Are you going to go there???

Joesitz said:

I'm going with an all event ticket.
Joe

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So Joe will you be checking in to let us know how things are going? If so I will look forward to your reports. Also, when will you leave? Did you make arrangements over the internet? How far are you from the venue? Tell us more.

Dee

Dee - I'll be travelling with a Group Tour. I will have a good seat. I do not have a laptop but if I find a computer at the hotel, I will defiitely report here and there. It cost a small fortune but there are so many skaters I want to see and I won't see them on TV.

Joe

Joesitz said:

It cost a small fortune but there are so many skaters I want to see and I won't see them on TV. Joe

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I agree. There are so, so many talented skaters. Even when skaters have problems with their jumps, many have beautiful ice coverage and/or lovely stroking and/or fine style. Some are up and comers in their embryonic stages.

The quali rounds and lower flights are generally not splatfests either. (At '02 Euros, I don't think there was a single fall by a woman on a 2A.) That's what you'd gather from watching the four to six that are broadcast on US TV; because there's always someone in that last flight who's made a mess of it, you assume that what came before was a disaster, even though the skater might have had a brilliant LP, like Ferreira's 6th place (???) LP at 4C's. Under OBO, many of the skaters are slotted in at the bottom of the heap because they come from non-traditional skating countries (like Mexico, South Africa, Australia) and don't have enough triples, even if they give masterful, if imperfect, programs, or programs that are no worse than those from traditional skating countries. A skater who lands the triple in practice will get "credit" in the Q-rounds, because s/he "might" be able to land it later. (I'll know that CoP can really work long-term if quali rounds are judged fairly.)

It's also remarkable to see what skaters can do when they're holding down multiple jobs to support themselves and their skating, with limited practice and ice time. Often simpler programs, but beautifully done.