They used to be called ISI National Championships

Any thing anyone has to say is appreciated.

maybe i should clarify.

anyone went in past? kid friendly? adult friendly? waste of time? really fun?

Called Nationals in the past.
I realized I should ask here.

Anything to say about it? Anybody going? kid friendly? adult friendly? waste of time? great experience? any comments bucause I really don't know what to ask that would be important.

I skated at ISI Nationals years ago in Dallas, TX but I've never been the ISI Worlds. This is the second year in a row in Boston, right?

Most ISI competitions are fun and exciting.

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The website says it was formally called Nationals. And yes, I think the site said it's the second time in Boston.

When I skated, they had ISI US Nationals as well as Worlds. I have a silver and a bronze (maybe two?) from the ISI Nats in Dallas. I never really skated USFSA or took more than the intro tests. The ISI was a better option for a young adult who wasn't at a high level.

The ISI owned the LTS market in the US up until when the USFSA woke up and launched Basic Skills. Many skating directors are former USFSA skaters, so they prefer it over the ISI with their "one big trick" in each skating level.

ISI made great inroads with their program in Asia, but has been losing market share to ISU-patterned programs for the past 10 years or so. I guess it's cheaper to have it in the US. They probably got a break on the cost, having it two years in a row. Given the US Dollar's exchange rate, it might be less expensive for international travelers, too.

I think Singapore is one of the last overseas countries using the ISI program and it's probably going to change over now that their ISU trial status has been extended.

I'm sure they still attract skaters from overseas at the higher levels and of course adult age groups.

I'm not sure if they still do test sessions in conjunction with their competitions, but see if you can find out. The highest level freestyle and dance tests require special test sessions. Very exciting to watch.

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It's actually in Marlboro, which is about 25 miles west of Boston.

I competed in it a few years ago when it was here - broken tailbone made it memorable. I don't know if I'll do it this year; my rink is ISI (insurance is cheaper for them) so my club gives members both USFS and ISI memberships. But the ISI events are so different and restrictve compared to the USFS ones. I don't know if it's worth retooling programs just for one competition.

Are you talking about ISI Worlds?

My DD has skated in them for the past few years -

2007 in Chicago
2008 in Denver
2009 in San Jose

We are going to Boston this year. Next year it will be in Minnesota at our home rink.

We find it to be very friendly and festive. My DD has made 1-3 new friends each time she has gone - from different parts of the country and world (Singapore). There is a group of special skaters from Texas that everyone cheers on. They are the sweetest girls.

In past, the groups have been small (6 or less) so that every skater gets a medal. My DD really enjoys the "surprise" events. They are a lot of fun and usually only $10. It is a surprise as to what they have to do. It's usually some type of race for lower levels. For higher levels, it's skating related. FS4/5's had to do as many loop jumps in a row as they could or played a game of add-on. For the highest level kids, they picked a skill level out of a hat (Pre-Alpha - FS 8) and do 2 of the skills. It was fun because many of them had forgotten what the skills were for the low levels. It is totally random and very fun.

There is a lot of pin trading going on the beginning of the week. My DD has tons of pins on her zuca bag from trading.

They have a parade and a party on Wednesday. The parade is fun and teams usually wear matching shirts and have a banner. The party is okay - we did the one in Chicago and skipped Denver (record heat & was way too hot!) and San Jose. I heard the Boston one will be a harbor cruise so we will probably do that one.

The first year my DD did 3 events and we had a lot of time to enjoy Chicago. The past 2 years she has been doing 8-9 events. That is just too much. So she's going to scale back this year so we can have more of a vacation and enjoy Boston.

I don't know too much about Adult events. I think they just register for any event and get put into their own category. I see many adults skating and it was in Denver that my DD's coach started on me to start skating. I may do the Bronze FS in Boston. I have done only USFS competitions and tests so I have to get my test levels all worked out with my rink management.

Did that give you what you are looking for? If you have specific questions, I'd be happy to answer them if I can.

Yes! You gave me a lot of information. I am looking into it for my DD. She would be beta I think. It is driving distance for us. Is it OK for someone at the low level? I don't want to overwhelm her.

The cool thing is that is for people of all ages and skills. Not sure how far a drive it is for you, but you could do a couple events to try it out. People just seem friendlier that at other competitions we've been too. Most kids enjoy the pin trading.

what is pin trading?

Most rinks have a special small metal pins. They trade them with kids from other rinks.

It is definately okay for someone at the low level. My two oldest kids competed at the event in Chicago in 2007. It was only my daughter's second ever solo competition, she was 7 and she skated Beta. She had a blast! My son was only five and also really enjoyed himself.

We really enjoyed the whole event and thought about trying to go again this summer, but finances do not allow it. I am looking forward to it coming back to the midwest again.

I'm probably going to do Artistic Challenge or Winter Classic next year instead, if time and money cooperate.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

What are they? I don't know much about ISI - I should probably join, though.

Artistic Challenge is an ISI national competition with NO freestyle, it's just artistic events. I've never done the event, so it should be interesting. It's in Chicago, so it's drivable.

Winter Classic is another national event, and it's being hosted by my old club/rink in the St. Louis suburbs so it's one I definitely want to do. Being a transition year test-wise, it may be fun to do ISI and visit with my old friends, although some of those little girls I used to skate with are not little anymore!

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

I would greatly appreciate any information on the ISI Artistic Challenge. I don't see any rules online. What do the competition categories mean? How long can the programs be? Are props allowed? Is there backstage warmup? Do people lipsynch?

Ice Skating Institute has a variety of events as it caters to the recreational skater rather than the serious competitor going for international competition. I always thought that ISI was more flexible in its events. In some cases it seemed to be out ahead of USFSA, what with its family events, artistic events etc. ISI (as I understand it) is actually a rink organization--they really seem to go out of their way to make skating fun for the recreational skater in order to get people in the rinks. Certainly, my last rink (ISI) was more group hug than cut-throat.

You can download their magazine here. That might be informative on some of the past competitioms.

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Great forum quotes:
On Falling: '...it doesn't matter, it's what you do AFTER you fall that's more important' ISK8NYC

I am not reading the rules but artistic is just what is says. Artistic programs. No, I have never heard of backstage warmup. Usually a 4 or 5 minute warmup. No props in Artistic, just spotlight.No, people dont lipsynch.
No extra credit for jumps, just artistry.
HTH

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http://www.youtube.com/user/alaskanmom

I skated in the first Artistic challenge, and they have artistic, spotlight (several kinds) and interp. It's really lots of fun.

BTW, in 2011 ISI Adult Nationals will be at TBSA Oldsmar in Florida - it's a great rink and just about 20 minutes from Pinellas County Gulf Beaches. I skate there a few mornings a week, and it's a great rink with new ice just now being put down in one of the 2 surfaces.