38 minutes ago, yuzuangel said:

 

Eek, that would not be very good for visibility! haha. Well, I'm probably gonna be there, so if you need any help moving up and down the bleachers, just send me a message, it's a small venue so it hopefully won't be that hard to find each other 

 

If they did that, all you would see of me would be my head peeking over the boards. You could take a picture of my head and use it for an extremely pissed off emoticon!

 

PS: Thanks for the offer of help! 

6 hours ago, Geo1 said:

 

Thanks, kiches, for the info! I have sent an email to Sportplexe Pierrefonds as suggested by Upnights.

 

Do they have elevators that would provide access to the area behind the bleachers?

 

I was thinking that they might be putting wheelchair spectators somewhere on the ground level behind the protective glass. From what I have seen from your picture and all the videos from last year (including yours), it does not look like an ideal venue for people in wheelchairs.

Yes there's an elevator to the upper level of the complex that enters straight to the rink to the top of the bleachers. Visibility is actually good from the back as well (chose to film from there one of the days). If it's lower level behind the glass you would enter from the first level at the main entrance, but you may have to speak to them about that to gain access. 

 

I would say the seating is probably not very wheelchair friendly, but access in and out of the rink I think should be okay since there's an elevator and entrance is to the top of the bleachers on the second floor (main entry for spectators) and rink level is on first floor. I'm sure the organizers will be able to give you better information about wheelchair access and seating. 

On ‎05‎/‎07‎/‎2017 at 9:00 AM, Upnights said:

A lil something to prepare your heart if you guys do see this happening  

Thanks for this @Upnights.........but I wonder if anything can truly prepare our hearts for seeing Yuzuru in the flesh............

1 hour ago, Pamyu said:

Thanks for this @Upnights.........but I wonder if anything can truly prepare our hearts for seeing Yuzuru in the flesh............

 

There is no way to prepare.  It's - oh, he really exists - & then he continues to be astonishing.

22 minutes ago, Upnights said:

 

There is no way to prepare.  It's - oh, he really exists - & then he continues to be astonishing.

 

I am already holding my breath just imagining it!!

 

2 hours ago, Pamyu said:

 

I am already holding my breath just imagining it!!

 

 You will not be disappointed.

Just now, Upnights said:

 

There is no way to prepare.  It's - oh, he really exists - & then he continues to be astonishing.

Actual conversation with a friend yesterday:

On 7/9/2017 at 1:35 AM, kiches said:

Yes there's an elevator to the upper level of the complex that enters straight to the rink to the top of the bleachers. Visibility is actually good from the back as well (chose to film from there one of the days). If it's lower level behind the glass you would enter from the first level at the main entrance, but you may have to speak to them about that to gain access. 

 

I would say the seating is probably not very wheelchair friendly, but access in and out of the rink I think should be okay since there's an elevator and entrance is to the top of the bleachers on the second floor (main entry for spectators) and rink level is on first floor. I'm sure the organizers will be able to give you better information about wheelchair access and seating. 

 

Thanks again, kiches!

 

I received the following information from Renaud Harvey, General Manager of Sportplexe Pierrefonds:

 

The access of the building and the first floor are very easy. We have an elevator. There is plenty of space in the arena to circulate and to go into each ice. There are some places that your friends will be able to sit with you. For the toilets, there is not a toilet exclusively for wheelchairs but they are big enough.

 

I received the following information from Amy Thiffault of Skate Canada:

 

Indeed, the arena is wheelchair accessible. It will be on the 2 floor, there is an elevator and our volunteers will be able to direct you. The ticket purchase process is the same, our tickets are purchased for general entry, no seat reservations.

On 7/8/2017 at 10:22 PM, Geo1 said:

 

If they did that, all you would see of me would be my head peeking over the boards. You could take a picture of my head and use it for an extremely pissed off emoticon!

 

PS: Thanks for the offer of help! 

