2022 US Nationals - Member Chat

[CoyoteChris]

What made you get the all event pass instead of waiting to purchase individual tickets for each session? No fee is you use the phone app.

It depends on your comfort zone. If you get the all event package, you get a practice pass and that's open seating so you can sit in row one and watch your fav. skaters. You can also get a seat you can live with. Many events, I just go sit with my friends as there are only a couple hundred people there to see some of the programs....I personally like to move around the arenas and see what row I would be happy in and what row I would not. In General, if its an expensive comp (Nashville if it happens will be over $3,000 for me.) I would not be happy paying that much for row 9 at this point of my life. But that is just my comfort zone. Everyone is different.

 

[Manuel Pablo Arnao]

I just booked my hotel through Hotwire and would highly recommend it! I ended up booking the DoubleTree by Hilton, which I think might be the skater hotel since it's .4 miles from the arena, from Thursday 1/6 to Monday 1/10 for $714 or $178 a night. I used the following code at checkout, RMN8HW, to save 8% off the total price and I would also recommend you install 'Retail Me Not' on your browser which will reward with another 5% off the total, or $36, if you activated it at checkout. Hotwire does Price Match so you can rest easy. Good luck!

 

[CoyoteChris]

I just booked my hotel through Hotwire and would highly recommend it! I ended up booking the DoubleTree by Hilton, which I think might be the skater hotel since it's .4 miles from the arena, from Thursday 1/6 to Monday 1/10 for $714 or $178 a night. I used the following code at checkout, RMN8HW, to save 8% off the total price and I would also recommend you install 'Retail Me Not' on your browser which will reward with another 5% off the total, or $36, if you activated it at checkout. Hotwire does Price Match so you can rest easy. Good luck!

Does that include a free breakfast and is that price before the 15.5 percent pirate tax? I am sure its a nice place. Never had a bad night at a Double Tree.

 

[Manuel Pablo Arnao]

Does that include a free breakfast and is that price before the 15.5 percent pirate tax? I am sure its a nice place. Never had a bad night at a Double Tree.

It doesn't mention breakfast but a couple months before arriving I will contact them to request a room high up with a view and confirm whether it does or does not include breakfast- to be honest, I would rather venture out and have breakfast at unique places instead of regular eggs and coffee. I think the price I payed includes the 15.5% pirate tax as I paid $166 in taxes to get to total of $714.

 

[CoyoteChris]

It doesn't mention breakfast but a couple months before arriving I will contact them to request a room high up with a view and confirm whether it does or does not include breakfast- to be honest, I would rather venture out and have breakfast at unique places instead of regular eggs and coffee. I think the price I payed includes the 15.5% pirate tax as I paid $166 in taxes to get to total of $714.

Sounds like a plan. Many of us like to congregate in the breakfast area before 7 am practice/ warm ups and spread the collective "knowledge." Then race to practice. I think you are seeing this more as a vacation, which is fine. By Thursday, there will be more warm ups than practices anyway. Like you, I would rather eat a slow leasurely breakfast in a nice National Park lodge, but at Nats, where you have 16 main comps and all sorts of practices and warm ups, you have to plan carefully depending on what you want to see. Still, we can usually find time to eat. The restaurants who contribute to the funding of the event want fans to have the time to eat and spend money.

 

[Manuel Pablo Arnao]

Sounds like a plan. Many of us like to congregate in the breakfast area before 7 am practice/ warm ups and spread the collective "knowledge." Then race to practice. I think you are seeing this more as a vacation, which is fine. By Thursday, there will be more warm ups than practices anyway. Like you, I would rather eat a slow leasurely breakfast in a nice National Park lodge, but at Nats, where you have 16 main comps and all sorts of practices and warm ups, you have to plan carefully depending on what you want to see. Still, we can usually find time to eat. The restaurants who contribute to the funding of the event want fans to have the time to eat and spend money. View attachment 3691
View attachment 3692

Fabulous pics! Excited to meet all of you!

 

[iluvtodd]

Practices are lots of fun...sit near your friends or near the coaches of the skaters you like.....and when they do complete run throughs you get to see the program twice! View attachment 3648

No one wanted to wear my Golden skate creds so I suggested we all wear orange (Doris did). Then I gave up and just published a pic of myself and told people to come over and say hello. Some did. We have had some great dinners together.....Over 20 comps, you just get to talking to people and see them year to year. I have good friend here I like to sit with and other friends I have just met through the years and friends I know from FOFS breakfasts...Here is our GS gathering at Worlds Boston 2016.
View attachment 3651

Hey, Coyote Chris, that's a neat photo! It looks like (my) Mark is standing up ready to take a group picture. I'm standing up in this one, too! That was a fun afternoon gathering!

 

[jkl]

The Renaissance Hotel on Commerce is the official hotel.

 

[apgold]

The Renaissance Hotel on Commerce is the official hotel.

Too expensive for me, but if things are somewhat "normal" by January, there is no reason we can't go and hang in the lobby/hotel bar and stalk skaters and coaches, lol.

I have not done that at Nationals but when I went to the Aurora Games in 2019 in Albany, I was staying at an AirBnB near the arena and went to the official hotel where the skaters and coaches were staying to get dinner. Literally all the restaurants in downtown Albany shut down on the weekends and the only thing open nearby was the hotel restaurant bar. While I ate my salad, I saw Alysa Liu and her dad, Nancy Kerrigan, Surya Bonaly, Silvia Fontana, Mie Hamada, and a few others having drinks or eating.

 

[CoyoteChris]

Too expensive for me, but if things are somewhat "normal" by January, there is no reason we can't go and hang in the lobby/hotel bar and stalk skaters and coaches, lol.

