com]

The fsuniverse site is a good one, but there's no neat list there. For a concise summary, you can use the United States Figure Skating Association's website at http://www.usfigureskating.org/Events.asp. The thing that's hard about the USFS list is that it's a list without any qualifications, so you can't tell which are higher and which are lower level competitions.

Something related that may help you is this list of all skating that will be on US tv, and when: http://heatherw.com/mk/sch.htm