2023 U.S. Nationals survey input

[moonvine]

Hi folks,

I don’t normally attempt to tell companies how to run their businesses, but I got a survey from USFS asking how to improve Nationals, so I filled it out and sent it in.
Then I got to thinking we could brainstorm and put all suggestions into an email and send it to them.

I’m regularly seeing NCAA gymnastics meets sell out at 14-15,000 people and if we had 2,000 at any time at Nationals I would be surprised.

 

[iluvtodd]

Is there any way you could share that survey?

 

[katymay]

Hi folks,

I don’t normally attempt to tell companies how to run their businesses, but I got a survey from USFS asking how to improve Nationals, so I filled it out and sent it in.
Then I got to thinking we could brainstorm and put all suggestions into an email and send it to them.

I’m regularly seeing NCAA gymnastics meets sell out at 14-15,000 people and if we had 2,000 at any time at Nationals I would be surprised.

Gymnastics is an accessible sport. At the lower levels it is very cheap to do, and every town has a multitude of gyms, rec programs etc., not to mention for many it is a high school sport as well. Ice rinks are few and far apart, and even in cities with plenty of rinks, they are dedicated to hockey which brings in more money and more fans. The point being: Very few people actually participate in figure skating, and of course there is no 'NCAA' support or scholarships for figure skating. (Except for a few niche 'university games' etc.). Only in Russia is figure skating an accessible sport for the masses. Gymnastics also has plenty of diverse star power, Olympians and near Olympians competing for college, Black, White and Asian.
As far as Nationals in particular-reduce the all inclusive ticket prices. Hold Nationals in less expensive cities, like Vegas, Columbus. Kansas City, Orlando, etc. Boston and San Jose are expensive destinations.
The one thing NBC/USFSA is doing right? Tara and Johnny. They might make true fans groan, but the average casual viewer wants to see them when they tune in. I doubt they might be able to name a single skater , but everyone knows Tara and Johnny.

 

[CherylDee]

Hi folks,

I don’t normally attempt to tell companies how to run their businesses, but I got a survey from USFS asking how to improve Nationals, so I filled it out and sent it in.
Then I got to thinking we could brainstorm and put all suggestions into an email and send it to them.

I’m regularly seeing NCAA gymnastics meets sell out at 14-15,000 people and if we had 2,000 at any time at Nationals I would be surprised.

I'm curious about the costs involved in attending gymnastic events vs figure skating events. I've only gone to Skate America a few years back and to attend all events was well over $300. I lived in the area so no travel expenses involved, but image the costs for those who need flight, car and hotel. I don't know much about gymnastics, but it doesn't seem to have the same high price tag as figure skating, that could be a factor in attending live events.

 

[ladyjane]

Haha, I opened this thread to read if there was any speculation whether the outcomes were fixed (like in wrestling and sometimes in boxing) which seemed rather strange to me due to the unexpectedness of quite a few of the results. Sorry, this is totally my bad!

 

[readernick]

Haha, I opened this thread to read if there was any speculation whether the outcomes were fixed (like in wrestling and sometime in boxing) which seemed rather strange to me due to the unexpectedness of quite a few of the results. Sorry, this is totally my bad!

If only figure skating were popular enough to make “fixing” the results profitable.

 

[mskater93]

Haha, I opened this thread to read if there was any speculation whether the outcomes were fixed (like in wrestling and sometime in boxing) which seemed rather strange to me due to the unexpectedness of quite a few of the results. Sorry, this is totally my bad!

According to The Skating Lesson, they were... ::SMH::

 

[macy]

tbh i don't think USFSA is interested in making any significant changes regarding accessibility/viewership. especially not with the Peacock crap and how every single skating video on YT gets deleted or blocked. i don't think they're interested in much else besides making money, so we will never see cheaper ticket prices or not having to pay to watch skating in the US.

 

[dorispulaski]

If Nationals is going to only have an audience of 2,000 or so folks, & has to be in the Boston area, Norwood is easy and accessible. And the arena had tasty and reasonably priced arena food. My big expense for Skate America was for parking at the rink.

And Skate America tickets sold out the first day, btw.

For all events, Have tickets for parking available at the same time tickets for the event are offered. Publish whether there will be a shuttle and what stops there will be on the shuttle at the time tickets first go on sale. The easier it is to plan and figure the cost of your trip, the easier it is to make the decision to go.

Do seats for disabled seating better. Your audience is old Many need help.

Improve your website. And keep the start times for the events constant. This year there were radically different published times for the junior events on line in various places. And no it was not a time zone issue. It drove me crazy.

I went to two Nationals in Greensboro, NC. Both were well done, and not wicked expensive. Smaller cities are better.

If Nationals have to be in or near a large city, choose to use arenas that are not in the city center. City center arenas are often in sketchy areas. And more expensive.

And Make a deal to allow U.S. Nationals to be easily viewed overseas.

The skaters are great. USFSA not so much.

 

[Seven Sisters]

I know that I personally am much more likely to attend an event if 1., I can drive to it (not a fan of air travel) and/or 2. It is in an area that has hotels and food options within walking distance of the rink (not a fan of Uber/city mass transit/being dependent on rink concessionaires.) From my point of view, Norwood MA was wonderful, though point 2 above would have been challenging if I had not arrived by car.