Hi Geo, I'm going to AC , and I'm happy to help you too! Been pushing my mom around in her wheelchair every time we were traveling 

Great to hear @Geo1, glad to see they appear to be prepared for wheelchairs. 

 

I'll share a bit of my account on seeing Yuzu at Autumn Classic last year too. Watching him skate, especially during practice can be really special. Yeah get to see him move and skate in ways we don't typically see during competition and I always find his movements fascinating. 

 

The first run-through he did at Autumn Classic was for Hope and Legacy. At the time he skipped some of he choreography between but basically landed all jumps while singling the lutz at the end  . Of course ge actual competition skate didn't go quite as well but thinking back on it now, that feeling of elation I had watching that first run-through was similar to what I felt in Helsinki - but x100   . Although I as a bit bummed he couldn't skate his best during the competition, I as mainly happy to see him skate again after the injury. 

 

 

3 hours ago, ruruzest said:

Hi Geo, I'm going to AC , and I'm happy to help you too! Been pushing my mom around in her wheelchair every time we were traveling 

 

Thank you! 

https://skatecanada.ca/event/2017-autumn-classic-international/#tab-517e60d0be1022311f4

https://www.eventbrite.ca/

 

15 hours ago, kiches said:

Great to hear @Geo1, glad to see they appear to be prepared for wheelchairs. 

 

I'll share a bit of my account on seeing Yuzu at Autumn Classic last year too. Watching him skate, especially during practice can be really special. Yeah get to see him move and skate in ways we don't typically see during competition and I always find his movements fascinating. 

 

The first run-through he did at Autumn Classic was for Hope and Legacy. At the time he skipped some of he choreography between but basically landed all jumps while singling the lutz at the end  . Of course ge actual competition skate didn't go quite as well but thinking back on it now, that feeling of elation I had watching that first run-through was similar to what I felt in Helsinki - but x100   . Although I as a bit bummed he couldn't skate his best during the competition, I as mainly happy to see him skate again after the injury. 

 

 

I also remember that he has received the record-or diploma, or recognition, what ever you call it- from a representative of ISU for being the first skater who successfully land the quad loop. He did it in his free program Hope&Legacy, I believe so.

 

And another souvenir to remember is that after the practice and before the free program, we had the surprise to see Yuzuru and his team meeting the Japanese media or someone from Japan in a Meeting Room with see-through glass walls on all 4 sides.

He looked as surprised as the fans who watched him just in front of them, separated by the glass wall.

He was laughing and looked a little bit shy or embarrassed.

I think all this last for maybe 15 minutes, until Skate Canada send in some security agents asking the fans to keep a distance from the glass wall.

Also, somebody from inside the Meeting Room tried to put papers on the glass wall to shield the view from inside.

I hope that we will see another appearance of Yuzuru in this meeting room again this year.

 

27 minutes ago, Vadrouille said:

I also remember that he has received the record-or diploma, or recognition, what ever you call it- from a representative of ISU for being the first skater who successfully land the quad loop. He did it in his free program Hope&Legacy, I believe so.

 

And another souvenir to remember is that after the practice and before the free program, we had the surprise to see Yuzuru and his team meeting the Japanese media or someone from Japan in a Meeting Room with see-through glass walls on all 4 sides.

He looked as surprised as the fans who watched him just in front of them, separated by the glass wall.

He was laughing and looked a little bit shy or embarrassed.

I think all this last for maybe 15 minutes, until Skate Canada send in some security agents asking the fans to keep a distance from the glass wall.

Also, somebody from inside the Meeting Room tried to put papers on the glass wall to shield the view from inside.

I hope that we will see another appearance of Yuzuru in this meeting room again this year.

 

He did receive congratulations from the referree, Jean Senft, for landing the first quad loop - I think she just shook his hand (there's a video of it somewhere). He did also land the loop for Hope & Legacy but had a bit of a fumble with the flip, 4S combo, and the final lutz.

 

Where was this meeting room with the see-through glass? I must've missed this .