Random Figure Skating Questions

Amei · May 4, 2014

ruffledgrouse said:
The TSA keeps changing the rules. I know there was that poor ice dancer a few years ago that had to compete in rental skates after the airline forced her to check hers and then lost them. But I took a flight a month ago and was surprised to learn that they do allow figure skates as carry-ons.

Here's the TSA link; it says figure skates are ok to carry on under sporting goods (but ski poles are not??? Oh, TSA...): http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/prohibited-items

Found an article and video on the ice dancer, Jordan Noelle. They didn't just lose her skates, they lost ALL her equipment. The costume she's wearing was borrowed from one of the vendors on site.

http://figureskating.about.com/od/c...ates-She-Competes-Anyway-In-Rental-Skates.htm , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hroBU9ZCzw

So somebody can bring ice skates with essentially a knife on the bottom, but my 5 ounce bottle of hairgel gets confiscated :bang:

Sam-Skwantch · May 4, 2014

But us regular folks are usually not as cute and cuddly looking as the average skater.

Pamigena · May 5, 2014

Seems like a stupid question, so I'll just ask here

How hard exactly is it to get good tickets for the GPF? And about how much would an All Event ticket cost? (just an approximate range if that's possible)
Because right now I'm in random "book a flight"-mode and I just know that I would kick myself if I booked a flight without even knowing how the chances are of me actually getting a good seat (I have zero idea what I'm doing here so I'd appreciate some pointers

)

noskates · May 5, 2014

Pamina, I've found through the years that it's a bit more costly but going with a tour group (Dash, Silver Blades, etc.) will always ensure you get good seats. We've used Dash for a Skate Canada, 2 Worlds and 2 Nationals and always had what we asked for. We like to be center ice, on the aisle and about 9 rows up. If you're any closer to the ice it's difficult to see the far corners.

jorex · May 5, 2014

~Pamina~ said:
Seems like a stupid question, so I'll just ask here
How hard exactly is it to get good tickets for the GPF? And about how much would an All Event ticket cost? (just an approximate range if that's possible)

+1

i m curious too !

skatedreamer · May 5, 2014

Amei said:
So somebody can bring ice skates with essentially a knife on the bottom, but my 5 ounce bottle of hairgel gets confiscated

I was just about to type basically the exact same thing -- aagh! But if it's logic you want, the TSA probably isn't the best place to look... :eek:

hwell:

Many years ago when I played flute seriously, I was always grateful that my instrument was small enough that carrying it in the cabin wasn't an issue. Still feel sorry for cellists and double bass players etc., some of whom have been known to buy an actual seat for their instruments, especially for extremely valuable ones. For a skater, consigning their skates to the luggage hold has to be just as harrowing as being separated from one's cello. The one difference I can think of is that presumably you can replace boots and blades relatively easily, although breaking them in is another story. And there's nothing easy about competing with borrowed equipment!

Come to think of it, the blade issue has me wondering about professional chefs, who cherish their knives as much as any pair of skates or musical instrument. Now imagining a set of Henckels going through a metal detector....yikes!

Vanshilar · May 5, 2014

Eh you know, that's not always foolproof, not only because of TSA but also because of customs, although it's usually with checked luggage.

For example, earlier this year Boujemaa Razgui got 13 handcrafted flutes destroyed by customs. He makes them himself out of bamboo. Customs said his bags had "agricultural material" and took them all, and said they were destroyed. After 9/11, Krystian Zimerman who's a world-renowned pianist had his Steinway grand (!) confiscated and destroyed because some inspector said the glue used to hold the piano together "smelled like explosives". He was flying in for a concert and obviously not pleased. Nowadays he ships the parts separately, leaving an empty piano case in the U.S. to put them in when he arrives; he's also a piano technician so he can put the piano together himself.

skatedreamer · May 5, 2014

Vanshilar -- thanks (I think) for the extraordinary stories. :jaw:

I will never again feel sorry for myself re: shampoo & cosmetics when traveling!

For anyone who's interested, here's a link w/ more details about Boujemaa Razgui:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivec...s-or-stolen-whatever-happened-flutes-are-gone

As for Zimerman, :jaw:

again. There are no words...

VirMo · May 5, 2014

Is it true that Mao's Bells of Moscow program was originally made for Kwan? It would have been fantastic had Kwan skated that program..

Pamigena · May 6, 2014

noskates said:
Pamina, I've found through the years that it's a bit more costly but going with a tour group (Dash, Silver Blades, etc.) will always ensure you get good seats. We've used Dash for a Skate Canada, 2 Worlds and 2 Nationals and always had what we asked for. We like to be center ice, on the aisle and about 9 rows up. If you're any closer to the ice it's difficult to see the far corners.

thanks for the tip, noskates

I'll look into that

concorde · May 6, 2014

Back to the skates on airlines. Yes - skates can be carried on but the individual TSA person at the airport can require the skates to be put in the checked luggage. It is very airport specific.

