You understood this correctly.
Also to note is, that all the travel expenses and accommodation are covered by the OC. If this, plus the price money comes together, then we might talk about close to a million US Dollars. I would assume without knowing it, that there is some big sponsoring deal going on, or is the USFS so wealthy?
It will be interesting to see how this event will go, it´s intention is clearly to put FS more into the spotlight, by making it a show with prize money, quite similar to the contests that run all around the world these days and if we consider how much even the most stupid TV formats will generate, in viewers and money from sponsors, then it might work, as FS has so much more to offer than for instance a silly "real life TV show".
I see it work in Asia and the US, TV shows work great there, but with Europe I am not sure. Music shows yes, we even had a few thousand people coming to the model contest by Heidi Klum, but finding a TV channel that would buy the rights for FS, seems very unlikely and I suppose this is the biggest sponsor for the event in the US this year.
Sadly I can not check the event out, would love to, especially to get more information about the whole background of it. I hope it will put FS more into the spotlight, no matter how critical I see the idea of "votes". I wish them all the best, promoting this great sport is what we need and it will cost money, no doubt about it. We just need to make sure, to keep the skaters safe and healthy, they should never become a "thing" like singers or actors have, with all the other tv formats, that treat these people so badly, where they have to sign contracts and giving away all their human rights...
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