Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club

[TGee]

i went to the last 2 in montreal... 2 years ago it was fine.. yuzu was there... not that many fans for him..

last year, they blocked entire rows of seats... all day... and came just to see him practice .. then left.. then came just for his LP..

organizers had to deal with people thinking they had to line up overnight... but they didn't because they had not oversold the place... i arrived 3 minutes before the practice .. found a seat... and had a great day..

however, what was sad is that many skaters from the region couldn't get tickets to see the event because they were sold out... i thought it was unfortunate because so many of the fans didn't watch the entire competition...

I'm wondering whether this year's venue at Sixteen mile creek in Oakville has any more capacity than Pierrefonds...

The sport complex's website says that the Olympic sized ice pad has capacity for 1500 spectators...but when the KnC goes in, some will be lost.

Skate Canada avoids going for overlarge venues leading to empty seats...

But ACI is becoming a real attraction...and 1500 isn't a lot...especially when the training centre for a number of the World's top skaters is a public transit ride away....

And if locals can't get in to see the event, their willingness to put in the volunteer time and energy to make it happen in future years is an issue...

I recognize that the number of Olympic sized venues is small, but seating capacity is part of building the base for the sport.

 

[4everchan]

I'm wondering whether this year's venue at Sixteen mile creek in Oakville has any more capacity than Pierrefonds...

The sport complex's website says that the Olympic sized ice pad has capacity for 1500 spectators...but when the KnC goes in, some will be lost.

Skate Canada avoids going for overlarge venues leading to empty seats...

But ACI is becoming a real attraction...and 1500 isn't a lot...especially when the training centre for a number of the World's top skaters is a public transit ride away....

And if locals can't get in to see the event, their willingness to put in the volunteer time and energy to make it happen in future years is an issue...

I recognize that the number of Olympic sized venues is small, but seating capacity is part of building the base for the sport.

if they cannot find bigger venues, and they shouldn't have to...it's not every year that all the fans will come... as I said, 2 years ago, it was a very diverse and more local crowd...

i would suggest that the pre-sales is only done for Canadian addresses for the first 72 hours or so.... that way, local fans and especially young skaters from these clubs, would have time to purchase a pass, before fans from abroad can come... i believe these events have to benefit the youth and I also believe that those who can travel to anywhere to follow yuzuru can go to worlds or GPs or events in larger venues...

can you imagine : one of our top ranked athletes could not get tickets for their parents... skate canada had to intervene....

- - - Updated - - -

anyways i am done with ACI to be back to TCC : i am sure many crickets will be there however.

 

[TGee]

i would suggest that the pre-sales is only done for Canadian addresses for the first 72 hours or so.... that way, local fans and especially young skaters from these clubs, would have time to purchase a pass, before fans from abroad can come... i believe these events have to benefit the youth and I also believe that those who can travel to anywhere to follow yuzuru can go to worlds or GPs or events in larger venues...

can you imagine : one of our top ranked athletes could not get tickets for their parents... skate canada had to intervene....

They do have presales on nationals and SCI all event tickets that are advertised by e-mails from Skate Canada to people with Skate Canada numbers. I'm not sure if ACI has followed the same protocol.

But one needs to be prepared to get them ahead...and pass them on if you can't use them. We got tickets for family members for SCI a few years back when it came to their town. But then they couldn't go at the last minute. So, they passed them on to the local club...and the tickets were very appreciated...

 

[Scout]

They do have presales on nationals and SCI all event tickets that are advertised by e-mails from Skate Canada to people with Skate Canada numbers. I'm not sure if ACI has followed the same protocol.

Yes, ACI seems to have followed the same protocol. It was how I got my tickets.

 

[Danibellerika]

i went to the last 2 in montreal... 2 years ago it was fine.. yuzu was there... not that many fans for him..

last year, they blocked entire rows of seats... all day... and came just to see him practice .. then left.. then came just for his LP..

organizers had to deal with people thinking they had to line up overnight... but they didn't because they had not oversold the place... i arrived 3 minutes before the practice .. found a seat... and had a great day..

however, what was sad is that many skaters from the region couldn't get tickets to see the event because they were sold out... i thought it was unfortunate because so many of the fans didn't watch the entire competition...

Making attendance pretty much like any other challenger or small competition, except there were still more people than you'd typically see at these events even after some fans left.

if they cannot find bigger venues, and they shouldn't have to...it's not every year that all the fans will come... as I said, 2 years ago, it was a very diverse and more local crowd...

i would suggest that the pre-sales is only done for Canadian addresses for the first 72 hours or so.... that way, local fans and especially young skaters from these clubs, would have time to purchase a pass, before fans from abroad can come... i believe these events have to benefit the youth and I also believe that those who can travel to anywhere to follow yuzuru can go to worlds or GPs or events in larger venues...

Well the money generated from this sell out event will help them too. You're welcome, Skate Canada. Fans should go wherever they want to go. I personally enjoyed the more intimate ACI atmosphere where there was no bad seat in the house. And with different things going on in different rinks you could easily check out multiple events, from competition to practices depending on what you wanted to see at the time.

