2018/19 GP Assignments

[Yoa]

 

[Tee]

 

[Ferrer]

19 minutes ago, Tee said:

 

 

I'm gonna bet on Finland gold streak no matter what!!! 

[Pamigena]

9 minutes ago, Tee said:

 

 

man I can't wait to see that head to toe all gold costume including golden blades, golden boot covers, golden gloves, and possibly golden hair dye and golden spray tan the things you do to cancel out that silver curse

[rockstaryuzu]

Something I want to point out: with the rules change, there's going to be a lot more pressure on skaters to skate clean rather than trying and failing on risky elements. Idk if people here can remember, but the last time there was a scoring system like that, skaters were very conservative in what they would try to jump and land. So I think we're going to see  a) a different approach to the skating by everyone, and b ) skaters who rarely go clean struggling a lot. In my opinion, what this means is someone like Kolyada or Chen, who are sporadically brilliant but susceptible to nerves, is at a disadvantage, while a skater like ,say, Shoma, who is usually solid, could surge ahead. Yuzu will of course rise to the occasion as always.

[Forcefield]

6 minutes ago, rockstaryuzu said:

Something I want to point out: with the rules change, there's going to be a lot more pressure on skaters to skate clean rather than trying and failing on risky elements. Idk if people here can remember, but the last time there was a scoring system like that, skaters were very conservative in what they would try to jump and land. So I think we're going to see  a) a different approach to the skating by everyone, and b ) skaters who rarely go clean struggling a lot. In my opinion, what this means is someone like Kolyada or Chen, who are sporadically brilliant but susceptible to nerves, is at a disadvantage, while a skater like ,say, Shoma, who is usually solid, could surge ahead. Yuzu will of course rise to the occasion as always.

 

Yuzuru always believes he will go clean. Its his goal for each competition and something I admire about his confidence. I don't think or hope he will back down from ISU's challenge.

[Lunna]

13 часов назад, yumeaki сказал:

For lone traveller, I usually aim for city with good transport network (good subway lines or small city that can be covered by foot). Between Moscow and Helsinki, which is better?

although based on work schedule, Moscow is easier for me to apply leave.... 

Helsinki is smaller, signs in latin words, easier with English. But Moscow is also OK if you live at the near metro station and not on another end of the city. The new metro was opened recently close to the arena. Last year all practices were open to the public, don't know about Helsinki. So you must choose what's easier/cheaper for you.

[Winnie_20]

4 hours ago, Murieleirum said:

Btw, regarding Hotels and B&B... I'm not sure why all you people insist on paying for a place to sleep.

 

 

Attending FS events in other countries is a luxury I can afford now (and I work hard for it) and when I do, I go all the way (well, up to a certain level; I do not need VIP treatment with booze and pay a gazillion bucks extra for something I don't drink or will use, like a lounge... also, in Milan my non-VIP seat was better than the VIP seats, so there's that too, hahahaha). A hotel or good apartment with everything present, I will happily pay for. I do not want to talk to people I don't know or who don't share my hobbies; I do enough of that at work, and I'm on holiday. ;-)

No offense, I'm sure it's a good idea for some, but I'd never give it a second of thought now. 

 

4 hours ago, sallycinnamon said:

It's just more comfortable to stay near the venue, especially if you go to watch practices in the morning and/or the competition ends late in the evening. 

 

I always prefer staying in/near the city. I'm not going to, ahem, sightsee the skaters, when the enter or exit the arena, when they enter their hotel etc.  I will also not pull all-nighters or get up at 3 am to try and get practice seats, so no reason to be next to the rink.

The good shopping is in the city, not at the arena. ;-)

Public transport is always convenient enough, Helsinki pt has so many fast options. Most of the hotels near the rinks are ridiculously expensive; but sometimes not that great, you just pay for the location. You can usually do much better nearer to the city, and cheaper. I remember in Barcelona, some hotels at the convention center were sooooo expensive... but didn't even have coffee/tea facilities in the room. Thanks but no thanks. 

 

4 hours ago, Xen said:

Has no one bothered to look at Marin Honda's? Look it up...she has a chance to podium where?

 

I adore Marin, but... If Marin is still the way she was this past season, she has no right to podium, anyway. I saw her at the Challenge Cup (read: aside from the Japanese ladies, no high-level senior ladies worth mentioning IIRC), she was, what, 11th in the SP?! That was not the brilliant Marin Honda as we knew her from Juniors. She ended up third... behind Wakaba... but also behind Rika Hongo (!). 

 

[sallycinnamon]

43 minutes ago, Winnie_20 said:

I always prefer staying in/near the city. I'm not going to, ahem, sightsee the skaters, when the enter or exit the arena, when they enter their hotel etc.  I will also not pull all-nighters or get up at 3 am to try and get practice seats, so no reason to be next to the rink.

