People at nationals pls share!

I was so close but so far. that said, I noticed all the famous skaters attending. Did anyone get close to Kristy? Nancy? Brian? Sarah? Tara? Weiss? Button? MK?????? Wow -I am so jealous-had I a helper willing to do overnights, I'd have gone-extremely sad but happy for Coyote, Mrs. P, Tolusai...I have not looked in event folder but when will your reports come out? I will check...It seems everyone in skating past and present was there...I don't get why people were having difficulty getting in. It did look pretty soldout on TV. Please report! And how was the dinner? I am sure you all are as cute and funny as you are erudite on skating. Just seeing Jason Brown have that skate was I am sure worth all the hassle.

I guess all got home safely. Tolusai came all the way from Paris? The city of my dreams (only dreams sadly). I am thrilled you all had a great event. After Jason, I really enjoyed seeing our new little antidote-our semi-Russian, Polina. Her SP was great on TV. I wish they gave her that type music in LP, as it covered the gangly, still growing little one.

I also was sad we saw and heard nothing about the amazing past champions who seem to be shown the door rather rudely, like Zhang, Zawadski, )she is so good, this is sad! And how was Flatt's LP. I loved her SP, it was very polished, and she was in great shape. I fully expected NBC to show snippets. If it is over for them, we did not get to say goodbye, and I wanted to see freeskates. Despite USFS doing what it felt best for the team and medals, Mirai was a tearjerker, and USFS does not seem to respect past champions...how did Caroline/Flatt/Agnes do in LP? I hope crow was kind to them, as they were to Mirai.

there is a thread I missed before in comp folder, great job, attendees. So lucky.

I am no longer in Paris. I live in D.C. now, but was in Paris for a few years and put it as my location when I joined the board. I know I really ought to change it but my heart is always there! As for a report I am not sure I will do one or not... I am not sure there is much interest at this point and it took me a few days to be able to compose my thoughts on a lot of it.

I met (meaning I talked to for at least 2-3 minutes):

-Mirai
-Agnes
-Brian Boitano
-Marissa Castilli (probably misspelling big time)
-Barbie Long
-Haven Denney
-Ross Miner (though for most of our conversation I did not know who he was because I do not follow men AT ALL and was only able to divine who he was through google afterwards).

I saw (meaning saw within a few feet, usually said hi to and sometimes got autograph but cannot truly say I spoke to)
-Ashley
-Mariah Bell
-Yasmin Siraj (sorta kinda talked to actually but only super briefly- a lot of 'thank you so much' on both our parts)
-Marina Zoueva (I tried to approach her (and I am sure it was her) but on my saying 'Marina?' she gave me SUCH a look of 'I cannot believe this person is actually daring to approach/speak to me that I backed off, mumbling something about h ow I respect her greatly as a coach and backing the heck away)
-Grechen Donlan

I have been a figure skating fan long enough to have seen the first televised competitions on Wide World of Sports. I was prompted to go to this year's Nationals by my desire to see Davis & White skate in person. I also brought my sister with me as a Christmas gift. The experience turned out to be better than anything either of us could have imagined. The reasons are many: the high level of competition in all disciplines; sharing my love of skating with a very knowledgeable and opinionated audience; and the pleasure of seeing so many recognizable faces in restaurants, at the arena and in my hotel.

The best personal experience happened to my sister and not to me. One evening by accident we found ourselves on a shuttle bus that included skaters, coaches and other professionals. As we walked to the back of the bus, I offered the first empty seat to my sister without recognizing (in the dark) that the gentleman in the window seat was Dick Button. She tells me that it was exactly like being in a live version of his book. He discussed his opinions about the judging system, the loss of artistry in some instances, changes he hoped to see in the future and even more important, he asked for her opinion and actually listened to her response. She tells me that it was an experience that she will remember for the rest of her life.

I don't want to end this without saying that if the only thing that I had seen this weekend was Davis and White's free skate, it would have been worth the entire trip. It isn't often that reality surpasses expectation, but in this case, it did.

Did anyone get close to Kristy? Nancy? Brian? Sarah? Tara? Weiss? Button? MK??????

Click to expand...

Don't want to sound jaded. This was my 21st Nationals. Yes, I saw all of these skaters along with many more. I have been able to talk to Dick Button several times over the years. Now, when we go, we see all the skaters and are aware of them; but we don't stop them, or take pictures of them, or get autographs. They get stopped enough and we try not to bother them unless we have a special project or something. This year, a friend was finally able to find an appropriate time to ask Dorothy Hamill to sign a photograph for her boss (he is a long-time fan). She has been carrying the photo around for 5 years and finally found the right opportunity.

tulosai said:

-Marina Zoueva (I tried to approach her (and I am sure it was her) but on my saying 'Marina?' she gave me SUCH a look of 'I cannot believe this person is actually daring to approach/speak to me that I backed off, mumbling something about h ow I respect her greatly as a coach and backing the heck away)

Click to expand...

Merci for all your observations, tulosai.

This particular one speaks volumes, I must say. Not surprised, but I wish my gut about Zoueva had been wrong.

