Who's Going to Worlds? | Page 34 | Golden Skate

Who's Going to Worlds?

I'm gnashing my teeth with envy of all those who are going. I can only wish that all of you have the best time EVER - for all of us who can only attend in spirit. And if anyone is moved to hold up a sign that says "HI RAVYN RANT!" when the camera pans over you, feel free. I won't mind. :biggrin:
 
I have a question for the locals. How is traffic in Boston or specifically from back bay to TD garden around noon time? I will be in a time crunch trying to get to the ice dance short event and I am wondering whether it's worth splurging on cab fare instead of taking the train. The train trip looks to be around 20 minutes, do you think the cab or uber ride will be faster? Thanks.
 
I have a question for the locals. How is traffic in Boston or specifically from back bay to TD garden around noon time? I will be in a time crunch trying to get to the ice dance short event and I am wondering whether it's worth splurging on cab fare instead of taking the train. The train trip looks to be around 20 minutes, do you think the cab or uber ride will be faster? Thanks.

I don't drive and I haven't been down to the Back Bay area around noon time, but both areas are generally busy with traffic. West End/TD Garden especially. I think if your cabbie knows to avoid the whole area around Longfellow Bridge, Mass General/Mass Eye and Ear then your ride shouldn't take 10 minutes.

Are you going to be anywhere near Back Bay Station? If you take the Orange Line, the ride itself is going to be about 10 minutes.

Hopefully other Bostonians can help you out with this!
 
Last edited:
I don't drive and I haven't been down to the Back Bay area around noon time, but both areas are generally busy with traffic. West End/TD Garden especially. I think if your cabbie knows to avoid the whole area around Longfellow Bridge, Mass General/Mass Eye and Ear then your ride shouldn't take 10 minutes.

Are you going to be anywhere near Back Bay Station? If you take the Orange Line, the ride itself is going to be about 10 minutes.

Hopefully other Bostonians can help you out with this!

I am not a local but I am going to guess it is going to be pretty hard to beat the Orange line...yes, you have to wait for the next train and yes, there is some transit time and I havent checked the schedule, but the T should be able to beat all that stop and go /traffic light surface street transportation....its a good question though....maybe if you provided the specific time you would be at the Orange back bay station, it would help with the calculations.....what would REALLY be useful is a time sheet for the short dance. The great unwashed hoards dont get these handed out, but the workers in the arena get a minute by minute blow by blow time sheet so you know exactly who is skating or what is happening any minute of the event....perhaps a nice person could shoot a copy with their phone and MMS text it to you.

(OK, the trip from the Back Bay station to North station is a little less than 2 miles..... 12:06 pm to 12:17 using the Orange line T so that is 11 minutes....trains seem to run about every 8 minutes acording to the schedule, If I am reading it correctly....)
 
Last edited:
I am not a local but I am going to guess it is going to be pretty hard to beat the Orange line...yes, you have to wait for the next train and yes, there is some transit time and I havent checked the schedule, but the T should be able to beat all that stop and go /traffic light surface street transportation....its a good question though....maybe if you provided the specific time you would be at the Orange back bay station, it would help with the calculations.....what would REALLY be useful is a time sheet for the short dance. The great unwashed hoards dont get these handed out, but the workers in the arena get a minute by minute blow by blow time sheet so you know exactly who is skating or what is happening any minute of the event....perhaps a nice person could shoot a copy with their phone and MMS text it to you.

(OK, the trip from the Back Bay station to North station is a little less than 2 miles..... 12:06 pm to 12:17 using the Orange line T so that is 11 minutes....trains seem to run about every 8 minutes acording to the schedule, If I am reading it correctly....)
I will be at the Hilton Boston Back Bay between stations Prudential and Hynes convention - green lines but I will look into the Orange line Back Bay station since I understand from (local and Boston experts) posters that the orange line is so much less complicated.
Thank you everyone for your ideas and tips. Every minute (second) counts when it comes to short dance.
 
Can anyone advise? I am bringing a teenage daughter who is a competitive athlete, but not an ice skater or fan. I only have tickets for the men's and ladies' fps, but am considering buying tickets, if I can get any, for the pairs fp. For those of you who are used to going to live skating, will 2 events in one day be too much for teen non fans even if the quality is world class?
 
It depends on how much of the competition you take her too. Twenty four skaters per event is a 4 hour event--or around that. If you skip the earlier flights, she would might be more interested...I have always tried to see every skater, but I have to admit, and I am an AVID figure skating fan--watching every skater became a bit difficult as the event progressed. I think you'll get a good feel for how much she will enjoy it after the first event you take her too. It is a long day...(but I love it!) Unfortunately I won't be there due to health reasons.
 
Can anyone advise? I am bringing a teenage daughter who is a competitive athlete, but not an ice skater or fan. I only have tickets for the men's and ladies' fps, but am considering buying tickets, if I can get any, for the pairs fp. For those of you who are used to going to live skating, will 2 events in one day be too much for teen non fans even if the quality is world class?

