CoyoteChris is at Nationals! (reports)

My friend and I had a great time at junior ladies tonight. Wish I could see their free skate. I'm pretty sure I spotted you across the rink in the front row by the kiss and cry, Chris. Our seats tonight were exactly three rows above the seats my mom and I have for the weekend. Very good spot in section 119.

When we were leaving we saw Peter Oppegard and Karen Kwan sitting in the next section, so I spoke to Karen and told her Michelle's wedding looked beautiful. She was very gracious and friendly. I am totally stupidly fan girl excited over having that exchange! I called my mom to tell her about the night and told her about that. She laughed at me; I said, hey, you'd be stupid excited, too. She had to admit she would.

Can't wait until the weekend now!!

Tuesday

Ah, the joys of figure skating competition. A lady behind me says her older lady friend has been sick for two days but will come in today and sit four rows back, wearing a mask. The sick lady, comes in, comes down to her friend, takes off her mask and leans over her friend and starts chatting into her face! Then she puts her mask back on and goes to her seat. But she soon doesnt feel well and leaves. Then my seatmate for the competition, a nice older lady, shows up today, shakes my hand, and tells me she is recovering from the flu!... I wash my hand with hand sanitizer as she coughs into her sleeve and then she sees an old friend, who she gets up for and goes over to and gives him a hug and talks into his face, failing to tell the older gentlemen that she has influenza. No wonder 20,000 old folks die from the flu...I have had the shot but it doesnt work so well on us older folks and it is only 62 percent effective as it is....I think I will wear my HEPA mask tomarrow....you will really be able to see me then!
Chris the old man with COPD as it is who is taking a break from Junior mens long......

Stay well, Chris (and everyone in Omaha). Thx for everyone's eyewitness reports.

I posted the photo below earlier in the Sr. Dance Entries thread, but after reading your post, I think you will appreciate it more than anyone, Chris. Skaters understandably also are concerned about catching the flu.
The caption from @AlexShibutani is:

CoyoteChris said:

Ah, the joys of figure skating competition. A lady behind me says her older lady friend has been sick for two days but will come in today and sit four rows back, wearing a mask. The sick lady, comes in, comes down to her friend, takes off her mask and leans over her friend and starts chatting into her face! Then she puts her mask back on and goes to her seat. But she soon doesnt feel well and leaves. Then my seatmate for the competition, a nice older lady, shows up today, shakes my hand, and tells me she is recovering from the flu!... I wash my hand with hand sanitizer as she coughs into her sleeve and then she sees an old friend, who she gets up for and goes over to and gives him a hug and talks into his face, failing to tell the older gentlemen that she has influenza. No wonder 20,000 old folks die from the flu...I have had the shot but it doesnt work so well on us older folks and it is only 62 percent effective as it is....I think I will wear my HEPA mask tomarrow....you will really be able to see me then!
Chris the old man with COPD as it is who is taking a break from Junior mens long......

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Chris, better bathe in the sanitizer! I went to Cdn. Nationals and came home to a very nasty 24-hr. flu. I'd had my shot too so it could have been worse. Keep hydrated! Keep the reports coming; I'm enjoying them. You cna always write "Go Gracie" or "I love Meryl/charlie" or whatever on your mask! That will get you on tv!

My seat mate is better. Ashley Wagner caught the norovirus and wass off the ice for three days but is back to fighting form. I have had norovirus three times and I am so glad she is over it. Hope it doesnt go around the arena. Incubation period is six hours....It is so strange to see Amanda coach Mark and he doesnt look her in the eye but looks at his other coach...but Amanda has come alive! She is no longer the shy partner....I actually saw her bubbley!
Easy day today....lots of rest and R and R and watching practices...but tonight will be loooooonngggggggg.

Don't worry louisa05- I acted the same way when I met Karen Kwan two years ago at the Greensboro nationals. My children were playing in the fanfest area with Karen's children and I was geeking out thinking that my children were playing with Michelle's nieces! When Karen came to pick up her girls my husband asked if she would mind taking a picture with our girls.

wolfpacker said:

Don't worry louisa05- I acted the same way when I met Karen Kwan two years ago at the Greensboro nationals. My children were playing in the fanfest area with Karen's children and I was geeking out thinking that my children were playing with Michelle's nieces! When Karen came to pick up her girls my husband asked if she would mind taking a picture with our girls.

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LOL. I was telling my mom and her stylist about it when I took mom to her hair appointment Tuesday morning and her stylist was about fall over in shock that skaters and coaches are just around the arena and not under security lock down of some sort. I have to say it is kind of a relaxed atmosphere that way compared to most things these days.

