My Day at Worlds

[Debbie]

I'm going to write this in stages b/c my AOL is being obnoxious and keeps disconnecting me.

I didn't see that much skating, b/c not a lot of skaters were there, but I did figure out where a lot of stuff was.

First, no one will go hungry. Even if you hate arena food, you're sure to find something to fulfill your culinary preferences. Across from MCI on 7th St. there is a Legal Seafood, a Ruby Tuesday's, a Fuddrucker's, a sandwich place, and then around the corner there is a Subway, a barbecue place, plus all the restaurants that are in Chinatown. There were also other places to eat, but these are the ones I made note of. Right next to MCI, there is a McDonald's and another nicer-looking restaurant - I think it was Indian but not completely sure.

[DaveSato]

Damn, I just gained 5 pounds reading that. :)

[Debbie]

Logged off again! Arrrghhh! I think at the dinner I'll take a poll of people's favorite online service.

The Convention Ctr is only about 3 blocks from MCI - just like the LOC said - imagine! The entrance was hard to find - lots of locked doors with signs on them with arrows to an entrance that didn't seem to exist. It's actually the center door in the group of doors along the driveway area where cars can pull in - along 9th St. To get to the practice area, you haveto walk to one end of the lobby to an escalator, then walk down a long hall when you get to the second floor. The directions the person downstairs gave me were slightly less than accurate, but I eventually found it. I suggested to the volunteer who checked my ticket that the signage could be improved.

The C Ctr is not a great place for pics (and according to a post on FSU, cameras were not allowed, although I got in with mine). The rink is in the center of a big room, with metal railings (for security purposes, I assume) along the sides, with the first row of seats at least 30-40 feet back. Consequently, in order get a good view of the ice and the skaters, you need to sit fairly high up. But of course, the better your overall view, the farther you are from the skaters. Plus the light is not good enough to take pics w/o a flash (unless you'vegot like 1600 speed film or something). And of course, to get good pics, you'd need a magnifying glass.

One good note: for those who attended 2002 Nats and went to practices in the refrigerator known as Healthsouth, the temp was quite nice. I had my rain jacket, plus the fleece zip-up that I wear when I skate, but I was comfortable in just my cotton sweater. The temp in MCI was equally pleasant, but i wouldn't be surprised if they tinker with the temp as the week goes on, so bring extra layers just in case.

[TimothysMyHero]

thanks for the reports. it's nice to hear what it's like there for those that can't go. keep 'em coming! :)

[Debbie]

I fear the MCI Center may not be a good arena for pics either. I noticed that there is not a lot of vertical distance between rows. I sat in my seats for the practice I attended there, and my seats are great - 2 seats away from the center aisle in the 4th row, across from the anonymous judges. However, a woman sat in front of the seat to my right, and I noticed that I had a hard time seeing over her head. Then I noticed how the seats were configured. Those of you that have met me know that I am short (5'0), so if you're tall you probably won't have a problem, but for us short folk, we might spend a lot of time moving our heads.

The K&C is on the corner closest to my seats, just below section 107. The section for the media is directly next to the K&C, below sections 106-104. The judges are along sections 101, 100, and 121. The design for the K&C is pretty - it has the comp logo in the center and the background is a sketching of Wash landmarks. Much improved over that "thing" they had at last year's Worlds.

One thing about MCI that sort of bugged me is that even though the arena is only about 5 or 6 years old, the seats weren't in the best shape - the spring mechanism on the seat next to me didn't work well and the seats themselves weren't that comfortable. The seating area also seemed dirty - I sure hope they clean the floor and the cupholders before the comp starts.

However, the staff seemed very nice, at least the people I came into contact with today. There was some rule about not sitting in the center section in the 2 rows in front of a railing that was there, but other than that, we were free to walk around and sit where we wanted. My backpack purse had no problem with security - one woman looked at my ticket while the man next to her took a quick look inside the bag.

Security at the C Ctr was a little tighter. The security person there (who appeared to be part of the C Ctr's security staff and not affiliated with the MCI Ctr or the Worlds people) took a long loo inside my bag, moving things around and asking me to open the front compartment. She ran a metal detector wand over me, front and back.