Awhile back I was told that whenever Team USA skates internationally, they carry an authorization letter from USFSA that they can give to the airlines if case of a problem.

Icey · May 6, 2014

VirMo said:
Is it true that Mao's Bells of Moscow program was originally made for Kwan? It would have been fantastic had Kwan skated that program..

Tarasova choreographed Bells of Moscow for Kwan for the Olympics, but I don't know if the one for Mao and Kwan had the same choreography

composer · May 6, 2014

A little off topic... What do skaters do with all the presents they get?

skatedreamer · May 6, 2014

composer said:
A little off topic... What do skaters do with all the presents they get?

IIRC, the stuffed toys are often donated to children's hospitals and similar places. Someone please correct if this is off-base.

I seem to be getting rather active in this thread. That sort of scares me, considering that it's called "stupid questions..." :biggrin:

composer · May 6, 2014

@skatedreamer thank you! I appreciate your answer. And this is actually one of my favorite threads, I've learnt so much here.

ovaskater · May 6, 2014

This is airline specific actually, if you aren't a member of team USA and are traveling to a competition United and American require skates to be checked (sharp blades). Our local synchro team traveled to nationals and had to check their skates.

skatedreamer · May 7, 2014

composer said:
@skatedreamer thank you! I appreciate your answer. And this is actually one of my favorite threads, I've learnt so much here.

My pleasure! Always happy to share a bit of esoteric information... :laugh:

Panpie · May 8, 2014

Vanshilar said:
Eh you know, that's not always foolproof, not only because of TSA but also because of customs, although it's usually with checked luggage.

For example, earlier this year Boujemaa Razgui got 13 handcrafted flutes destroyed by customs. He makes them himself out of bamboo. Customs said his bags had "agricultural material" and took them all, and said they were destroyed. After 9/11, Krystian Zimerman who's a world-renowned pianist had his Steinway grand (!) confiscated and destroyed because some inspector said the glue used to hold the piano together "smelled like explosives". He was flying in for a concert and obviously not pleased. Nowadays he ships the parts separately, leaving an empty piano case in the U.S. to put them in when he arrives; he's also a piano technician so he can put the piano together himself.

I guess this shows my ignorance, but it does makes sense in that other musicians typically ship/bring their own instruments to concerts. It never occurred to me that a concert pianist would have to ship a piano to his or her destination. I just assumed that they would have to play whatever piano the concert venue had available. I further assumed that the concert venue pretty much always had one of the top brands. Is shipping a specific piano to a venue common for concert pianists to do, or is Mr. Zimerman a particular case because he is a piano technician? I'm sorry, I know my question is not about skating, but now my curiosity is piqued.

Vanshilar · May 8, 2014

Panpie said:
I guess this shows my ignorance, but it does makes sense in that other musicians typically ship/bring their own instruments to concerts. It never occurred to me that a concert pianist would have to ship a piano to his or her destination. I just assumed that they would have to play whatever piano the concert venue had available. I further assumed that the concert venue pretty much always had one of the top brands. Is shipping a specific piano to a venue common for concert pianists to do, or is Mr. Zimerman a particular case because he is a piano technician? I'm sorry, I know my question is not about skating, but now my curiosity is piqued.

Oh for more portable instruments (violin, cello, etc.) yes the musicians typically take their own instrument with them. For a piano though, no -- the vast majority of pianists play whatever is available at the venue (although there are programs such as the Steinway Artists program where the piano manufacturer will arrange for one of their own brand to be available, for brand visibility). Zimerman takes his own piano because he's a piano technician and also because he wants to deliver the perfect sound at each venue -- he will set up his piano and tune it for the specific acoustics at each location.

Customs has a policy where confiscated items are destroyed, so that people don't accuse its employees of confiscating things just to steal them. At least that's the official line (I don't know what evidence they provide to show that the confiscated items really were destroyed). Thus when they confiscate stuff, people have no "appeal" or recourse other than to accept that the items are gone forever; my understanding is that they destroy things pretty quickly. People can't even ask for confiscated items to be sent back to the originating country at owner's expense or anything.

skatedreamer · May 8, 2014

@Panpie/@Vanshilar, Panpie's question got me going and I scurried over to Google. :laugh:

Incredibly, one of the links that turned up was to a TSA Blog with "helpful" hints re: traveling w/ instruments. Who knew?

http://blog.tsa.gov/2009/09/traveling-in-key-of-security-musical.html

Their advice re: checking instruments is a tad too optimistic for my taste but that's just me.

Random Figure Skating Questions

Amei

Sam-Skwantch

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good”

Pamigena

noskates

jorex

skatedreamer

Vanshilar

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VirMo

Pamigena

concorde

Icey

composer

skatedreamer

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ovaskater

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Panpie

Vanshilar

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