Adult Nationals 2006?

[Lissy]

Has anyone heard where Adult Nationals may be in 2006 yet? I am considering going to Kansas City in 2005, but have two other costly vacations that I'm saving for coming up, and I'd kind of like to wait and see if Nationals 2006 will be closer to where I live so I can save some money on travel.

Anyone have any idea? Rumors even?

Thanks!

[NoVa Sk8r]

I'm hoping for AN '06 to be in Aston, Pa., site of the Halloween Classic (20 minutes outside of Philadelphia; 10 minutes outside of Wilmington, Del.).

I'm hoping that this competition will be an acid test for hosting an all-adult event--I believe the rink has hosted a non-all-adult sectionals before.

phillyskater ... any buzz or early indications???!!!

[Thin-Ice]

We won't know OFFICIALLY where AN 2006 will be until after 2005 AN. It's announced at Governing Council in May. But maybe some skaters can tell us if their clubs are bidding on AN 2006? The event USUALLY makes money for any club(s) hosting.. but it is a lot of work and usually requires a minimum of three ice sheets in one building.. so the options are limited.

Anyone hear any possibilities? And of course, adult club members can "strongly encourage" ;) their clubs to bid on AN or Adult Sectionals...

Happy Skating!

[Lissy]

Really? I thought Kansas City was announced WAY before Lake Placid 2004 took place. I supposed it depends on how many bids there are and other factors.

Thanks for the replies though!

[dani]

At AN 2004, it was mentioned that this was a myth. The requirement as stated then was that there were 2 sheets of ice under one roof and another sheet nearby (I don't remember how close). I believe KC only has two sheets under one roof.

As for when it will be announced, they also said they were delaying choosing it until December, I think it was. I would guess we will know shortly after that.

Hugs!
Danielle

We won't know OFFICIALLY where AN 2006 will be until after 2005 AN. It's announced at Governing Council in May. But maybe some skaters can tell us if their clubs are bidding on AN 2006? The event USUALLY makes money for any club(s) hosting.. but it is a lot of work and usually requires a minimum of three ice sheets in one building.. so the options are limited.

Anyone hear any possibilities? And of course, adult club members can "strongly encourage" ;) their clubs to bid on AN or Adult Sectionals...

Happy Skating!

[phillyskater]

I'm hoping for AN '06 to be in Aston, Pa., site of the Halloween Classic (20 minutes outside of Philadelphia; 10 minutes outside of Wilmington, Del.).

I'm hoping that this competition will be an acid test for hosting an all-adult event--I believe the rink has hosted a non-all-adult sectionals before.

phillyskater ... any buzz or early indications???!!!


IceWorks hosted Eastern Sectionals (standard, not adult) in 2003. Based on what we heard from the skaters and USFSA, it was considered a success. I know that we are bidding for AN 2006, as well as other big national competitions (Liberty in 2004) and qualifying events, so it might depend on which ones of those, if any, we get. I also heard a rumor somewhere (can't remember where or when) that USFSA is going to try and spread Nationals around, among the 3 sections (for example, somewhere in the northeast, then mid-west the next year, then Pacific) so if that's true, I'm guessing that AN '06 may be somewhere closer to the west coast.

philly

[Mel On Ice]

Didn't San Francisco do it a few years back? I'm always happy to return there!

[flo]

It was in Oakland, it was not the best choice for an event of this size. I don't think many who were there last time would like AN there again.

[NoVa Sk8r]

I also heard a rumor somewhere (can't remember where or when) that USFSA is going to try and spread Nationals around, among the 3 sections (for example, somewhere in the northeast, then mid-west the next year, then Pacific) so if that's true, I'm guessing that AN '06 may be somewhere closer to the west coast.

Hmmm. I don't see this as being true. But even if it were, it would require a club on the west coast to actually submit a bid. Anyone know if that's a possibility? (Methinks it's not.)

[nja]

The rumor about spreading AN around comes up from time to time. I think a lot of it has to do with what clubs put in the bids. Does anyone know who is bidding for AN 2006 or beyond?

[Thin-Ice]

It was in Oakland, it was not the best choice for an event of this size. I don't think many who were there last time would like AN there again.

My club hosted AN in Oakland.. and no, it wasn't the BEST place to hold it.. but I know most of the West Coast skaters were thrilled not to have to travel 2-3 time zones which usually means TWO travel days. :roll: Attendance was down that year.. but we did notice more Western skaters participate that year. :)

It also pointed up the problems associated with having only two sheets of ice in one building and a third sheet elsewhere. We used the Berkeley rink as our third sheet of ice.. and although it's only a few miles away, it did create problems for coaches who needed to work with skaters practicing in Berkeley just minutes before or after having competitors in Oakland. (We also competed figure events in Berkeley.. so it was even more complicated for coaches having students competing figures and having other competitors in freestyle or dance events at the same time.) I guess Lake Placid and the Ice Cube and Marlborough spoiled us all! :D

[Mrs Redboots]

My club hosted AN in Oakland.. and no, it wasn't the BEST place to hold it.. but I know most of the West Coast skaters were thrilled not to have to travel 2-3 time zones which usually means TWO travel days. :roll: Attendance was down that year.. but we did notice more Western skaters participate that year. :)

It also pointed up the problems associated with having only two sheets of ice in one building and a third sheet elsewhere. We used the Berkeley rink as our third sheet of ice.. and although it's only a few miles away, it did create problems for coaches who needed to work with skaters practicing in Berkeley just minutes before or after having competitors in Oakland. (We also competed figure events in Berkeley.. so it was even more complicated for coaches having students competing figures and having other competitors in freestyle or dance events at the same time.) I guess Lake Placid and the Ice Cube and Marlborough spoiled us all! :DPart of the problem, I think, was that the buses that took the skaters between rinks and between the hotels and the rinks were running to a very unrealistic schedule, so there were loads of delays, and unless you had a car with your or could blag a lift from someone, you could be badly held up.

