More then 1 day Competitions and going affordably

[FSWer]

Ok peopple. I'm not sure if I'm explaining myself well or not here. But I will try. So here it gos....I have been to a lot of small competitions for 1 day, and have gone to at least Skate America in Hartford for at least a day too. However as an On-Ice Skater part of this Forum Group. My goal is to finally go and get to stay in a Hotel for every day of a competition and see everything on All-event Tickets. Just like everyone else and just like about the majority of us here do. However I am also stuck with a situation were I can say that I PROBLILY HAVE enough money. But when tickets,food,Hotel,ect. are all added in. Thee could be a possibility of all that running me a couple of thousand dollars. So I SOURIOUSLY HOPE that I'm NOT the ONLY one of us here who is not yet a TRUE On Ice Skater (to the fact of never being able to do all that like YOU guys!!!! I surely HOPE I'm not alone. Is there anyone else here who has experienced this type of situation and HAS been able to do all of this? Any ideas? Thanks.

[Stormy]

I just want to put it out there that I don't think all of us have done something like that. Probably not even most of us. Defintiely not the majority! I think the majority of us watch on TV or Icenetwork.

Like you said, it costs a lot of money and being able to stay the entire time away in a hotel at a competition like Skate America isn't something that's easy to do. I can't afford that, and I bet a lot of others can't in this economy right now either.

Please don't think that you're not a skater because you haven't gone away to a competition. You're a skater for what you do on the ice, not anything else.

[jskater49]

My daughter and I went to Nationals last year because it was only a few hours away. But we couldn't afford to stay all week or buy tickets for every event.

We just stayed in a hotel one night and watched the senior dance compulsaries...junior OD, junior mens short program, senior paris Short, and senior Free dance. The ladies short program was right after the free dance and we wished we could have stayed but it was 7 at night already and a 3 hour drive home...

I also stayed over one night in 98 when the worlds was in minneapolis and watched OD dance, Mens free and ladies SP...

It's a great experience even without doing the whole thing.

joelle

[Clarice]

Me, too - I've never bought an all-event ticket and gone away to watch a competition for a whole week. I'd like to go to Nationals or Skate America or something like that some day, but generally I'd rather pay for lessons and ice time. I went to Nationals for one day once, and I go to ice shows now and then, but that's pretty much it. All the other competitions I've ever been to were ones my daughter or I were competing in.

[looplover]

I never have and would love to!

I actually had tickets for the Torino olympics, ladies free skate - had to sell them because the travel expense was just way beyond my means! Would have been fun though. I'd love to go to Vancouver but now's not the time for that either, maybe the next one!

(I'm determined to go watch a winter olympics sometime - would really like to watch both men's and ladies' free)

[Isk8NYC]

I've never done that. I usually go to shows, not competitions. The only competitions I go to are for my kids or my students.

[Mrs Redboots]

Last year I went to every day of our National Championships, but we made a holiday of it. And a couple of years ago we went to the Karl Shafer Memorial Trophy in Vienna when friends of ours were skating at it - that was good, because there was no charge to spectators!

We would have loved to have celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary next month by going to Worlds in LA, but the price of the all-event tickets was eye-watering, and by the time you added in flights and hotels and so on, it simply couldn't be done. :cry: :cry:

[Sessy]

I've never done anything like that either.

In fact, SKATERS who PERFORM in the competitions at those multi-day events often end up sharing a hotel room, sleeping on a camping in a tent or caravan or camper truck or mobile home, or sleeping over at the house of some of the local skate club members if they're kind enough (and happen to know each other from some other event or camp).

In fact, in some other sports I know people who have even slept in their cars before and after competitions, because even the caravan or hotel-room sharing option would be too costly, and a car was more comfortable than a tent. I don't know if there's any skaters who do this, but I know a few people in long-distance running that do this.

It's simply too expensive otherwise!

[vesperholly]

I'm considering driving back and forth to Kitchener (2hrs each way) for Skate Canada rather than stay in a hotel. I usually bring as much of my own food as possible.

