Coronavirus and the World Championships

[TontoK]

About corporate plushies, etc., I have been to cheesefests where the sponsor passed out plushie Hershey;s Kisses to the skaters to throw to the fans. Also, one time the skaters were given airguns to shoot teeshirts into the audience with the sponsors logo on them. And a good time was had by all. :yes:

But here is what's wrong with gift cards. If you give someone a gift card that means that you don't know that person well enough, or don't like that person well enough, to put any thought or effort into finding a gift that the person might especially like.

Well, everybody likes money, I guess.

Exactly! That's why I would throw a VISA gift card. You can spend it anywhere!

We often hear stories of skaters facing financial hardship. I think kicking in to help, even just a little, would be appreciated.

I don't think these athletes care all that much about whether the gift is "personal"... after all, they don't know us... or maybe I'm misreading the intent behind those Go Fund Me things. Perhaps they'd rather us mail them stuffed toys they can use to trade for training or costumes.

Of course, I'm not a gift kind of guy. My wife and I haven't bought each other gifts in years and years. We made a bargain that we'd give each other experiences instead. Christmas this year was a cruise. Before we left, we asked our son what he wanted. "Money." So shopping was done with the writing of a check, and when we got back, everything was over. No tree to put up, or take down. No lights. No nothing, but memories of the best time we've had in ages.

PS. Midnight Mass at sea was beautiful and memorable. Highly recommended.

 

[sheetz]

I've heard more than a few skaters say they really appreciate fan letters, so you could write one and include a gift card in the envelope.

 

[CoyoteChris]

ISU statement

https://isu.org/isu-news/news/145-n...s5eoATuyZiDZHo5hYiY4dvU8UrXI7-pNiRGMrMhsWBCxQ

 

[TallyT]

I've heard more than a few skaters say they really appreciate fan letters, so you could write one and include a gift card in the envelope.

But don't throw it on the ice Or at least if you must, enclose it in something easy to scoop up at speed...

 

[CoyoteChris]

Exactly! That's why I would throw a VISA gift card. You can spend it anywhere!
Of course, I'm not a gift kind of guy. My wife and I haven't bought each other gifts in years and years. We made a bargain that we'd give each other experiences instead. Christmas this year was a cruise. Before we left, we asked our son what he wanted. "Money." So shopping was done with the writing of a check, and when we got back, everything was over. No tree to put up, or take down. No lights. No nothing, but memories of the best time we've had in ages.

PS. Midnight Mass at sea was beautiful and memorable. Highly recommended.

I am not a gift guy either....My wife and I give each other the exact same thing every Christmas....kind of a standing joke....beer, cheeses, cheese cakes...chocolate...but the real gift is love and respect.
(I love cruise ships although my next cruise to Alaska is in doubt due to the pandemic. The views of sunrises and sunsets off of Hawaii are very spiritual....)

 

[Skater Boy]

I've heard more than a few skaters say they really appreciate fan letters, so you could write one and include a gift card in the envelope.

I write a note/card and then I make them a necklace, earrings, bracelet or a leather bracelet.. i once saw Evgenia M. wearing some earrings I made for her and Kaetlyn Osmond I saw wearing a necklace I made.

 

[CoyoteChris]

In the United States, it's tricky. The President has forbidden the United States' official heath agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), from giving any information to the American public. Only the Vice President, Dr. Pence, has permission to do that. Non-political agencies must filter their statements through the Vice President's office.

????? I would respectfully suggest political comments like "Dr. Spence" be dispensed with. There is pleanty of info on the CDC website...its hard for them to keep up (one day old) but its there.
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

 

[Harriet]

But don't throw it on the ice Or at least if you must, enclose it in something easy to scoop up at speed...

And make sure it's in a coloured envelope, so the ice clearers can see it and know to pick it up and the next skater doesn't break a bone when their toepick snags on it!

 

[CoyoteChris]

I agree that Canada is more likely to order it cancelled than the ISU is to cancel it unilaterally. Some governments are already doing so for large events, and not just ones with larger numbers of cases such as South Korea and Japan either.

Correct. Switzerland has ordered events bigger than 1000 people canceled. The Dr. in WA state who is the head of emergency medical responses is considering banning all sporting events, although some places in Europe are just playing the soccer matches without the fans. The Problem for Canada is, even canceling the attendee fans, do you really want skaters from all over the world coming in? From China? Korea? Japan? Italy? People from those countries enter Canada every day! WA state where ABC news says the virus has been quietly passed around for 6 weeks? Who was afraid of the state of WA 3 weeks ago?
I think unless there is a major change in progression speed, the worlds will go on. The Virus is in what? 57 countries now? Unless there is a mutation, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is probably about as deadly as the flu at this time as no one has immunity except for a handful of people , again, at this time.
Let the worlds go ahead. The barn door has been left open...you may close it now if you like, but this thing is gonna spread no matter what you do, unless the world goes on full quarenteen . Lets all hope the warm moist air takes care of it for this year in a few months as it takes care of the current flu, a vaccine is found, and China keeps its word about finally banning live bush meat in open air markets.
(REmember, the Spanish flu of 1918 spread by boat around the world to the far corners of the earth. The airplane has spread SARS-CoV-2 much faster)

 

[PaulE]

I was reading one of the blogs that I read regularly and one of the commenters gave a link to a YouTube broadcast on COVID-19 by Dr. John Campbell who is a British doctor apparently doing almost daily updates on the Corona virus. He seems to have a very rational take on what is going on world wide. If you would like to hear what he says here are some links to his recent outputs (usually about 15 to 20 minutes long it appears).