I was there that year - I came to watch! It was enormous fun, and I came back to the UK well enthused about adult skating.

Edited to add: Have just remembered that Aussie Willey was there, too!

[flo]

Hi,
Oakland was also difficult because the facility had little "open space". It was difficult to find a place to warm up, or get away from the crowd. The area surrounding the rink was not that great, and we were told not to go out and walk around unless in a group. I didn't mind flying out there - unless it's really close, I'd fly to wherever the event was held.
I think that's one thing about Lake Placid - it's a trip to get there from everywhere, but once you're there it's wonderful.
It's quite a task to put on an event the size of AN, and any group that tries deserves a lot of credit.

[skatingchick5]

We won't know OFFICIALLY where AN 2006 will be until after 2005 AN. It's announced at Governing Council in May. But maybe some skaters can tell us if their clubs are bidding on AN 2006? The event USUALLY makes money for any club(s) hosting.. but it is a lot of work and usually requires a minimum of three ice sheets in one building.. so the options are limited.

Anyone hear any possibilities? And of course, adult club members can "strongly encourage" ;) their clubs to bid on AN or Adult Sectionals...

Happy Skating!


hey ppl! nwhats up!!! :oops: 8O :cry: :D :?? :arrow: :evil: LOL:P ;)

[nja]

Not only do you have to have the ice surfaces available, but the hosting club also has to coordinate lodging, transportation, volunteers, judges and other officials, vendors, just to name a few things. It has also been my observation that many of the club members heavily involved in the running of an AN are adult skaters themselves, so you have to add the stress of competing to their already hectic schedules.

I have been to all 10 AN and have pretty much seen it all. Lake Placid has the best rink set up, but there is little to do outside of the rink without travelling a distance (of course, who has the time?). Ann Arbor has hosted AN 3 times now and there was a huge difference between the first and third times because they learned from each experience.

When we went to the very first AN, I think most competitors realized that there might be a few kinks to be worked out, and I think most people were there to have fun and not get too stressed out over issues. I also think that the organizers couldn't anticipate the numbers who would come (somewhere around 400, I think). The entire competition was held on one ice surface. I remember receiving supplemental mailings after the initial registration forms adding additional hotels and practice ice (spread over 3 states!). Anyone who may have been involved in organizing an event like this can probably picture what some of the committee meetings must have been like when the registrations started coming in and they realized that their initial estimates were way short!

Mrs. Redboots, If you were at Oakland, did you see the Silver Dance event? It was the last event of the whole competition. If you did, you would have seen me and my husband skate (although we weren't married at the time). We also skated the social session that was immediately following our event. Who knows, we may have actually met and don't know it!

[jazzpants]

If not Oakland, how about San Jose, CA??? :mrgreen:

I would like to see it at the San Jose Logitech rink in 2006 but I'm not holding my breath. It has 3 sheets of ice right now and they're planning to put in a 4th sheet. WOO HOO!!! Also, there's plenty of parking and open space to walk around, though obviously for restaurants within walking distance you're stuck at the snack bar. :( A short drive will take you to downtown San Jose though and there's plenty of restaurants.

Maybe AN 2007? :mrgreen:

[w.w.west]

If not Oakland, how about San Jose, CA??? :mrgreen:

I would like to see it at the San Jose Logitech rink in 2006 but I'm not holding my breath. It has 3 sheets of ice right now and they're planning to put in a 4th sheet. WOO HOO!!! Also, there's plenty of parking and open space to walk around, though obviously for restaurants within walking distance you're stuck at the snack bar. :( A short drive will take you to downtown San Jose though and there's plenty of restaurants.

Maybe AN 2007? :mrgreen:

That sound great! Get them to submit a bid!

[PattyP]

I vote for San Jose! I went there for ISI Worlds. It is a nice, large facility. Now just finding the people there who would be interested in hosting the event...that's the challenge!

[Blosmbubbs]

Hi, my club is in san jose and I would really like if we could host adult nationals. It would be a first for us with all adults. It's about time they honor adult skaters in San Jose. They do everything for the kids and thats not very fair. :roll:

[AlexPsylore]

I agree that Logitech Center in San Jose would be ideal for Adult Nationals, especially now that the fourth sheet of ice is under construction and due to be functional in less than six months. Unfortunately there is a club issue involved. The rink is home to one large and powerful club that is very capable of hosting AN, but unfortunately it is an extremely "adult unfriendly" club. The club management is dominated by skating parents and a number of judges who tend to think Adults are going no where and have no business to go beyond being recreational. The other home club at Logitech is a very nice and "adult friendly" club, but unfortunately they are very small with limited resources. They can not host AN alone.

Regarding the smaller number of skaters when AN was held in Oakland back in 1998 -- Is it just me or is it really the case that people on the West Coast seem to be more open to the idea of traveling east for AN than vice versa?
Alex, the adult skater who doesn't mind traveling all the way to Lake Placid to compete and be with his friends!

[Thin-Ice]

The other problem with having AN at San Jose is -- it's the San Jose Sharks' practice facility.. and they plan to be in the Stanley Cup FINALS every year... even when that's not likely. (Of course with the NHL lockout this year, that wouldn't have been a problem!) But with the additional sheet of ice it is more feasible to have AN there. Many of the Bay Area adult skaters are volunteering at Central Pacifics (our regionals) to show the club organizers that adults are willing to work at the kids' events... and hope they will return the favor. Anyone interested in helping out should contact Katie Campagna through the Peninsula Skating Club website.