I had a great time last week attending the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, being held for the first time here in Los Angeles. Here's my little review on the event:
The Great:
1. Our fabulous seats! Our row 4 all-event tickets ended up being the front row in our section - no heads in front of me and right near the ice! There was a rail in front of our seats that you could put your feet on and a walkway in front and below us where photographers went into the press area. Our section was right next to the end of the arena where the different countries and their commentators were broadcasting from.
2. Brian Joubert - swoon, my newest fave - what a cutie (and an audience flirt)! As one female said sitting nearby "instead of throwing flowers I'll throw myself on the ice for Joubert" - - um, well said.
3. The beautiful costumes - seeing those costumes up close as the skaters skated by my seat was really neat. I especially thought all the ice dancers were gorgeously dressed. Wow! I also took a fancy to Carolina Kostner's finals dress - with it layers of beige and brown under the skirt, looked really pretty up close.
3. I saw a number of figure skating stars of yesteryear around the arena during the week - Debi Thomas in the concourse, Jenny Meno in the ladies room, Scott Hamilton, Sandra Bezic, Kurt Browning, Tracy Wilson, and Philippe Candeloro in the broadcast area near us, Dick Button and Michelle Kwan were broadcasting across the arena from my seats (could only see with my binoculars) - and skater (now coach) Elaine Zayak and best of all, my favorite skating heartthrob of yesteryear, now coaching - adorable Alexei Urmanov whose cute face caught my eye as he stood in the Kiss and Cry even before I realized who he was - still looking real good, I must say!
4. Johnny Weir was in attendance signing autographs in the concourse. I also saw Evan Lysacek signing autographs during the ice resurfacing during the Ladies finals.
5. I calculate I spent around 55 hours in my Staples Center seat watching skating over the course of the week - that may sound like a lot to some, but it went by super, super fast for me! What a great time.
6. As a long-tine figure skating fan - I have followed the sport since I was a very little girl and saw Peggy Fleming skate in the Olympics - this was such a great opportunity to see an event like this, and all the great skaters that I love, up close and personal and in my own hometown - hurrah!
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The Neutral:
1. The Ryan Seacrest lookalike/soundalike/same sense of humor as Seacrest guy who was doing interviews with audience members during ice resurfacing - why is it when someone is popular, they have to always hire people that are exactly the same?! What about some variety in the world?!
2. It was very, very cold in the arena - at least where I was sitting - so I wore layers of clothes, a scarf, and two pairs of socks (to help keep my feeling quite frost-bitten feet warm). The last two days of the event I found to be a bit warmer, and only needed my one woolly jacket.
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And a few minor complaints, all related to the venue - not the event itself!
1. Poor selection of foods to eat in a large-sized arena that should have had more choice - and way over-priced!
2. I didn't like the way between competitions they cleared out the arena and wouldn't let people sit in there, even when the gap was only an hour. One of the evenings people were buying their dinners, and with nowhere to sit (only a very few small tables in a few spots) I saw people sitting on the floor in the concourse to eat!
3. Expensive parking!
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