 

[4everchan]

the event would still have been sold out.. just different crowd like the year before.. locally based young skaters and their families. but thank you for visiting

 

[4everchan]

Yes, ACI seems to have followed the same protocol. It was how I got my tickets.

the way i got mine is because i am on their list for having purchased tickets before for other events... (nationals).. so i am not sure how it works: do you need to have purchased tickets to be on that list... or can the kids from the clubs also get on that list if they haven't yet attended a bigger competition?

 

[kiches]

I went to the last 2 Autumn Classic in Montreal as well and stayed for nearly the entire time, except when I had to eat. People came and went throughout the day both years.

The biggest difference between 2016 and 2017 is they started doing actual advanced ticket sales through Event Brite for 2017. Prior to that in 2016 they let you “reserve” tickets by sending an email and they set it aside for you to pay at the door, other than that it was first come first served at the door to buy tickets. I don’t think 2016 sold out though because of the way tickets weren’t officially sold in advance. I had decided to go in 2016 very last minute so I actually emailed to reserve my all-event ticket only a week prior to the start of the competition and there was no problem. When I got to the Sportsplexe Thursday morning they were still selling tickets at the door in 2016. I think the security of having an actual ticket really encourages fans to go to the competition, hence the large crowd and sell out in 2017 compared to the prior year.

In both 2016 and 2017 the organizers had reserved a large block of seats for young kids to watch and listen on headsets that were for educational purposes. Lots of local kids come in the day on Thursday and the crowd tends to be smaller, likely due to it being middle of the work week. Saturday tends to be the most crowded since it’s the weekend and organizers block off about 2 rows behind the judges for VIPs, many of who never showed up at the rink until the end of the day for the free program so those seats often went empty so there is less open seating off the bat for Saturdays. The seats were also sometimes empty because they held practice sessions across more than one rink so sometimes fans left the competition rink to watch other practice sessions. In 2016 it really only became packed during the senior events, with many people strolling in to watch from the the stands.

For 2015 I think they ONLY offered tickets at the door for the general public, no reservations at all so people had to make plans to go with the possibility they may not be able to buy a ticket. I do remember stories of fans lining up that year very early to make sure they could get a ticket.

Comparing the crowd size at 2016 to 2017 there is no comparison. 2017 was packed and had much more people at the rink throughout the entire day than in 2016. I was shocked to be honest. In 2016 it was easy to move around pretty freely, that same freedom and space wasn’t there last year but it was still a wonderful competition with a very intimate atmosphere. All in all it seems like it was a good decision to sell tickets in advance since the turnout and crowd throughout all 3 days was incredible last year.

 

[Yoa]

Some people also went to watch medal ceremonies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX8By7xFKwA, https://www.ifsmagazine.com/medal-moments-2017-aci-montreal/ which were held during other events. I hope they will schedule it differenty this year so they can be held on the ice rink.

Anyway, important question. Will Brian carry Luna around during competitions? I already saw some edits with him and Luna on the boards

 

[SarahSynchro]

*incoherent screaming*

Oh bloody hell, I completely forgot ACI was at Sixteen Mile this year. It’s one of my favourite venues to compete at, Synchro Capers has been held there on the last weekend of January since 2013. One of the best days of my life happened at that competition back in 2017... :sad21:

Dang, volunteers have to be at least 15 years old? How am I supposed to sneak my kid in? I’ll have to find a ticket scalper. It’s bad enough she still wants to find a way to sneak into the cricket club sometime this summer.

 

[yoloaxel]

I remember Jason saying he and Zhenya will do the same CS competition, and Brian had said that Zhenya would be going to either ACI or Finlandia. Considering Finlandia is only a couple weeks before Skate Canada, I think ACI would make more sense? Could we be seeing all of Team Cricket at ACI?

 

[TGee]

I remember Jason saying he and Zhenya will do the same CS competition, and Brian had said that Zhenya would be going to either ACI or Finlandia. Considering Finlandia is only a couple weeks before Skate Canada, I think ACI would make more sense? Could we be seeing all of Team Cricket at ACI?

It's hard for federations to justify not sending their skaters training at TCC to AIC when it saves them travel and accommodation costs as well as the costs of coaching fees for the entire trip.

We can expect to see some of the other international skaters training elsewhere in Toronto for the same reason e.g. Julian Yee of Malaysia.

 

[Yoa]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlftdrjHPyh/?taken-by=misshaleyrae.figureskater Another little girl took a photo with Yuzuru. She also has photos with Jason, Evgenia, Gabby and Stephane L.

 

[IceBallerina]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlftdrjHPyh/?taken-by=misshaleyrae.figureskater Another little girl took a photo with Yuzuru. She also has photos with Jason, Evgenia, Gabby and Stephane L.

