2022 US Nationals - Member Chat

[ice coverage]

USFS has published video highlights of most Senior and Junior gold medalists from all eight competitions, which I am posting for posterity:

Blaine https://www.instagram.com/p/CVn_63EFPKC/, also https://twitter.com/USFigureSkating/status/1454171652342886402 (0:58, published Oct 29)

Junior Women: Elsa Cheng; Junior Men: Taira Shinohara; Junior Dance: Helena Carhart/Volodymyr Horovyi
Senior Women: Starr Andrews; Senior Dance: Emily Bratti/Ian Somerville
(No Senior Men competed in Blaine)​

Henderson and Allen together in one video https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWvykPbNV4X/ (2:06, published Nov 26)

Henderson

Junior Women: Claire Seo; Junior Men: Matthew Nielsen (USFS misspelled as Neilson)
Senior Women: Hanna Harrell; Senior Men: Eric Sjoberg
Senior Pairs: Katie McBeath/Nathan Bartholomay; Junior Pairs (USFS mistakenly grouped with Allen): Sonia Baram/Daniel Tioumentsev​

Allen

Junior Women: Soho Lee; Junior Men: Will Annis
Senior Women: Gabriella Izzo; Senior Men: William Hubbart​

Fort Wayne and Leesburg together in one video: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CWbuhgrpx1t/ (2:23, published Nov 18)

Fort Wayne

Senior Women: Jessica Lin; Senior Men: Paul Yeung
Junior Women: Hannah Lofton; Junior Men: Joseph Klein​

Leesburg

Senior Women: Lindsay Thorngren; Senior Men: Ilia Malinin
Junior Women Group A: Ava Ziegler; Junior Women Group B: Gwen Bloesch; Junior Men: Robert Yampolsky​

Norwood https://www.instagram.com/tv/CW_02XqtwrI/ (1:31, published Dec 2)

Junior Pairs: Sonia Baram/Daniel Tioumentsev; Senior Pairs: Anastasiia Smirnova/Danil Siianytsia
Senior Men: Ryan Dunk
Junior Women Group A: Ashley Leahy; Junior Women Group B: Ava Ziegler; Senior Women: Gabriella Izzo
(Junior Men gold medalist Robert Yampolsky not shown )​

Alpharetta and Spokane together in one video https://www.instagram.com/tv/CXCBOx_gR9H/ (2:25, published Dec 3)

Alpharetta

Junior Dance: Isabella Flores/Dimitry Tsarevski; Senior Dance: Avonley Nguyen/Grigory Smirnov
Junior Men: Maxim Zharkov; Senior Men: William Hubbart
Junior Women Group A: Josephine Lee; Junior Women Group B: Sarah Everhardt; Senior Women: Gracie Gold​

Spokane

Junior Men: Lucas Broussard; Junior Women: Hannah Herrera
Senior Men: Liam Kapeikis; Senior Women: Sierra Venetta​

 

[apgold]

Sadly, I won't be attending Nationals after all due to personal reasons. I just canceled my reservation at the Holiday Inn Express a few blocks from the arena, so if anyone needs accommodations, act fast!

I am selling my Championship weekend ticket - details here. Hopefully someone will bite!

 

[moonvine]

“Gracie Gold, Senior Ladies Gold Medalist.”

 

[moonvine]

Tests are hard to get in Spokane? I’m getting one at Walgreens 2 days before my cruise

 

[Arriba627]

Very surprised to get a Chicago-Nashville round trip airfare on AA for $117. Was expecting it to be a lot more. Very decent flight times too.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Tests are hard to get in Spokane? I’m getting one at Walgreens 2 days before my cruise

There have been two stories on TV and in the paper on how hard it is to get the test for travel scheduled and the results back in the time frame needed for cruises, summer camps, etc. Holland America in frustration contracted with a private company in the larger ports like Seattle where I will cruise from in May to do the testing. Thankfully, they at last check are not requiring a PCR test. Things are so bad that you can now get a home test and have it witnessed by a medical professional by telemedicine, if you can arrange that. Of course this is all a moving target. The US Govt is requiring a test within 24 hours before flying to the US. So one guy was doing a 24 hour layover in Sweden before returning and he has no clue as to what will be needed for him.
I think looking back when the book on this is written, failure to provide rapid and easy screening will be one of the major failures. At the U of I Champaign Urbana, my Alma mater, they came up with an ingeneous plan. The created an in house spit test. Everyone from the Janitor to the president spits into a tube every four days. If the test comes back negative, your phone gets a QR code that gets you into buildings on campus. The two people without smart phones get paper QR codes.
There is one Walgreens in my Area that sells tests for travel. IF you can get an appointment at a time that will give you the result within the time period and also the results, you are good to go. My buddy who flew to Hawaii from Seattle arranged for a test in Seattle. Much easier than Spokane.
Holland America is trying something I really like. At some ports, you show up a day early and they give you a test. All in house. If you come back positive, you get full credit back, maybe even a refund.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Very surprised to get a Chicago-Nashville round trip airfare on AA for $117. Was expecting it to be a lot more.

