http://ethicalgourmet.blogspot.ca/20...inary-map.html
"The event audience is female (90%) ages 35-50+, with a post- secondary education (88%) and a high level of disposable income"
I know many of you have college degrees, but I didnt realize you folks were so wealthy! I wonder what 50 plus means?
Is that something like me being "extreamly late 50s?"
Well, remember that this article is only talking about people who are attending world's, not skating fans in general. It makes sense that people who can afford to attend worlds are people with more disposable income than the average person, or the average fan for that matter!
Yes, that is very true....you have to be able to take time off from work or be retired also....and the events are very expensive when you think about transportation, hotels, tickets.....but I do question the 90 percent female....many women drag....errr...encourage their husbands, etc to come along...Looking at my pics from Omaha Nats,I would say 75-80 percent female attendance, at least in the US.
Here is a pic from SA 2008
http://i1217.photobucket.com/albums/.../SKAM08194.jpg
Originally Posted by britebells
Yeah. I wanted to go to skate Canada (a far more humble event) and while I had the money to do it, I could not get the time off work. To be able to go to these events is really a privilege and and a luxury in my opinion- I am very jealous of those of you who are able to get to several of them a year!
Yeah these events are not cheap! Hard to go to skating events when you also want to do things like replace the flooring in your house (ah, homeownership!), work conferences or travels/family visits. Before you say "but you can do Skating + travel, I'd to point out that at Skate America, I barely had enough time to go out and go to my friend's wedding reception that weekend.
Is anyone going from massachusetts? I wonder what a rt ticket is to Ontario from Boston. It is so frustrating to want to go but have no one to take you. Planning ahead and findingsomeone is impossible. To be able to just decide and get on a plane is a dream I cannot attain. I care less about fancy restaurants. I'd just love to see this years wordls. The ladies event has spectacular skaters -imagine if all do pretty well, it will be majestic. Yuna, Mao, Caro, Ashley, Akiko, the Russians, Osmond, Goldie (fingers crossed). This is a wonderful world event. The top ice dancers. This will be the best event until the GP final next year then Olympic Games. I've missed it all. I would be so excited to be at worlds after seeing so much skaing last few years on the internet. I want to see for myself the speed that Caro, Chan and other top skaters have. I have never seen a big event. I wonder which GSers are going? Sounds heavenly...
Try one of the touring groups- which is your best chance of a hotel and tickets at this point. You still have to travel on your own, all else is taken care of, including transport to the arenas. Dash and Uniworld are the ones listed on the London site. It's very late, but there might be a cancellation. There are probably many ways to fly to London, but you seem a bit nervous about that, so I would suggest Porter Airlines - which flies to the heart of down town Toronto, has flights from Boston. You can check their website for prices, but they are certainly competitive. The airport is tiny and manageable. There`s a shuttle to the Royal York Hotel which has a tunnel under it to Union Station, where you can catch a train to London-- about a three hour comfortable trip. The cost of the travel would probably be between 5 and 6 hundred. the cost of tickets and hotel will shoot that to around four thousand.
Will you be at Boston 2014? That would be much cheeper for you, I suspect. Worlds is a $3000 to $4000 expense, even for crappy seats.....that can be cut down somewhat by shareing rooms, cheep eating, etc but it still is an expensive event. I know you want to see the international skaters, but at nats either in Greensboro or Boston if you live near there, you get lots of bang for your buck. If you never have been to a major event, that is what I would do. BTW, planning one to two years ahead is what one MUST do at those prices and ticket availability. Sure, anyone could go to worlds at the last minute if they have a bucket full of money, or Greensboro at the last minute if they dont care about the front row. I think 4 conts and SA are great events to see International skaters and who knows? Maybe they will come east again this year. They are relatively inexpensive compared to Nats and worlds and are more fun than a barrel of monkies...Just ask Doris and Mrs. P.
They probably miscounted a few males in there.
I don't know why you are so shocked that older, richer, probably retired women watch Worlds in person. Who do you think can afford to fly out to Canada, Japan, Russia, Italy, etc, pay for a hotel, transportation, and food, and purchase those tickets? And get time off of work for several days, no less. Furthermore, it comes only once a year, so you really need to plan this at least 1 year in advance. It's a luxury event.
That isnt what shocks me....I am just sayin' that after 15 events, I see a few more males than they do. Sure , some of them are drag alongs, but some of us really like to go. I see Clarence and Paul and Howard and Sam and Andy and John, etc at events cause we want to go.....and an amazing number of young Japanese women.....and very few Japanese men.
If anyone were going alone from Boston even to the ladies event and gala, last, i'd defray some expenses. I don't care what I charge. I just wanna go. This former world traveler wannabe loves skating. Only other place I'd wish to be is Rome to welcome the new Pope. If only...
Well, no surprise
Haha, I guess some men do show up. I'm just speculating, but I don't expect figure skating's target demographic to ever exceed 15% male. It's like dance and gymnastics - a woman's domain. Which is funny because all three of those things used to be only for men, but times change
Well Mr. P was nice enough to go to Skate America with me and even was some what engaged with the competition.
Bouncing off what Chris said, I do recommend Skate America (or Skate Canada if you live close to a Canadian city) as a good alternative to Worlds, especially if the city is within driving distance to where you live (which it was for me). It was the perfect competition to dip my feet into. There's only 10 skaters in men's and ladies and 8 pairs/dance so the sessions aren't as long, which is great for someone like my husband who isn't really a skating fan.
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