The good shopping is in the city, not at the arena. ;-)

Public transport is always convenient enough, Helsinki pt has so many fast options. Most of the hotels near the rinks are ridiculously expensive; but sometimes not that great, you just pay for the location. You can usually do much better nearer to the city, and cheaper. I remember in Barcelona, some hotels at the convention center were sooooo expensive... but didn't even have coffee/tea facilities in the room. Thanks but no thanks. 

 

It depends on the preferences I think. At GP events competition days are long (especially if there's a possibility to go the practices as well) so I prefer to stay near the arena, and by near I mean in 20 min walking distance or no more than half an hour by public transport. I usually don't have time to go to shopping and I don't stalk skaters either, but I don't like spending too much time on travelling...simply because it's tiring.

I'd prefer more comportable hotels too but those are really expensive everywhere. In Moscow and also in Gangneung I was lucky to find very cheap accommodation in a walking distance from the arena. I can't afford both so I rather pay more for good seats than for better accommodation...

[Danibellerika]

2 hours ago, Pamigena said:

 

man I can't wait to see that head to toe all gold costume including golden blades, golden boot covers, golden gloves, and possibly golden hair dye and golden spray tan the things you do to cancel out that silver curse

 

Well here is a veeeeery close preview if you're interested:

 

 

 

[kiches]

Each fan is probably a bit different in what they value when they go watch figure skating, so it'll influence where you want to stay.

 

My personal experience is that once competition and practice starts, I have very little time to do anything else (I like going to practices, I won't camp overnight but will sometimes go early). On those days I prefer to be staying somewhere I can get to and from the rink quickly as a lot of events end late. Since I'm not in the room where I'm staying often I usually don't care if it's very large or the hotel has a ton of amenities because I'm not likely going to be there to use them. My main goal is convenience, then comfort. Food is another factor for me and so is transportation, I avoid places I'll need to take cabs and prefer trains/subways or locations I can walk from. If I can get to and from the rink and to decent variety of food options and back, that's a big bonus.

 

I leave the sightseeing and other stuff to non-competition days most of the time so I'm cramming things in at a pretty fast pace, I'm always exhausted at the end of these trips and I tend to get very little sleep as I'm a night owl.

 

As for couch surfing, if I'm traveling alone as a woman that's much too risky. I'm fine borrowing a couch from someone I am good friends with, or even an acquaintance or a fellow fan, but it's a big no if it's an absolute stranger and I have valuables with me. The risk is not worth the savings. It's also a lot less secure in case circumstances with the host changes - I've had this happen before with a casual acquaintance I was going to stay with and we had to book a hotel very last minute.

[TallyT]

So Helinski is before Moscow, right?

 

That means that it might be the first time we see his programs?

 

Oh the scramble for tickets will be something else....

 

[Forcefield]

37 minutes ago, TallyT said:

So Helinski is before Moscow, right?

 

That means that it might be the first time we see his programs?

 

Oh the scramble for tickets will be something else....

 

 

Don't forget media day in August. Also a Challenger, maybe ACI.

[kaeryth]

Confirmation that Marchei/Hotarek are skipping the GP series (but not retiring)

 

[glilikoi]

8 hours ago, kiches said:

 

As for couch surfing, if I'm traveling alone as a woman that's much too risky. I'm fine borrowing a couch from someone I am good friends with, or even an acquaintance or a fellow fan, but it's a big no if it's an absolute stranger and I have valuables with me. The risk is not worth the savings. It's also a lot less secure in case circumstances with the host changes - I've had this happen before with a casual acquaintance I was going to stay with and we had to book a hotel very last minute.

1

This is pretty much my feeling as well. I actually used to do tons of couchsurfing when I was 17-19 (I lied about my age when I was 17, officially the website is 18+). I had many good experiences but, unfortunately, also more than a couple of instances when my host would make sexual advances and it was scary on so many levels. With some guys there was this assumption that hosting someone somehow implicitly means you owe them something, which just makes things so awkward. In the worst cases I had people react in a hostile way and needed to leave because I felt so unsafe. I also have some friends with similar negative experiences. 

 

After these experiences, the last couple of times I've couchsurfed I've made a point to only stay with girls, preferrably close to my own age. It's been OK, but somehow the whole CS experience in my mind has become kind of stressful. Now I really prefer to just pay for having some privacy and not having to depend on anyone else's kindness. I don't want to be too negative about CS in general, this is just my own personal experience. I believe it is also something that's been voiced in the CS community and they have tried to take action to prevent these issues, but it's so hard to effectively regulate spontaneous human behaviour. So couchsurfing can be a lot of fun and a positive experience for everyone involved, but I also totally understand why some people, especially women, feel uncomfortable about it. 

(Sorry for going a bit off topic .. just thought this is an interesting thing to discuss. I didn't mean in any way to say that promoting CS is neglecting personal safety, by the way, I believe there are many men and women who have done CS for years without any issues and it can absolutely be a good thing as well.)