I purchased my air fare April 12. $815 round trip from Spokane. Now if I was just flying to Seattle it would be closer to $117.
(Re watched the SA Ladies Free tonight....what a wonderful competition! Glad I have that memory....)

 

[Arriba627]

I purchased my air fare April 12. $815 round trip from Spokane. Now if I was just flying to Seattle it would be closer to $117.
(Re watched the SA Ladies Free tonight....what a wonderful competition! Glad I have that memory....)

If Nats is half as good as Sk Amer, it'll be great!!!!!

 

[CoyoteChris]

If Nats is half as good as Sk Amer, it'll be great!!!!!

If we all get there and are allowed to watch and everyone is safe, it will be wonderful just to get away from the television and the worries of the world. Would love to meet up with everyone at some point. Personally, with my COPD, I don't feel comfortable eating out at a restaurant with masks off, even though I am boosted and have a low probablility of shedding viruses till the four month point after the shot. Don't want to bring any critters home. I am open for suggestions. Of course, I know Arriba and Iluvtodd.

 

[ice coverage]

Question about Friends of Figure Skating for @CoyoteChris @Arriba627 @iluvtodd or anyone else:

Have FOFS told its members anything about a breakfast in Nashville?

I think I recall hearing that 2021 Skate America had a modified FOFS breakfast in Vegas?
What did you think of it?
I support any safety measures , and assume that modification(s) would be necessary again for a breakfast at Nats. Especially in light of the omicron variant.

I have not joined FOFS this season -- at least not yet. I enjoyed the pre-pandemic breakfasts, and perhaps(?) would be interested in re-joining before Nashville, depending on how exactly its breakfast would work.

 

[Arriba627]

Very nice breakfast buffet served. We were all masked except for when eating, of course. Several skaters appeared via Zoom. I don't recall that anyone was there in person. Host was Brent Diederich. If you have any questions about the Nats breakfast, he would be a good resource. [email protected] Perhaps our favorite Coyote can add a few more details?

 

[macy]

i highly, highly doubt they will require a negative test and/or proof of vaccination for spectators. i think it will only be masks and that's all.

something i just realized (for volunteers) is they are requiring a PCR test within 72 hours of receiving accreditation, but those results come back within 3-4 days if not longer. how is that going to work? and then, for those who are not vaccinated they require an on site rapid test when you get there...that makes no sense at all. why can't everyone just do a rapid test within the 72 hours? we might not even have our results before our shift starts.

 

[Seven Sisters]

i highly, highly doubt they will require a negative test and/or proof of vaccination for spectators. i think it will only be masks and that's all.

something i just realized (for volunteers) is they are requiring a PCR test within 72 hours of receiving accreditation, but those results come back within 3-4 days if not longer. how is that going to work? and then, for those who are not vaccinated they require an on site rapid test when you get there...that makes no sense at all. why can't everyone just do a rapid test within the 72 hours? we might not even have our results before our shift starts.

Macy, I recently travelled to Canada and had the same problem (needed to have a PCR test taken within 72 hours of my flight, but the results take 2-3 days to come back.) You will probably need to do what I did, find a “travel medicine clinic” that specializes in getting the results back in time for international travel, and work with them as far as scheduling to maximize the likelihood of obtaining your results in time. I will also note that the fee for this was NOT covered by my insurance.

Reportedly, the PCR test is required because it is more accurate than the rapid test.

 

[macy]

Macy, I recently travelled to Canada and had the same problem (needed to have a PCR test taken within 72 hours of my flight, but the results take 2-3 days to come back.) You will probably need to do what I did, find a “travel medicine clinic” that specializes in getting the results back in time for international travel, and work with them as far as scheduling to maximize the likelihood of obtaining your results in time. I will also note that the fee for this was NOT covered by my insurance.

Reportedly, the PCR test is required because it is more accurate than the rapid test.

i just emailed them for clarification. I just hope this isn't harder than it needs to be.

 

[moonvine]

Did someone have some Juniors tickets they were wanting to get rid of or did I dream that?

 

[moonvine]

There have been two stories on TV and in the paper on how hard it is to get the test for travel scheduled and the results back in the time frame needed for cruises, summer camps, etc. Holland America in frustration contracted with a private company in the larger ports like Seattle where I will cruise from in May to do the testing. Thankfully, they at last check are not requiring a PCR test. Things are so bad that you can now get a home test and have it witnessed by a medical professional by telemedicine, if you can arrange that. Of course this is all a moving target. The US Govt is requiring a test within 24 hours before flying to the US. So one guy was doing a 24 hour layover in Sweden before returning and he has no clue as to what will be needed for him.
I think looking back when the book on this is written, failure to provide rapid and easy screening will be one of the major failures. At the U of I Champaign Urbana, my Alma mater, they came up with an ingeneous plan. The created an in house spit test. Everyone from the Janitor to the president spits into a tube every four days. If the test comes back negative, your phone gets a QR code that gets you into buildings on campus. The two people without smart phones get paper QR codes.
There is one Walgreens in my Area that sells tests for travel. IF you can get an appointment at a time that will give you the result within the time period and also the results, you are good to go. My buddy who flew to Hawaii from Seattle arranged for a test in Seattle. Much easier than Spokane.
Holland America is trying something I really like. At some ports, you show up a day early and they give you a test. All in house. If you come back positive, you get full credit back, maybe even a refund.

