Any one got any ideas on the practice ice schedule yet ??
I don't remember how that was set up last year. I think I paid for practice ice but don't know anything about it yet.

I haven't received anything about it yet.

It was a zoo last year....it was almost as if they didn't expect people to purchase practice ice at the event.

I can't purchase ice ahead of time...because of the nature of my job (I'm a flying commuter), I can't make my travel arrangements more than 6-8 weeks ahead of time (because I don't know what city I'm coming from). We got there Tues am to practice (assuming you could buy on from the ice monitor). We discovered that the "practice ice office" was closed until 1 pm, and a line of people who want to buy on practice ice. Very inefficient.

Again, travel kept me from getting practice ice early. I decided it would be better to practice at home (on empty ice) in the morning and get a later flight than get there early for a crowded practice ice. As it turns out, I can practice Wed all day--no q-round for Bronze I!

At least the W/U's this year arent' at 6am EST--I felt so bad for the Pac Coast skaters....

My coach is now having to travel with her 14 year old twins. They will be there the full week. They are National level competitors and will need to train while they are in Kansas. Does anyone know of nearby rinks where they will be able to get ice time?

Good news for me, these guys always seem to be able to fix my axel when their mom can't!

Wow, I think it's great she's taking them with her and giving them first-hand exposure to the adult skating scene. They will have a blast!

I totally agree! Larry Halliday has brought one of his students to a couple of the ANs and now that this student is 19 he is interested in competing in some of the adult competitions. He did sign up for the Young Adults category at Mids, but unfortunately no one else signed up. It's great exposure of these young uns'!

As far as the practice ice situation at Lake Placid, they really need to update their system. 2004 was run very much the same way as 2000 and it was a big mess then. As nice as a facility as LP is, I was very disappointed at how antiquated their systems are. I don't know if this is due to funding problems or what, but their current set up is unacceptable imho.

I believe that one of the Ann Arbor organizers (I know who it is, but I don't know if he wants his name used) wrote the software that AA used when they ran AN the third time(maybe the 2nd time, too, but I can't remember). Very slick program! This program should be instituted for all the ANs, if not other competitions. I don't know if this has been proposed, but it should be!

They will have a great time. They have always been very respectful of all adult skaters. Even though they are working on their triples they still take the time to help me with my single axel!

Their Mom has already found plenty of ice time for them at nearby rinks. So they are set for the week!