CoyoteChris said:

My seat mate is better. Ashley Wagner caught the norovirus and wass off the ice for three days but is back to fighting form. I have had norovirus three times and I am so glad she is over it. Hope it doesnt go around the arena. Incubation period is six hours....It is so strange to see Amanda coach Mark and he doesnt look her in the eye but looks at his other coach...but Amanda has come alive! She is no longer the shy partner....I actually saw her bubbley!
Easy day today....lots of rest and R and R and watching practices...but tonight will be loooooonngggggggg.

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"Hope it doesn't go around the arena" -- understatement of the year, no doubt , esp. given that you have had norovirus three times yourself, Chris. Glad that you are healthy to enjoy (and report on) everything in Omaha.

FWIW, IN says that last week Wagner had food poisoning (salmonella) ... as opposed to norovirus.
Either way, no fun for her.
But if IN is correct, the distinction would have made a difference for those around Wagner during her illness. The risk of norovirus contagion would have been much more worrisome (and potentially of increased consequence for a man of Mr. Nicks' age, for example).

CoyoteChris said:

It is so strange to see Amanda coach Mark and he doesnt look her in the eye but looks at his other coach...but Amanda has come alive! She is no longer the shy partner....

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Do you mean Lyndon Johnston? I LOVE Lyndon (and I've only met him twice). One of the nicest coaches EVER, especially for someone who's had a number of high level students.

Chris, I'm sorry I missed this thread earlier. So glad you're in the rink and on the job as a reporter! As for everyone breathing illness onto you, maybe you should wear a mask. In my city I see a lot of people doing that. One young woman actually had a black velveteen mask cover to make it more of a fashion statement.

I'm glad you got your shot, though. I got mine in September. Maybe they're not perfect, but they're better than zero.

You are going to be practically next to Meryl and Charlie in the K&C. I am sooooo jealous.

Chris, Hope you get back safe, with all your luggage! And tell us which performances you found mesmerisizing

Doris, who is mostly happy with the results of this year's championships...

I am mostly happy too. I loved watching Polina, Wesley, Gracie, Mirai's short when she was fighting illness. I liked watching Keggan M. skating angry in his long. He's a fighter.
I love Agnes and was lucky enough at FOFS breakfast to get a pic of her and I. I love Simon at Breakfast saying, "My Name is Simon Schnapier and I really can spin" and another skater calling out, jokingly, "No you cant!" I love watching the intermidiate ice dancers practicing (their programs were during the Mens free, unfortunately.I love the fantastic dresses the ladies wore and am buying some for my wife. (she will of course say I am buying them for ME.) I love JA's atristry in "Bring him Home" I was proud of my skating friends who, when one of them had a seizure right before Ladies awards next to the Kiss and Cry, they went to the hospial with him in the ambulance, stayed with him and did shifts all the next day with him. (His partner is in Africa and his family is in St Louis). I dont keep it much of a secret that I support Lynn and Logan in a few different ways and I love hearing the technical specialists say they have know Logan since he was a boy and say he is the nicest, most giving person ever, and Lynn just got her degree in Neuro-science and I am sure she will be an excellent research Doctor. I like supporting people like that no matter how they place. I was very impressed with the free of Chock and Bates and how far they have come in so little time.
Chris who is hand carrying the camera with the pic of him in back of four your ladies at the breakfast including Mariah Bell.

dorispulaski said:

Chris, Hope you get back safe, with all your luggage! And tell us which performances you found mesmerisizing

Doris, who is mostly happy with the results of this year's championships...

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Hope your friend is OK. It's dreadful being seriously ill in a strange place. We had to take a friend of ours to the hospital in 1993-he had leukemia and had some kind of attack/seizure/bad spell right in the middle of the ladies' final. Too stressful, those US ladies.

dorispulaski said:

Too stressful, those US ladies.

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LOL. They definitely raised my blood pressure. Good grief, I would probably pee my pants if I were out there. Truly admire these young girls.

CoyoteChris said:

I am mostly happy too. I loved watching Polina, Wesley, Gracie, Mirai's short when she was fighting illness. I liked watching Keggan M. skating angry in his long. He's a fighter.
I love Agnes and was lucky enough at FOFS breakfast to get a pic of her and I. I love Simon at Breakfast saying, "My Name is Simon Schnapier and I really can spin" and another skater calling out, jokingly, "No you cant!" I love watching the intermidiate ice dancers practicing (their programs were during the Mens free, unfortunately.I love the fantastic dresses the ladies wore and am buying some for my wife. (she will of course say I am buying them for ME.) I love JA's atristry in "Bring him Home" I was proud of my skating friends who, when one of them had a seizure right before Ladies awards next to the Kiss and Cry, they went to the hospial with him in the ambulance, stayed with him and did shifts all the next day with him. (His partner is in Africa and his family is in St Louis). I dont keep it much of a secret that I support Lynn and Logan in a few different ways and I love hearing the technical specialists say they have know Logan since he was a boy and say he is the nicest, most giving person ever, and Lynn just got her degree in Neuro-science and I am sure she will be an excellent research Doctor. I like supporting people like that no matter how they place. I was very impressed with the free of Chock and Bates and how far they have come in so little time.
Chris who is hand carrying the camera with the pic of him in back of four your ladies at the breakfast including Mariah Bell.

