Hallmark Skaters Championship Ticket Info

[Teenes]

The Hallmark Skaters Championship will be a pro-am competition in two parts on one day (1:00PM and 7:00PM) at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH on Dec. 14, 2002. Confirmed skaters as of now are Alexei Yagudin, Todd Eldredge, Jamie Sale & David Pelletier, Ina & Zimmerman, Sarah Hughes, Yuka Sato, and Nicole Bobek. The evening portion of the competition will be broadcast live on NBC, while the afternoon portion is still TBD (live or not/when to air).

Tickets for the Hallmark Skaters Championship go on sale on 9/9 @10AM, with an Internet presale beginning 9/2 @10AM through Ticketmaster.

You can get individual tickets for the afternoon (1:00PM) or evening session (7:00PM) for $39-$74 or tickets for both sessions for $59-$124.

Here are the Ticketmaster links:
Both session tickets (https://ticketing.ticketmaster.com/cgi/purchasePage.asp?event_id=50035108FBB136E&artistid=839533&majorcatid=10003&minorcatid=22)
Afternoon session tickets (https://ticketing.ticketmaster.com/cgi/purchasePage.asp?event_id=500350ABC0B31B5&artistid=839533&majorcatid=10003&minorcatid=22)
Evening session tickets (https://ticketing.ticketmaster.com/cgi/purchasePage.asp?event_id=50035108ED312BF&artistid=839533&majorcatid=10003&minorcatid=22)

In other news, tickets for the Canadian Open (skaters unknown aside from Alexei Yagudin, Takeshi Honda, Ina & Zimmerman, and Sale & Pelletier) go on sale 10/19. The Canadian Open is taking place Dec. 6-7 at the Centrium Arena in Red Deer, AB.

And now, shameless plug for my website. For more information on this, and other pro/pro-am events and competitions this season, visit my 2002-2003 events page: http://www.kurtfiles.com/events0203.php

(Edited because the information on Ticketmaster has changed since this morning)
(Edited 9/6 to include more skaters for the Canadian Open)

[Lavender Girl]

Is this in place of the usual Washington DC event or will there be a separate pro competition in DC?? I liked this event better as an all pro event. :(

[Teenes]

Yeah, this is the same event that was in DC last year, which was the IMG event that basically took over for the SFX/Candid World Pro. A recent Blades on Ice article said that ClearChannel is interested in starting up the World Pro again sometime in the future, but not this season....

I prefer this event as an all-pro event as well, but I prefer it as a pro-am than to not have it exist at all. And I think from a marketing/profit-making standpoint, they have a vested interest in getting some of the more current "big names" like Alexei Yagudin, and the on-the-fence about turning pro skaters like Todd Eldredge since many of the crop of pro skaters they used to draw from are less and less interested in competing these days...

The only all pro event I know about now is Ice Wars, Nov. 14 at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH - it's going to be aired on CBS and I believe they've got Brian Boitano and Kurt Browning both coming back for that one...

[Gail]

Thanks Teenes for keeping us so well informed. I, too, prefer this as a pro competition, and I do hope Kurt will partake in it. Looking forward to Ice Wars, and can't wait to see what new programs Kurt has in store for us.

[Teenes]

Sarah Hughes and Ina & Zimmerman are now officially confirmed by IMG for the Hallmark Skaters Championship.

Gail, I'd love to see Kurt at this competition as well - last I've heard, he's undecided about it so it's not a definite no yet. Not a definite yes either =P. Same goes for Canadian Open...

[Jaana]

Teenes, what is the URL of confirmed skaters by IMG for Halmark Skaters Championships, please?

Marjaana

[Teenes]

Marjaana - there isn't an official URL of confirmed skaters. I've been getting the information directly from someone at IMG.

Speaking of which, the evening portion of the competition will be televised live. Afternoon portion TBD (whether it'll be live or not and when it'll air if it's not).

[Ania]

Teenes, do you know which events will be held in the evening and which in the afternoon?
Thanks

[Teenes]

Forgot to mention the station - it'll be televised on NBC.

Ania - I don't have any concrete information about what will be in each portion of the competition, but if it's like it was last year, then the afternoon portion will have the technical programs (or whatever they call them at the pro-am) and the evening portion will have the artistic.

[KellieLopez]

Here is a link to the Nationswide Arena site that will give y'all some more (not much) info. about the Hallmark Championships.


More Hallmark Information (http://www.nationwidearena.com/schedule/news/disp_release.php?id=116)


Kellie

Todd Eldredge Website:
ToddEldredge.net (http://www.toddeldredge.net)

[Teenes]

Thanks Kellie. I've updated the original message to include two new confirmed skaters for Canadian Open - Takeshi Honda and I&Z.

[Josef]

Ugh. This event sounds more and more awful as we get more info. NO ICE DANCE??? SHORT PROGRAM/INTERPRETIVE FREE??? So much for the "World Pro" atmosphere.. Now it sounds just like another pro-am to me. Bleah.