View Full Version : 4CC - Attendance Issues? *Spoilers*
Isk8NYC
02-22-2007, 02:22 PM
I just read a Reuters article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070222/lf_nm/figure_skating_popularity_dc_1) that said the Four Continents Championship in Colorado had some attendance issues and some tickets were sold for $5. I had thought attendance was outstanding at that competition, but I guess I mixed it up with the US Nats.
Here's an innovation:
To help educate fans, the ISU tested a pilot project at the Four Continents distributing 300 small radios, at a cost of roughly $8 apiece, to spectators who could listen to ISU technical specialists explain moves, judging and other nuances as the competition unfolded. I want one! LOL
Any thoughts?
WeirFan06
02-22-2007, 02:45 PM
I just read a Reuters article (http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070222/lf_nm/figure_skating_popularity_dc_1) that said the Four Continents Championship in Colorado had some attendance issues and some tickets were sold for $5. I had thought attendance was outstanding at that competition, but I guess I mixed it up with the US Nats.
Here's an innovation:
I want one! LOL
Any thoughts?
I was at that competition with a friend who was competing in ice dance, and it's true... the attendance was abysmal at best. Not just for dance (I expected dance attendance to be low) but for everything. Even the men's and women's final, and the exhibitions had HUGE chunks of seating empty. The only thing I could think of was that the Colorado Springs locals are pretty ice skated out, if you know what I mean. There's a lot of winter sports emphasis there, so maybe they just don't consider these kinds of competitions a big deal or something.
As for those radio things... I was at that competition every day and didn't hear one thing about it. I probably wouldn't have gotten one anyway, but if those were there I wasn't even aware of it. Sounds fun for people who are tecnhically minded though :)
Anyway, I hope they have that competition somewhere else next year. I can't imagine they would have it in Co. Springs again. Hopefully they'll have it somewhere where people will come and be enthusiastic!!!
Anyway, I hope they have that competition somewhere else next year. I can't imagine they would have it in Co. Springs again. Hopefully they'll have it somewhere where people will come and be enthusiastic!!!
Doesn't the 4CC's move around year to year, like Nationals? Maybe they should go to Spokane for a couple of years. Nationals attendance was blockbuster there!
PAskate
02-22-2007, 04:28 PM
Doesn't the 4CC's move around year to year, like Nationals? Maybe they should go to Spokane for a couple of years. Nationals attendance was blockbuster there!
4C's is supposed to rotate among various countries just like Euros and Worlds. However for 2007, no one wanted to host 4C's. Ultimately, USFS stepped up and offered to host it again in Colorado Springs.
WeirFan06
02-22-2007, 11:25 PM
Doesn't the 4CC's move around year to year, like Nationals? Maybe they should go to Spokane for a couple of years. Nationals attendance was blockbuster there!
Yeah, I was talking to the mom of another one of the dance competitors in Colorado who said that in Spokane they could see the arena from their hotel room, and that there was a line around the block for novice compulsory dance! I said that either Spokane has REALLY enthusiastic skating fans... or people didn't really understand what compulsory dance was!! Anyway, I think any place would be better for 4CC's than Co. Springs. Nothing personal against Springs, of course. I heard the crowd in Korea three years ago was really good. I saw online today that all the tickets for Worlds in Japan are sold out already too... the asian countries seem to really enjoy their skating. Probably too much of a generalization (though I wouldn't consider it a bad one)... but that's what it seems like anyway.
Oracle
02-23-2007, 11:02 AM
I didn't get over to Spokane for Nationals this year but have attended COI & SOI shows there in past years & whenever I was in the audience, the arena was at least 95 % full. As to Colorado Springs, didn't they host Skate America for 5 straight years? The locals may be tired of skating.
DreamSkates
02-23-2007, 05:45 PM
I was shocked and disappointed at the 4CC's attendance, from what I could see through my TV screen. Wow, has interest dwindled that much? That feels kinda scary for the future of skating, and seeing it on TV.
WeirFan06
02-24-2007, 04:27 AM
I was shocked and disappointed at the 4CC's attendance, from what I could see through my TV screen. Wow, has interest dwindled that much? That feels kinda scary for the future of skating, and seeing it on TV.
Eh, I really think it was just the location. Other areas seem to be doing fine with attendance... though there hasn't been a really big scandal for some time now. That always gets people interested :roll:
Eh, I really think it was just the location. Other areas seem to be doing fine with attendance... though there hasn't been a really big scandal for some time now. That always gets people interested :roll:
What is sad about what you said, WeirFan, is that it is soooooo true!
Figure skating is so beautiful and exciting. Yet the only way to drag in the masses is to smack a homely girl on the knee with a big stick? :??
Did the people who were not fans just tune in to see if this "whacking" thing was done on a regular basis? 8-)
loveskating
02-25-2007, 09:54 AM
Eh, I really think it was just the location. Other areas seem to be doing fine with attendance... though there hasn't been a really big scandal for some time now. That always gets people interested :roll:
The 'scandal' at SLC turned Americans off to skating. Sure as heck turned me off.
Getting people interested for a few days or weeks does not mean they will stick around...to the contrary, once people are convinced something is a farce, and once decent people are pained by the experience of "scandal" or deamonization etc. they turn off and opt out.
Bullies always wind up in the playground all alone unless they have a captive audience, like at school
...once people are convinced something is a farce, and once decent people are pained by the experience of "scandal" or deamonization etc. they turn off and opt out.
That is a great point, I never thought of that.
I guess it is the same way I look at American Idol. I have slight suspicions that things may not be totally on the up-and-up with the voting. But I will stick around until I find out otherwise. Any proof that the show is fixed will prevent me from ever watching again... :giveup:
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