I have not done that at Nationals but when I went to the Aurora Games in 2019 in Albany, I was staying at an AirBnB near the arena and went to the official hotel where the skaters and coaches were staying to get dinner. Literally all the restaurants in downtown Albany shut down on the weekends and the only thing open nearby was the hotel restaurant bar. While I ate my salad, I saw Alysa Liu and her dad, Nancy Kerrigan, Surya Bonaly, Silvia Fontana, Mie Hamada, and a few others having drinks or eating.

No stalking for me! I go into shell shock mode!

Fabulous pics! Excited to meet all of you!

Do you drink?

 

[CoyoteChris]

There seem to be those with "Practice Hesitency"
It really is alot of fun and you can see alot just by watching. You get to know where certain coaches like to sit and sit a respectful distance from them and dont talk.

 

[Manuel Pablo Arnao]

No stalking for me! I go into shell shock mode!
View attachment 3703

Do you drink?
View attachment 3704

I love drinking! lol

 

[Jhar55]

Lots places eat downtown, if get chance check out Bourbon Street Blues and Boogie Bar on Printers Alley. Had wild night there once

 

[RobinA]

Why do you all want to go to practices? It sounds a little boring. Wouldn't you enjoy exploring the city with friends or the people on this board and getting cocktails/yummy food?

I thought this before my first Nationals. Why would anyone want to go to practice? Then I went there and found out. Now you can't tear me away from a practice. Depends on how much you actually like to watch skating. I could watch it all day. I often prefer practice to the actual event.

 

[LiamForeman]

It depends on your comfort zone. If you get the all event package, you get a practice pass and that's open seating so you can sit in row one and watch your fav. skaters. You can also get a seat you can live with. Many events, I just go sit with my friends as there are only a couple hundred people there to see some of the programs....I personally like to move around the arenas and see what row I would be happy in and what row I would not. In General, if its an expensive comp (Nashville if it happens will be over $3,000 for me.) I would not be happy paying that much for row 9 at this point of my life. But that is just my comfort zone. Everyone is different.

It boggles the mind how much tickets are for Nationals. They've priced themselves out for me. Not that I can't afford it, but the product they are selling is just not worth it for me. I'd rather go to SkAm where I can see real super world class skaters in all events. I'm also not really invested in any US skaters this quad. Hopefully Jason Brown will be at SkAm along with Nathan, though I guess that won't happen.

 

[LiamForeman]

I thought this before my first Nationals. Why would anyone want to go to practice? Then I went there and found out. Now you can't tear me away from a practice. Depends on how much you actually like to watch skating. I could watch it all day. I often prefer practice to the actual event.

Me too!! Practices are the fun part for me. You can see skaters practicing ultra-c that may or may not be included in the performance. Plus hardly anyone is there so you can get up close. My husband couldn't understand it when I took him to his first skating competition, so I'll probably get the all-event pass and he can do his own thing during the day in Vegas. He's only learned about the skating world through me in the last few years, Nathan and Anna are his faves, but he doesn't understand the point of watching practices.

 

[moonvine]

It boggles the mind how much tickets are for Nationals. They've priced themselves out for me. Not that I can't afford it, but the product they are selling is just not worth it for me. I'd rather go to SkAm where I can see real super world class skaters in all events. I'm also not really invested in any US skaters this quad. Hopefully Jason Brown will be at SkAm along with Nathan, though I guess that won't happen.

It is insane. Especially compared to Greensboro where they actively worked very hard to make it affordable, not just tickets but parking passes and etc.

 

[CoyoteChris]

It is insane. Especially compared to Greensboro where they actively worked very hard to make it affordable, not just tickets but parking passes and etc.

Actually, I think you get more bang for the buck at SkateAmerica or Four continents. My view of money has been skewed as I remember when a penny, nickel, or dime was actually worth something...now I throw them into a jar and give them to a business who needs change and does charity work . I have no idea what it costs to see a football game but its probably comparable to one skate comp or a concert. I am going to nats if it happens just to see friends for the most part...kind of like a week long party. A get away from Spokane's gloom in the winter.

 

[CoyoteChris]

It boggles the mind how much tickets are for Nationals. They've priced themselves out for me. Not that I can't afford it, but the product they are selling is just not worth it for me. I'd rather go to SkAm where I can see real super world class skaters in all events. I'm also not really invested in any US skaters this quad. Hopefully Jason Brown will be at SkAm along with Nathan, though I guess that won't happen.

I have missed a few nats now and I dont have any regrets. I think I went for 10 years straight but then decided to take up cruising. SA and Four CCs I feel are much more exciting for the dollar. Still, I dont regret going to those 10 nats...so many wonderful memories. So many great people to talk with. But if someone said, You can never go to a nats again but you can go to all the SAs and 4CCs will be in the US every year, I wouldnt hesitate to take the second option. Four CCs. 2019...so many wonderful memories.

 

[moonvine]

Actually, I think you get more bang for the buck at SkateAmerica or Four continents. My view of money has been skewed as I remember when a penny, nickel, or dime was actually worth something...now I throw them into a jar and give them to a business who needs change and does charity work . I have no idea what it costs to see a football game but its probably comparable to one skate comp or a concert. I am going to nats if it happens just to see friends for the most part...kind of like a week long party. A get away from Spokane's gloom in the winter.

One probably does get more bang for ones buck that way. Since Nashville is a short 6 hour drive away from me it is still a better value than SA when transportation is factored in. I doubt a regular football game costs even $755 much less over $1,000. I’m disabled. $1,000 is a VERY big chunk of change. I’m kind of appalled by the whole thing - they don’t even have a website yet. I can’t recall a time when the website for Nationals wasn’t up by May.