Dick Button's lecture at the Friends of Figure Skating Breakfast was very interesting....I would like to read his book now. Got a good photo of me and Lynn and Logan at the Breakfast.
Will put up some pics after I go through them....

mare said:

He discussed his opinions about the judging system, the loss of artistry in some instances, changes he hoped to see in the future and even more important, he asked for her opinion and actually listened to her response. She tells me that it was an experience that she will remember for the rest of her life.

Click to expand...

Having never met Dick Button and probably never will, I have to say this is really a great story. Says a lot about him. Some people can achieve a lot in life and become famous or semi-famous and it all goes to their head. Others can keep it real, and sounds like even after all these years that man can keep it real. Even asked for her opinions! God bless that man lol.

Although I met several skaters (my whole account of meeting Max Aaron, Jason Brown and Kori Ade is here and my long highlights reports can be found here and here), I have to say the best part is meeting/reuniting with so many different people throughout the city, both in and outside the event. Boston is truly a special city and I really enjoyed meeting and getting to know the people.

Probably not the answer you were looking for, but I left Boston with fondness and can't wait to return (maybe Worlds 2016?!)

I think the other highlight for me was following Jason Brown's FS going viral. It showed up on my Facebook newsfeed from Buzzfeed on Monday, which I typically read when I'm in the mood for cat gifs and lists (which include more gifs). Then it kept showing up in other places: Mashable! Business Insider! Huffington Post! It blew my mind. My twitter/Facebbok feed became update central for "How viral can Jason's FS go?" (Typically my twitter feed is somewhat professional, though I took a temporary hiatus to tweet about my vacation/adventures).

I have a keen interest in social media and its impact on everyday life, so Jason's viral Riverdance was actually a really fun academic exercise for me on why and how things go viral.

One evening, Brian B., Krisiti, & John Kerr were on our shuttle bus! Got to meet a lot of the skaters in the concourse - Ben Agosto, Tanith, Sean Rabbitt, Max, Maddie, & family, Naomi Lang, Kimmie, Keegan's mom, Felicia Zhang's mom, Harrison Choate & his mom (Harrison is not competing this season), Jenni & Todd, Sinead, Paul Wylie. I was hoping to see Mike W. & Todd & family (sadly that didn't happen, but was glad to know they were there - there was a very cute tweet on the jumbotron from Todd - "I used to go to Nationals with skates & costumes. Now it's Huggies & baby clothes"). We did buy Dick Button's book, which he graciously autographed. I had already bought Doug Wilson's book, so it was very nice to talk to him again (and he autographed my copy of his book The World Was Our Stage. At the end of the ice dance medal ceremony, Meryl Davis gave me her bouquet - I thought she wanted me to hold it for a few minutes while the medalists were being whisked away for more photos, but I think she gave it to me as a thank you for your support gesture (we have met Meryl & Charlie many times since 2007 Skate America). I wanted to hug her, but didn't get the chance, since the schedule was so tight (with the ladies final beginning soon after that).

From the events i have been to i have spoken to

Gao
Cesario
John Coughlin (super nice and laid back!)
Jason Brown and his coach Kori LOVE THEM fav encounters
Javier Fernandez
Michal Brezina (he was kinda coocky)
Kostner
Chan
Anna & Luca
Sonia Lafuente
briefly Sotnikova and tukt (they speak limited english)
Vanessa James (sooo nice)
Viktoria Helgesson
Alexander Majorov
Radford & Duhamel

i have seen but not spoken to
Wagner
Hanyu
Pogorilaya
Morgan Cipres
Amodio ( he is so tiny)

Being only my third skating competition I have ever attended, the 2014 nationals were very memorable (I previously went to the '06 nationals in St. Louis and the '03 worlds in DC). Being rinkside is very different from watching on TV; but in this case, for the pairs, ice dance and ladies finals, for me it was more like being in a crow's nest-I bought tickets to the promenade section, at the very top of TD Stadium. For the men's (just hours before I caught my bus back to NYC) the organizers thankfully upgraded my ticket to the club section at no extra cost, so I got to experience Jason Brown's excellent performance and then had to leave before Abbott took to the ice.

It was great seeing the hometown pairs team take the title (lots of support for all skaters from the Skating Club of Boston), and Davis & White take their sixth. The ladies' was typically filled with drama and emotion, no more so as when Rachel Flatt took her final spins on the ice as a competitor, and a nice woman presented her with flowers at rinkside at the end. Very classy. Then the final four skated, with a listless routine from Wagner and a poised one from Nagasu. At the end (and before the Olympic team was selected on Sunday), I thought, Finally Mirai gets to go again and redeem herself after Vancouver. But as everyone knows, it was not to be. I think the USFSA's decision was ill-conceived, but I'll leave it at that. I did see some of skating's 'celebrities' at work: Button at his book-signing table; Kristi being mobbed at the Smucker's display; Michael Weiss, Tenith Belbin and Emily Hughes at the Icenetwork booth near the souvenir venues. And it was great seeing Tenley Albright, Nancy Kerrigan and JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelly present awards to the winning skaters. All in all a memorable trip for me to Boston.