[Debbie]

One note: the only entrance to the MCI Ctr is on F St - just down the block from the Metro station entrance and exit. There is a door that leads out to 7th St. but it is only and exit, not an entrance.

Both venues will have merchandise stands. The one at MCI was not set up yet, but there was one at the C Ctr (inside the big room) that was not open but had merchandise on display. There was also some merchandise that had yet to arrive, such as pins and skating towels (may have been more but that was all the guy mentioned in response to specific queries by the people gathered outside). Be prepared for some sticker shock: the glossy-cover program is $15. The "media guide", which sounds like the scorebook, is $25. Am I imagining things, or did the program and scorebook package at last year's Nats cost $15 altogether?

Now on to what I saw as far as skating goes:

I arrived at MCI Ctr first, where Dance CD practice was going on. There were 2 teams in the group I saw (i caught the last 15-20 minutes) - the one of note was C/S. They ran through their CD OK - I'm not really that knowledgeable on the intricacies of dance. They conferred with their coach, Evgeny Platov, several times. This may be old news, but Sergei cut his hair - it's just below the chin and above the shoulders.

I stayed until the beginning of the next group b/c the Americans were scheduled to be there, but none of them showed.

Then, I journeyed to the C Ctr to watch the pairs LP practice. I got there in time for the group with the Americans. O/L didn't show. There was also a pair from the Czech Republic in this group - they seemed OK - I've never seen them on TV so I assume they're not ranked that highly.

I/B didn't really do a run-through. They practiced some pair spins, but mostly worked on jumps separately.

S/D did their run-through. They did a nic job, although they appeared slower in the program than they did when they were practicing elements solo before their run-through started. They did SBS 3 toes (Philip may have doubled his, not sure), an OK 3 twist (not as much crash as I've sometimes seen in the past), a good throw 3 sal, a single axel (they both didit so it may have been intentional) into 2 toes. SBS spins with good unison, what appeared to be an attempt at a throw 3 toe which she doubled and stepped out of, a slow pair spin. Their lifts were K, but their final one was very slow. They ended with a back outside death spiral which was good, but I think they finished a tad behind their music. Since it was their first practice, I imagine they were just getting a feel for the ice.

I stayed after that practice b/c Dance group #1 was next and B/K were assigned to that group. However, they didn't show and neither did any of the other teams. So I left, and such was my day. I won't bore you with details of the horrible traffic on the way home.

I'm going tomorrow sometime in the afternoon - I've got my skating lesson from 11 to 11:30. I'm going to (hopefully) see the men's and ladies practices.

Btw, Heather, I did get a copy of the Wash Post. The section is nicely done, except that a lot of it is written for people who have no clue about skating. We'll have to arrange a time to meet on Sunday after you get in. I'll e-mail you, too.

[honey827]

Thanks so much for the update.

[MikeNYC]

Thanks for that!

M.

[kwansong99]

Thanks for the wonderful report. Keep them coming! The little tid-bits about the arena are very helpful! I cant believe i'll be there in a few days! YAY! :D :D :D

I have a question: Did you purchase your practice pass when you got there or did you bring it with you? Can you purchase a practice pass when you get there at the door? (do they sell them or does a person HAVE to purchase through ticketmaster?) Any info would be greatly appreciated!

[Debbie]

I have an all-event ticket, so the practice pass is included in the ticket book.

I did not see any place where you could buy them at the venues. It's possible you could go to the MCI Ctr. box office, but I think chances are pretty good you have to purchase through Ticketmaster. If you go that route, I think you can request that tix be held for you at Will Call, so you can pick them up at the arena.

[UMBS Go Blue]

Thanks a lot Debbie! I'll be arriving tomorrow afternoon and hope to catch some of the late afternoon ladies practices and evening dance practices. Thanks in particular for the camera info... hope I'll be able to bring mine into the Convention Center.

The Czech team you mentioned is probably Berankova/Dlabola, and I think they placed 7th or so at either the last Olympics or the last Worlds.

[jvanal]

Thanks for all of the info. Very helpful to get an idea of whats going on before I get there on Thursday.

[Pamby]

I bought a practice pass at the ticket window at the MCI Center. The same ticket was good for the practices in both buildings. I didn't see anywhere in the Convention Center where I could have bought a ticket.