Many show up only to watch the last two groups. I would try to plan for some activities in between the events and skip the earlier groups. The stadium is in a great location with a lot of activities close by. I brought a non-fan to Skate America before and she said she liked the event but preferred to watch in the hotel room with live commentary and hot coco :palmf: She loved the exhibition though. I feel the exhibition gala is something everyone can enjoy.
 
Many show up only to watch the last two groups. I would try to plan for some activities in between the events and skip the earlier groups. The stadium is in a great location with a lot of activities close by. I brought a non-fan to Skate America before and she said she liked the event but preferred to watch in the hotel room with live commentary and hot coco :palmf: She loved the exhibition though. I feel the exhibition gala is something everyone can enjoy.

I second this. When I attended 2014 Worlds I nearly died of boredom watching the Ice Dance SD. The sheer amount of Foxtrots I was subjected to was traumatizing. The last two groups of any discipline will be good. (we hope)

By the way, this is not intended to insult Ice Dance. But as a spectator who had never seen Ice Dancing before, it was a total overdose. :biggrin:
 
Last edited:
I was thinking of running that strategy - I mean, I think the short programs are nearly 6 (!!) hours long...as much as I'm excited for this, that's a LONG time to be sitting in a rink...

What I hope for is that a detailed schedule will be available publicly so that as a spectator, I'll know which groups start when and can time my arrival accordingly.
 
Last edited:
Many show up only to watch the last two groups. I would try to plan for some activities in between the events and skip the earlier groups. The stadium is in a great location with a lot of activities close by.

:scowl: :scowl: :scowl: :scowl:
 
I will be at the Hilton Boston Back Bay between stations Prudential and Hynes convention - green lines but I will look into the Orange line Back Bay station since I understand from (local and Boston experts) posters that the orange line is so much less complicated.
Thank you everyone for your ideas and tips. Every minute (second) counts when it comes to short dance.

Hopefully, you will have a starting order but its really only .6 miles and a 12 min walk to the Back bay station....not that much farther than the Copley T station. (Disclaimer: I love to walk)
 
I was thinking of running that strategy - I mean, I think the short programs are nearly 6 (!!) hours long...as much as I'm excited for this, that's a LONG time to be sitting in a rink...

What I hope for is that a detailed schedule will be available publicly so that as a spectator, I'll know which groups start when and can time my arrival accordingly.

I really have to get better with my new smart phone....if someone posts the starting order, then I will know if I have to run or walk to the arena! ;) But you know its also kind of fun to watch skaters you have never seen nor might never see again.
Chris whose record is 90 hours in a seat at nats....
 
Can anyone advise? I am bringing a teenage daughter who is a competitive athlete, but not an ice skater or fan. I only have tickets for the men's and ladies' fps, but am considering buying tickets, if I can get any, for the pairs fp. For those of you who are used to going to live skating, will 2 events in one day be too much for teen non fans even if the quality is world class?

This is a tough one. I have seen situations like this before and the non skating lover gets bored and turns to their phone for stymulis. I would sit them down one evening and play a recorded event on the TV and tell them, "Now, at a live comp, you will be seeing many more skaters...if these top folk on the telly dont interest you, than you may be bored to tears after three skaters....
Chris who would be bored to tears at a golf, baseball, hockey, basket ball, foot ball, soccer event but who does competitive sports
 
And yes, the subway entrance to North Station that is next to the garden is closed, you have to use the entrance on Causeway St. It's pretty easy to find, but it will take a couple extra minutes of walking. (I just did this two nights ago with no problem) It's fairly well marked, inside the station you only have one option for exiting and the Garden is a fairly big building so you should see it pretty easily. The exterior of the station has a huge T sign so it's pretty easy to find as well. Once you do it once you should have no problem doing it again in the future so just maybe give yourself a little extra time the first time you take the train and probably try it in the daylight.
Do both green and orange lines stop at the same location for North Station. Google maps show them to be at different locations - with a different name Amtrak Station - BON (google maps can be soooo confusing). Any advice from the locals is greatly appreciated.
 
Do both green and orange lines stop at the same location for North Station. Google maps show them to be at different locations - with a different name Amtrak Station - BON (google maps can be soooo confusing). Any advice from the locals is greatly appreciated.

Yes, the orange and green line platforms are literally right next to each other. But the other trains (commuter rail, Amtrak) are in a slightly different location. They are actually inside the same building as the TD Garden, so you'll probably see the train waiting areas when you are entering the Garden.
 
So for all of you fans who aren't completely worn out from watching skating all day and plan to stay up late on the weekend: today the MBTA decided to end the late night service mid-March. Currently on Friday and Saturday nights the trains run until 2am but they are cutting back to 12:30am. Just thought this was worth a mention if anyone is planning after-competition shenanigans.
 
Back
Top