[flo]

You're one of us - you ARE a true on-ice skater.

Ive been to nationals and worlds, ant it can add up quickly. Plus, it's exhausting! I have also bought an all event ticket with friends and we split it up. That helps!

[Skittl1321]

I think most on ice skaters haven't done multiple day events. That's an off-ice skating fan sort of thing to do!

I think that would pretty awesome to do, but beside the cost of tickets, hotels, food, etc, I don't think I'd ever be able to get that time off work!

[Mrs Redboots]

I think most on ice skaters haven't done multiple day events. That's an off-ice skating fan sort of thing to do!

Oh, I dunno, Jessi - many of us have actually competed in multi-day events! Mountain Cup, our various Adult Championships (particularly the USFSA one, which lasts for 3 or 4 days)....

[Sessy]

I think most on ice skaters haven't done multiple day events. That's an off-ice skating fan sort of thing to do!


Indeed. With on-ice skaters everything - not just watching competitions, but also holiday plans and any other acquisitions are often like "Okay I can spend 1500 to go watch others skate in this competition/go on holiday/buy a new couch, or I can get an extra private lesson each week for that cost and skate myself. Hmm, I think I'll go with the private lessons" :twisted:

[Rusty Blades]

I have competed twice at (Canadian) Adult Nationals and it IS expensive to fly off somewhere for most of the week. As a matter of fact I am skipping this year because of the expense.

I like to get there a couple of days before the competition to acclimatize, find out where everything is, and hopefully get some practice at the competition venue before it closes down for the competition. I also stay around to cheer for the other skaters until the event is over. Since I have been competing, it has been my ONLY holiday for the year.

Of the others I know, many share rooms and even do some cooking in the room. Some fly in the day before their event and fly out right after to save on hotel and meals.

Personally I like the experience of being there early and being a part of the whole event.

[RachelSk8er]

US Nationals were in my hometown a few weeks ago, my home rink was the practice rink, but quite frankly, my company didn't have our usual corporate suite at the arena for this event like we do for other things, and I didn't feel like shelling out $$ to go watch something I could see for free in high-def on TV while wrapped up in a blanket on the couch.

When it comes down to it, if I had the extra $$ to spend, I'd rather put it toward my own skating--extra ice time, extra lessons, doing more competitions or more events at the competitions I go to, etc. I've done many synchro nationals as a competitor and so far 2 adult nationals, but I did go to synchro nationals one year when I was on hiatus from skating and went to synchro worlds to watch twice (Ottawa, ON in 03 and London ON in 07), but I either went with friends and hotel/gas were split, had friends in the area to stay with, etc.

[singerskates]

For Adult skating events I'm an on ice skater and it varies from 1 day events, to 2 day events and once a year a week event (Skate Canada Adult Championships). For the 2 day events, I usually share a room with a skating buddy and I drive up and back from the competition and pay for all my meals, gas, competition entry fees and half of the hotel room cost. For Adult Canadians up until 2007, except for 2006 in Ottawa when I was sick and couldn't go, I would fly to the competition with my husband (2 sets of plane fares, car rental, full cost of a week of hotel, full cost of meals, cost of extra practice ice before official registration of my first official practice, competition registration fees and day trips). 2008 Adult Canadians was cheaper for me because I didn't have to fly, my husband stayed home and I shared a room with a local skating buddy.

But for Elite skating events such as Grand Prix, Elite Skate Canada Nationals and US Nationals, 4CC, Worlds and the Olympics, I mostly watch on TV instead of taking the time and cash to go see it. I also watch some of it online. Vary rarely do I spend the money to go watch a competition in person because I'd rather save my money for my own competitions. I have gone to a few competitions as a fan but never when I'd have to fly to them.

I've also gone a few elite competitions where I was an official volunteer for the event but I still had to take care of my own accommadations and some of my meals.