I feel like most of our TCC photos from the past month are from little kids. They seem to be the only ones who can catch everyone

 

[Henni147]

Yuzuru is going to compete at Autumn Classics (it will be approved at the Board of Directors of JSF held on Monday). I wonder if other skaters from TCC will also participate. If so, good luck to all and the fans, neighbors as well

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20180721/k10011542561000.html

It would be great to see Team Cricket together at ACI! If I remember correctly, WTT 2017 was the last competition with Yuzu, Zhenya and Jason together, no? :think:

 

[narcissa]

Making attendance pretty much like any other challenger or small competition, except there were still more people than you'd typically see at these events even after some fans left.

Well the money generated from this sell out event will help them too. You're welcome, Skate Canada. Fans should go wherever they want to go. I personally enjoyed the more intimate ACI atmosphere where there was no bad seat in the house. And with different things going on in different rinks you could easily check out multiple events, from competition to practices depending on what you wanted to see at the time.

I was at ACI last year. There was a large section reserved for local skaters and fans, a lot of youth and young adults. I believe they were there for both the Friday and the Saturday event. Unfortunately many of them left early on Saturday and only watched the pairs. They missed most of the men's event which I wish they had watched! I think they would have liked the men more if they had stayed longer (the first half wasn't all that impressive).

I stayed for practice, pairs, most of dance, and singles. People came in and out during the non-singles event because during this time they would buy food, use the restroom, etc. It's rude to walk around while someone is skating so people would leave for a group and come back for the next one. But the stadium was still around 60-80% full on average. Lots of people came in in the morning for practices and didn't leave the arena until the end. Such dedication!! :luv17: So, really, there's no need to bash other fans.

And yes, if you have a ticket for ACI, you will be able to find a seat. ACI doesn't sell more tickets than it has seats. So there's absolutely no reason to do the whole staying up all night thing if you just want a seat. And for such a small arena, most of the seats in the house were good :thumbsup:

 

[xeyra]

I feel like most of our TCC photos from the past month are from little kids. They seem to be the only ones who can catch everyone

They're the best at this 'gotta catch them all' game because they look so innocent to lure the unsuspecting skaters in before snapping that picture.

 

[Mrs. P]

So someone at FSU posted Brian Orser's 1983 Canadians program and I feel my life is enriched. The curly bob! The blue jump suit! The salsa Firebird! And of course, that 3A!

Check it out: https://youtu.be/T1yjpKpuGDU

 

[TGee]

They're the best at this 'gotta catch them all' game because they look so innocent to lure the unsuspecting skaters in before snapping that picture. [emoji3]

We'll, before she left to join the Cirque du Soleil tour of Crystal, Luba Ilyushechkina was the TCC skater to count on to catch photos of everyone...

.. she has so many old friends from her earliest days in Russia, and her bubbly personality seems to mean that her colleagues and random guests are always up for a photo with her.

Glad to see that Jason and the young ones are picking up the torch...

Here are a few treasures from Luba from before this thread took off...

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhcOqbAjk-A/?hl=en

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUBQdpkDC8W/?hl=en

 

[4everchan]

And yes, if you have a ticket for ACI, you will be able to find a seat. ACI doesn't sell more tickets than it has seats. So there's absolutely no reason to do the whole staying up all night thing if you just want a seat. And for such a small arena, most of the seats in the house were good :thumbsup:

^^ that is absolutely true. As I mentioned, no need to line up... and of course, in smaller venues, all seats are good.
Here is my issue though : I raised a point from my own experience there : I was there only on Saturday and in front of me, there were 3 full rows of seats on which people had put blankets or scarves...we couldn't sit there at all... and these rows, remained empty the entire day, until the men's final flight.

You cannot tell me that they were at practice because practice was right there... (at least for men) and most of the other events had had their practice earlier... the other rinks that day = hockey for the most part... as much as we would see pairs and singles skaters warming up by running around the venue on top.

Yes, there were more people in 2017 than 2016... Yes there were kids etc.

What I am referring though however, I haven't invented out of thin air. It's not cool to just discredit somebody because perhaps you were sitting somewhere else or didn't experience the event the same way.

I was sitting with parents of skaters WHO WERE COMPETING... and i won't name them to keep their privacy. They are the ones who told me that they try to book tickets right away on pre-sale and couldn't.... sold out... they had to get help from Skate Canada to attend a rare event where as parent, they get to stay "in their country" instead of traveling the world to see their kids.... (i say kids but talking about Senior skaters here)... and of course, the whole discussion about local kids came at the point too. Because it was sold out in 2017. And when I compare with 2016, where I was surrounded with families, I had to agree... there i was surrounded with blankets and scarves... instead of families.... but eh.... i will give you that! Maybe the kids and families were sitting somewhere else... fair enough... however, I had such a wonderful seat that I wonder where they were...

Finally : i never had issues with food or bathrooms or etc... I go during the floods + warmup... it's gives one about 20 minutes... i also watched the medal ceremonies as well which are just out of the rink, and didn't miss a thing either... (i think i miss a minute or so of an Australian pair)... I don't think one needs to put a blanket on a bench for 4 hours to get food and a bathroom break...and if it's because they want to see some other practice in another rink... well it should be understood that your ticket doesn't give you the right to block seats in every single rink...

YMMV