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It's so great to get the little details about the competition that don't come through in a news report or a TV broadcast. I hope to hear more from you as you get home and get unpacked and rest up.

I hope your friend recovers completely.

CoyoteChris said:

I am mostly happy too. I loved watching Polina, Wesley, Gracie, Mirai's short when she was fighting illness. I liked watching Keggan M. skating angry in his long. He's a fighter.
I love Agnes and was lucky enough at FOFS breakfast to get a pic of her and I. I love Simon at Breakfast saying, "My Name is Simon Schnapier and I really can spin" and another skater calling out, jokingly, "No you cant!" I love watching the intermidiate ice dancers practicing (their programs were during the Mens free, unfortunately.I love the fantastic dresses the ladies wore and am buying some for my wife. (she will of course say I am buying them for ME.) I love JA's atristry in "Bring him Home" I was proud of my skating friends who, when one of them had a seizure right before Ladies awards next to the Kiss and Cry, they went to the hospial with him in the ambulance, stayed with him and did shifts all the next day with him. (His partner is in Africa and his family is in St Louis). I dont keep it much of a secret that I support Lynn and Logan in a few different ways and I love hearing the technical specialists say they have know Logan since he was a boy and say he is the nicest, most giving person ever, and Lynn just got her degree in Neuro-science and I am sure she will be an excellent research Doctor. I like supporting people like that no matter how they place. I was very impressed with the free of Chock and Bates and how far they have come in so little time.
Chris who is hand carrying the camera with the pic of him in back of four your ladies at the breakfast including Mariah Bell.

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Thanks for sharing some "outside ice rink" stuff. Hope to hear from Boston next year

Some impressions and thoughts.

We had an amazing time at Nats. It was a dream come true for my mom and I to attend one together and it was a wonderful break for her in the midst of my dad's illness. Some family members took turns helping him out so she could be away.

We were at the men's short, all the sessions on Saturday and the men's free yesterday. General thoughts on each:

*Men's short: Our favorite programs were Jeremy, Jonathan Cassar, and one very early one I can't remember right now. Jeremy was definitely a step above for the night. We got to know our section a bit at the short. Two rows in front (in the front row) were two crazy kids, a boy and girl who are novice and intermediate skaters respectively but barely missed making nationals themselves. They train with Max Aaron and were more than excited for him all weekend. They jumped up and down, blew noise makers and threw stuff to almost every single skater. The couple next to us are also in the midst of a family health crisis caring for her parents who are both terminal and had also had to arrange care giving assistance in order to be at Nats. My mother and she kind of bonded and at the end of the session yesterday, she gave us each a bookmark she had made. It was very kind. The biggest cheer of the night was not for a program but for Grant Hochstein putting on a "corn head" in the Kiss and Cry. Way to work a Nebraska crowd! Seeing that it worked brilliantly, he brought it back for the free skate. I assume it was thrown to him, but we didn't see it thrown, so who knows.

*Pairs Free Skate: We enjoyed this very much. Pairs is amazing live. It really is such an athletically demanding discipline and it is sad that the skaters don't get more attention or credit for that. I wished the crowd had been bigger for that.

*Free Dance: We are not dance fans. We skipped the low groups in favor of grabbing a cheaper lunch outside the arena. We watched the last two groups. My favorites, because I am totally uneducated about the technical end of it, were the ones who skated to the Michael Jackson music. That was the most entertaining. Our friends in our row were clearly into ice dancing as they explained to us exactly why Meryl and Charlie should have won the Olympics.