[Skittl1321]

Oh, I dunno, Jessi - many of us have actually competed in multi-day events! Mountain Cup, our various Adult Championships (particularly the USFSA one, which lasts for 3 or 4 days)....

Competing in and watching are different things! I've gone to a competition that lasted more than one day, and therefore required staying a hotel- but even still I didn't stay in a hotel for all the days the competition ran, and I've never bought an all event pass to go to a competition to watch all the days. And I can't think of any adult skaters I know personally who have.

[Sessy]

I've also gone a few elite competitions where I was an official volunteer for the event but I still had to take care of my own accommadations and some of my meals.

Which is actually a great way to see a competition. At the Dutch nationals last year in my hometown I also volunteered and despite having to get up at ungodly hours it was SO much fun. And we got unlimited coffee and tea for free and could take whatever the skaters didn't eat up (we put fresh sandwiches in the dressing rooms thrice a day and removed the old ones). We were only occupied maybe 50% of the time or so. Also when I told our coordinator that "Oh I really want to go see this-and-this" she arranged that somebody covered for me so I could see the entire event. In turn, some of the other volunteers wanted to see their kids and kids' competition skate, so I had to cover for them so everybody got to watch what they most wanted to see. And the last day, my duties were basically to babysit the sweeping girls and boys (you know, the ones that pick up the flowers and fluffies and candy the audience throws) inbetween their sweeps, so I could do that while watching most of the competition.

The great part about volunteering (especially catering, like I did) is that you get a pass to go anywhere - the judges, the dressing rooms, the soundroom and so you get to see a lot of the stuff you'll never really see otherwise - how elite skaters warm up, how they stretch, what their coaches tell them, how they do off-ice jumps, dry lifts, how they argue... LOL. And, if you even remotely know some of the skaters personally you can chat them up for some great behind-the-scenes gossips. :twisted:

It is a bit hectic though, especially when things suddenly go wrong and you have to improvise or when you suddenly get yelled at to "Finally get this fixed right NOW!" by some stressed-out skating rink employee for something you're not even responsible for and you don't know anything about. :lol: You have to be able to handle that.

[blue111moon]

I do the spectator thing a lot - US Nationals every year, Skate America when it's on the East Coast, and the European adult competitions as a competitior. But I have a good job and I can afford it. If I couldn't afford it, I wouldn't go. While there are ways to cut costs - sharing a room, hunting up cheap air fares way ahead of time, etc., the fact is that that kind of travel is expensive and a lot of people don't do it for that reason. For me, it's just how I choose to spend my vacations and I give up other things (new car, new clothes, etc.) in order to do it.

Which Is why I'm glad I didn't get any tickets in the Vancover Olympics lottery. If I had, I'd have to give up ALL my other trips for probably two years in order to do just that one.

[Mrs Redboots]

Competing in and watching are different things! I've gone to a competition that lasted more than one day, and therefore required staying a hotel- but even still I didn't stay in a hotel for all the days the competition ran, and I've never bought an all event pass to go to a competition to watch all the days. And I can't think of any adult skaters I know personally who have.
You know me! Okay, only to the British Championships in Sheffield - we made a little holiday out of it last year and were there for all three (or was it four?) days. And the Karl Schaefer Memorial Trophy in Vienna three years ago, but that didn't actually charge spectators (brilliant, that was!) so doesn't really count.

Three or four of my friends have trained as video people, which means they get to go to our equivalent of Regionals and quite often to our Nationals for free, but have to do the video cutting and stuff like that. The trouble with volunteering generally is that sods' law you'd end up somewhere behind the scenes and never see a single skater on the ice! Fine if you knew you'd be gate steward or announcing or something - less good to be on the reception desk all week!

We're slightly fed up as it's just been announced that our friends will be competing at Worlds, after all (yay them!), and we realise we have fallen between the worst possible stools - we couldn't afford to go and watch the World Championships, not all the way to Los Angeles, so we've booked a trip to Paris to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary instead - and are not sure how much, if any, coverage there will be. The hotel probably won't have Eurosport! :( Ah well.....