Friday, 28 Feb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmIRMHzBZdU

Saturday, 29 Feb: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rOTz9duXwo

Thursday, 27 Feb. Q and A with self isolation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpXoY_1EG8Y

 

[Harriet]

Correct. Switzerland has ordered events bigger than 1000 people canceled.

And France has temporarily banned gatherings of over 5,000.

The aim at this point, as I understand it, is to slow the spread of the disease and spread out the number of infections over time so that the systems designed to deal with them (hospitals, doctors' surgeries and pharmacies, medical supply companies etc) don't get overwhelmed and become unable to function, and so that all the general systems needed to keep societies functioning smoothly don't crumple likewise due to too many people being out ill at the same time. So far that actually seems to be working to some extent in more places than not.

 

[TontoK]

I've heard more than a few skaters say they really appreciate fan letters, so you could write one and include a gift card in the envelope.

See, this is a wonderful idea... combining the views of everyone in a solution where everyone wins!

But, pivoting back to Coronavirus... Don't lick the envelope!

 

[Step Sequence4]

The'yll have good security?? How will they see it?Hope you take your own security serious like washing hands, and lysol wipes etc. Security guards don't clean and sterilize. Not overanalyzing this as it's a very nasty virus like a flu without vaccine yet. Best way to stop the spread is personal hygiene, and aware without being paranoid.

I thought I read they were taking people's temperatures at 4CC (which was in Korea, and they ran, in all likelihood that'll have been more dangerous than worlds) I'm personally not very worried about the virus because im younger and in good shape. We're driving up to worlds (no airports ) and we have a B&B which is probably a lot safer. My mom on the other hand has been keeping up with like every single case which drives me nuts, but oh well.

 

[Step Sequence4]

I'm a scientist and today we had the annual American Physical Society Meeting in Denver which was supposed to be held March 2-7 cancelled in fear of spread of coronavirus:
https://www.sciencemag.org/news/202...sical-society-cancel-its-biggest-meeting-year

It is a gathering with 10 thousand of attendees from all over the world and most people were already here, having paid $400-$800 registration fees, flights and hotel. It was cancelled in the last minute. Why shouldn't an athletic event take similar measurements?

The US is in a much worse state than Canada is IMO

 

[WednesdayMarch]

Are any of you actually planning on attending the event? I have tickets but the more I read the more paranoid I become. Especially because I live with my elderly parents, so I'm not putting just myself at risk, but them too after I come back home. But I've spent a pretty penny already on tickets and flight.. it'd be such a waste to throw it away

I'm planning on attending Worlds in Montreal. Three of us are travelling from the UK and have been looking forward to it. Now we're watching the situation and won't be overly surprised (albeit extremely disappointed) if the event is cancelled. We really hope it goes ahead and we are allowed to travel.

 

[Ohamyooo]

Are any of you actually planning on attending the event? I have tickets but the more I read the more paranoid I become. Especially because I live with my elderly parents, so I'm not putting just myself at risk, but them too after I come back home. But I've spent a pretty penny already on tickets and flight.. it'd be such a waste to throw it away

My family and I are still planning to attend, provided it's not cancelled. We're driving to Montreal from a part of the US that is not currently affected by the virus, staying in an AirBnB, and plan to bring masks, tons of hand sanitizer, and gloves, plus a healthy dose of respect for the evolving nature of the situation as well as lots of common sense.

 

[Ziotic]

My mom and I are also still planning to attend but lucky we can drive in for the days and head home at night.

 

[Fried]

Well, everybody likes money, I guess.

You could stuff a plush teddy with dollar bills! ;-)

 

[khtmyzr]

Good luck to those who are going. I’ve had the experience of Airbnb host cancelling my booking a week before 4CC because they were afraid of the virus. Fortunately, I was able to find another accommodation quickly. So please do have some back up plans just in case the same thing happens to you (I hope not).

 

[Ohamyooo]

Good luck to those who are going. I’ve had the experience of Airbnb host cancelling my booking a week before 4CC because they were afraid of the virus. Fortunately, I was able to find another accommodation quickly. So please do have some back up plans just in case the same thing happens to you (I hope not).

Ugh! I honestly hadn't thought of that possibility.