Ladies Free: This was amazing to watch. Some of the lower group skaters (who are not even named Gracie Gold) have a lot of potential. We enjoyed Angela Wang, Kiri Baga (though I hope she sticks with pairs if she can't continue to do both...because we have lots of ladies, we need good pairs!), and a few others I can't remember. We thought Caroline Zhang was lovely and while slow, not as slow live as I had been led to believe--she got a very positive response from the crowd especially for her spiral/choreo sequence. Gracie brought down the house. Her jumps are huge; a combo was right in front of our section and absolutely amazing. I am not enamored with everything else and especially not her music and choreo. I was not into Courtney Hicks at all. She doesn't grab my attention. My mind even wandered while she skated live in front of me. Agnes seems out of control fast to me, but it also seemed like her energy really lagged in the latter part of her program. She was out of gas. Ashley takes command of the ice. Ashley even takes command of the warm-up. She has this look like "this is my ice and they are just on it for a minute". That command translates into a kind of artistry that is uniquely hers and I think fairly puts her a step above Gracie for now. I did have to explain the math to our friend in our row who couldn't seem to comprehend that the short had counted. She seemed like she thought the points determine placement only and don't carry over. I don't know how as they were announcing free skate scores and total scores. Now, Mirai...I was gutted for her. She gave everything she had in spite of illness. And the crowd loved her. Everyone in our section wished she had and felt she should have been in third of fourth place. That included young skaters, some skating parents, a couple of coaches and the daughter of a world judge as well as our row of just fans. We stayed for the whole medal ceremony and the two rows in front of us had cleared out, so my mom and I went down and high fived all the medalists thus indulging our inner 12 year old fan girls. It was pretty awesome. Poor Ashley was trying to carry her flowers, the pin, and the trophy, and high five and shake hands with fans. A bit much for two hands!

*Men's free: This ended up being my favorite event except the outcome. We loved so many programs and were so glad to see some guys who let less than happy from the short pull up a bit. We really enjoyed Stephen Carriere, and loved Wesley Campbell's beautiful "Ave Maria" which he clearly felt every note of to pull himself out of last place. Alex Johnson as several people have said was wonderful--amazing music and choreo. Grant Hochstein made the crowd love him again with the cornhead in the kiss and cry. Whoever did the Irish dance music was great, too. We adored Adam and wanted him to stay on the podium. He did the Rippon lutz right in front of us in the warm up and the performance. Max Aaron was fantastic with the jumps but I did not like his choreo or music cuts. And Jeremy...that broke my heart. I was worried about him both in the group warm up and his own. He skated slower than he did warming up Friday. In the group warm up, he only did doubles and kept going back to talk to Jason and Yuka. Basically did the same in his own. But I LOVE that program. Every bit of it. That brings us to my favorite thing of the weekend....we learned that Jeremy is funny. I think the media has really missed it by not letting us know this. During the warm up on Friday night, he landed a big jump in front of our section and the kids in front of us screamed their approval. He skated by them and wiped his hand across his forehead in the "relief" gesture. We again watched the whole medal ceremony from the front row because it had cleared out and waited for the victory lap. Jeremy actually stopped and talked to us. I told him how much I love his free skate choreo and music and my mom told him how much she really wanted him to win. He said this, out loud, nodding to Max "He just wanted it more today" then he smirked a little and whispered to us "that's not true, I wanted it" pointing to himself. He is awesome. And my mom who is going through so much stress and worry right now was so excited about that. It made her whole weekend. And it was sweet for him to take that moment and be so gracious when he clearly had not had the best afternoon of his life.

That's my general report of Nationals. It was wonderful to be there and next year when I watch on television, I will feel bad that we aren't there live!

What a lovely report. Thanks so much for describing all the little moments with the skaters. It's easy to forget that these kids are working their hearts out all year--and for many years before this one--to do well in this sport, and then not only do judges mark them down, but fans start dismissing those who haven't done well. The human element is one of the things that makes skating special to me, and it's always so great of fans who get to go in person to an event to share their experience with those of us at home. The other lovely aspect of seeing an event in an arena is that one's seatmates often have expertise to convey, as your row friends did about Davis and White. I usually know the least about skating in any group I'm in (except for certain elements of the history, and maybe the music), so I always benefit from a conversation with other skate fans--including the ones on GS! But live is even better.

I'm sorry to hear about your mom and dad. I took care of my mother for some years, and even though one treasures every moment with the loved one, it is good to go to something special for a respite. How splendid that your mom's time off could be at Nationals.

Jeremy was wonderful to take a moment to be gracious with you and your mom, but I'm sure that your comments boosted him as well. You never know what can help make a difficult experience a little easier for someone. As you can imagine, I'm especially jealous of you over that!

Thanks so much for the repost, louisa05.

And also Chris, of course. :yes:

louisa05 said:

Two rows in front (in the front row) were two crazy kids, a boy and girl who are novice and intermediate skaters respectively but barely missed making nationals themselves. They train with Max Aaron and were more than excited for him all weekend. They jumped up and down, blew noise makers and threw stuff to almost every single skater.

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I know this thread is old but...

I think this was in my section! What section were you in? I sat with two kids and their mom for the first two events that cheered for everyone and were in general, crazy. They were super friendly though and fun to sit with!