My absolute favorite location is Lake Placid, though i agree it is challenging to get there for those not within driving distance.

 

[noskates]

There was a parking pass available with the sale of tickets in San Jose. BUT - there was no in and out privileges and the pass was only good until 3:00. I kid you not!!! So if you left you had to pay to get back in. (I think the pass was about $140) Tuesday thru Thursday the cost was $15 for entrance. Friday through Sunday the cost was $25 for entrance. On Sunday you had to exit the arena so they could practice for the gala. There is nothing other than Whole Foods within a decent walking distance of SAP so it cost us $50 to park on Sunday! We were told the parking company was not affiliated with SAP - they were standalone and definitely taking advantage. The food in the arena was horrible - as it has been the last 2 times I was there for a skating event. Grease and salt! Popcorn, hot dogs, pizza, soft ice cream, nachos and chicken tenders and fries......for 6 days! There were two salads but most of the time they were sold out and you were told they didn't know when more would be delivered. You could bring in food but if you're there from 10:00 in the morning until sometimes 10:00 at night .... Most days the ushers at the top of the stairs would not let anyone down the stairs during a performance. On Sunday for the gala, they let anyone walk at any time. More than several times we had people standing in the aisle in front of us looking for seats and blocking our view of the skater. Rude! SAP is a great place to watch skating but I don't think they're prepared for an event that covers multiple hours and days. I understand vendors are contracted with the arena and it doesn't behoove them to open for 2,000 people, but the vendors that ARE open could be more mindful.

On the positive side, the security people were very friendly and accomodating. Nobody in our group was hassled about anything, directions were given freely, and the agents were very helpful when you couldn't find your darn online tickets.

 

[4everchan]

Haha, I opened this thread to read if there was any speculation whether the outcomes were fixed (like in wrestling and sometime in boxing) which seemed rather strange to me due to the unexpectedness of quite a few of the results. Sorry, this is totally my bad!

Not only you...

 

[4everchan]

If only figure skating were popular enough to make “fixing” the results profitable.

It is enough in some part of the world... and some skaters (very few) do get a lot from sponsors, so there is always money involved... Even for coaching teams of successful skaters... making champions brings more money. Don't underestimate the enormous amount of money already put in the sport....

 

[mrrice]

"And Skate America tickets sold out the first day, btw" For me, this is very telling. Clearly, the people in the US like to watch skating. In my case, and my friends are the same way, it's the expense. If so many people watch Skate America, it's clearly not an unpopular sport. The fact that Nationals is no longer on network stations, is also a problem. When you start Gymnastics, Dance, or a sport like Swimming, or Tennis, the biggest expense is a Racket, a Pair of shorts, Unitard, Swim Suit, or Leotard. It's not that way with skating. You can't just grab your suit and jump in the backyard pool. The YMCA has open sessions where you can swim for free. I've seen parents teaching their kids to swim on several occasions. In Cal, I've never seen a skating rink offer free sessions. Yes, you can rent skates but, if you want to do anything more than a casual afternoon, you'll need skates of your own.

I love the outdoor rink in New York. Even people who have never seen skating can watch for free. I don't know the prices for lessons these but, they were expensive when I began skating. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBi7fzx51jE

 

[moonvine]

Is there any way you could share that survey?

I can try. I’m not sure if it is tied to my address, but I will try.

2023 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Survey

2023 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Survey

www.research.net

 

[TallyT]

They apparently sold out but the people (or corporations?) who bought them, a lot of them didn't turn up by the number of empty seats (in the ladies and dance -? what were the others like?) This is more or less true of most competitions so far this year but the various Nats can't blame the lack of Russian stars for it.

What was the advertising like? I read elsewhere complaints that people didn't even know when competitions were on. To compete with everything else these days, advertisers have to get really creative and flog the hell out of their product. The Japanese use TV, posters in metros and malls and shops, magazines, newspaper coverage, interviews... maybe the US Fed can't drum up all of this but they could shell out for creative publicity. surely.

 

[noskates]

Moonvine, thanks for posting the survey. Someone else in my party bought our tickets so I didn't have a chance to fill one out. But I just did!!

 

[mrrice]

I remember seeing commercials before this show aired.

I'm not sure if this show still exists but, here's the intro to a figure skating show on ABC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beiMzK5wEh8

 

[LadyB]

Haha, I opened this thread to read if there was any speculation whether the outcomes were fixed (like in wrestling and sometimes in boxing) which seemed rather strange to me due to the unexpectedness of quite a few of the results. Sorry, this is totally my bad!

You're not the only one. The 'fixing' bit got me as well.

 

[mrrice]

You're not the only one. The 'fixing' bit got me as well.

I agree, we'd all love to see figure skating climb back to where it used to be. There was a Christmas Special every year, that I used to look forward to.

ABC's Wide World of Sports Skating Special

From 1988. A skating special featuring performances by Katarina Witt, Brian Boitano & Brian Orser. No commercials.

www.youtube.com