I have to have a test 48 hours before my cruise Dec 19. I have an appointment at Walgreens December 18 with a backup at CVS and if all else fails I can buy an at home one, though it needs to be proctored. Is this a problem that’s local to your area?

Carnival would test me at the port but I don’t want to pay $100.

 

[ice coverage]

Very nice breakfast buffet served. We were all masked except for when eating, of course. Several skaters appeared via Zoom. I don't recall that anyone was there in person. Host was Brent Diederich. If you have any questions about the Nats breakfast, he would be a good resource. [email protected] Perhaps our favorite Coyote can add a few more details?

Thank you for your informative description, Arriba.
I'm glad to hear that the FOFS breakfast in Vegas was a nice event.

(I am a fan of Brent. For now, I think I will leave him alone. )

---

... something i just realized (for volunteers) is they are requiring a PCR test within 72 hours of receiving accreditation, but those results come back within 3-4 days if not longer. how is that going to work? and then, for those who are not vaccinated they require an on site rapid test when you get there...that makes no sense at all. why can't everyone just do a rapid test within the 72 hours? we might not even have our results before our shift starts.

My understanding of the e-mail is that all volunteers (regardless of vaccination status) must meet the requirement of a negative PCR test within 72 hours before accreditation.
And that unvaccinated volunteers need to meet the *additional* requirement of a negative rapid antigen test onsite.

In other words, the bar is higher for unvaccinated volunteers (which I think is fair).

Macy, I recently travelled to Canada and had the same problem (needed to have a PCR test taken within 72 hours of my flight, but the results take 2-3 days to come back.) You will probably need to do what I did, find a “travel medicine clinic” that specializes in getting the results back in time for international travel, and work with them as far as scheduling to maximize the likelihood of obtaining your results in time. I will also note that the fee for this was NOT covered by my insurance.

Reportedly, the PCR test is required because it is more accurate than the rapid test.

Please feel free not to answer ... but if you do not mind answering, how much was the fee?

In any case, thank you for giving the general idea of what to do.

 

[KissAndCry]

Where I live, there are two providers that offer PCR tests with a quick enough turnaround time. I already know that one of them (with a $125 fee) is closed New Year's weekend, but they are open on NYE with shorter hours. But Friday may be too late, as I arrive on Monday. The other option offers a 30 minute result, but it's pricey ($225). The next-day result test they have is $160. I'm trying to avoid taking the test the morning of my flight, but may have no choice if the 2nd place is also closed over the weekend. Right now I'm waiting to see if I even get any volunteer shifts. Hoping to get confirmation soon. I have no idea how long this process usually takes, since this is my first time signing up.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Very nice breakfast buffet served. We were all masked except for when eating, of course. Several skaters appeared via Zoom. I don't recall that anyone was there in person. Host was Brent Diederich. If you have any questions about the Nats breakfast, he would be a good resource. [email protected] Perhaps our favorite Coyote can add a few more details?

I have heard nothing and I suspect USFS intergalactic Hq doesnt even know yet what they will do. Starr and her coach's mom showed up at the breakfast but they sat in seats facing the arena practice. With the large open spaces of the place, I felt safe eating mask off. It wasnt very crowded anyway.
I suspect that if the nats go ahead with spectators, the breakfast will be subdued as well. With the Thanksgiving bump in covid cases and then the XMAS bump, plus Omicrom, I dont look for anything to get better fast.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Thank you for your informative description, Arriba.
I'm glad to hear that the FOFS breakfast in Vegas was a nice event.

(I am a fan of Brent. For now, I think I will leave him alone. )

---

My understanding of the e-mail is that all volunteers (regardless of vaccination status) must meet the requirement of a negative PCR test within 72 hours before accreditation.
And that unvaccinated volunteers need to meet the *additional* requirement of a negative rapid antigen test onsite.

In other words, the bar is higher for unvaccinated volunteers (which I think is fair).



Please feel free not to answer ... but if you do not mind answering, how much was the fee?

In any case, thank you for giving the general idea of what to do.

Well, this is kind of scary....

Avoiding False Positive for SARS-CoV-2 When Using Rapid Antigen Tests

In light of frequent false positives, a team of Canadian researchers has shown that rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 work only when manufacturer instructions are followed.

asm.org