2024 US Figure Skating Championships

[tony]

We got an email asking to contact a rep at the Nationwide Arena about the ticket sales and this is what she told me:

The USFSA asked the arena not to sell seats on the judge side yet (she does not know why) .
She thinks those seats will be eventually on sale either at the time of weekend package sale or individual ticket sale, which will take place later this summer.

The reason why some of us were able to score tickets on the judge side yesterday was there was a technical glitch that allowed us to do so temporarily. I asked her if those who were able to get the tickets on the judge side "by accident" can keep those seats and she said yes.

Honestly I do not know why the USFSA does not want to sell tickets on the judge side to all event ticket buyers, who are really royal figure skating fans - they want to have more people on the opposite side for the broadcasting purpose!?

Yeah, that makes no sense. Maybe they don't want the hardcores at the technical panel decisions

 

[Rukia]

Yeah, that makes no sense. Maybe they don't want the hardcores at the technical panel decisions

lol I almost posted that this was clearly directed at @thvu

 

[DaveRocks]

Grrr... The site is not letting me buy an aisle seat. It says I must also buy the seat adjacent to it. Not happening. Such a stupid rule.

 

[Debbie S]

lol I almost posted that this was clearly directed at @thvu

We need thvu's !

 

[Debbie S]

Grrr... The site is not letting me buy an aisle seat. It says I must also buy the seat adjacent to it. Not happening. Such a stupid rule.

Not to insult your intelligence, but did you make sure to set the ticket quantity to 1, since 2 is the default?

(Sorry for double post!)

ETA: It's good to know that my friends and I won't get kicked out of the seats we bought yesterday, but this policy is ridiculous. And it goes back to at least 2014, b/c when we did the ticket ordering with SCOB over the phone, when I requested sections on the judges side, the club vol handling the ordering said she needed to call USFS and ask if they would open those sections up....and she called me back right away and let me order in one of the sections I requested. The people buying tix this early are the hard-core fans, why make it more difficult for them?

 

[DaveRocks]

Not to insult your intelligence, but did you make sure to set the ticket quantity to 1, since 2 is the default?

Yep! There's a pop up that says "ticket rule violated" or something like that.

 

[Iceblink]

I couldn't buy an aisle seat either--very annoying. The two seats next to the one I ended up buying have already been bought this morning, though (I just looked) so I hope I'm at least sitting next to hardcore fans...and based on the looks of the arena in San Jose there will be plenty of room to spread out for all but the men's and women's senior free skates.

 

[Jarrett]

We got an email asking to contact a rep at the Nationwide Arena about the ticket sales and this is what she told me:

The USFSA asked the arena not to sell seats on the judge side yet (she does not know why) .
She thinks those seats will be eventually on sale either at the time of weekend package sale or individual ticket sale, which will take place later this summer.

The reason why some of us were able to score tickets on the judge side yesterday was there was a technical glitch that allowed us to do so temporarily. I asked her if those who were able to get the tickets on the judge side "by accident" can keep those seats and she said yes.

Honestly I do not know why the USFSA does not want to sell tickets on the judge side to all event ticket buyers, who are really royal figure skating fans - they want to have more people on the opposite side for the broadcasting purpose!?

I mean it is the Usfsa. Of course they don’t know what they are doing.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

They’re really stupid if they’re holding the blocked seats for weekend and single tickets. I would have paid $150 more to have a lower row behind the judges if it had been available. Multiply that by 4 in my group and they lost $600 right there.

 

[AnnM]

The no single aisle seat policy is ridiculous. I already told 2 USFS exec officials about it, and how it can be a deterrent for fans, in San Jose and they seemed surprised this is happening. Maybe they need to hear from more of us.

 

[Carolla5501]

Wasn't planning to buy now but the "solo" seat restrictions may make the decision for me I may just wait and go to Boston for Worlds as my next event. (Unless Jason announces he's staying.. he got me to California and Ohio is a LOT closer to Georgia)

 

[acraven]

I agree that not selling the judges'-side seats initially is illogical. I did notice, though, that there were a few rather central front-row seats there that weren't grayed-out on the seating diagram posted before sales began. I don't remember seeing those available for fans in the past. Is it possible they haven't yet figured out exactly how many seats they need to block off for officials, etc.?

Alternatively, could it be that, for some reason, the big-bucks contributors haven't yet been able to choose their seats? Could USFS be blocking the judges'-side seats until that has happened? It's just so odd to handle things this way.

Serious fans want the best seats they can get (and can pay for), so having to choose between something less desirable on the wrong side of the rink and waiting to buy until even the best of those seats may disappear is a bad spot to be in. One of the benefits of FOFS membership is early access to tickets. If I wanted seats on the judges' side, I'd be calling Colorado Springs.

I ran into a problem buying either 2 or 3 tickets a couple of years ago. My seat selection was going to leave one empty seat in the row, and the algorithm wouldn't allow that, either. It's a very unpleasant experience to bump up against an unannounced policy like that as you're trying to choose the best seat(s) possible for yourself (and sometimes others), and tickets are disappearing second by second as other folks buy them.

 

[thvu]

Yeah, that makes no sense. Maybe they don't want the hardcores at the technical panel decisions

lol I almost posted that this was clearly directed at @thvu

We need thvu's !

I half considered going to Nats next year too! I have no idea what USFS's judges & technical panel setup looks like for domestic comps, how it operates in practice, or what the technical panel sees - and now it looks like they want to keep that in the dark . I guess I'll just wait until they announce the Skate America location .

To anyone who scored a seat on the judges' side - we need to know what the technical panel can see at US Nats!

 

[YukiNieve]

Somehow I always thought USFS"A"(as Association) but realize it has no A. Corrected.

 

[tony]

Somehow I always thought USFS"A"(as Association) but realize it has no A. Corrected.

They dropped it and became ‘US Figure Skating’ somewhere in the last decade.

Actually- 2007.

 

[Rukia]

They dropped it and became ‘US Figure Skating’ somewhere in the last decade.

Actually- 2007.

I still use USFSA half the time because I am old and can't be bothered to remember their rebranding efforts

 

[tony]

I still use USFSA half the time because I am old and can't be bothered to remember their rebranding efforts

Me too, and usfsa.org still reroutes to the homepage anyways.. so there.

 

[overedge]

The no single aisle seat policy is ridiculous. I already told 2 USFS exec officials about it, and how it can be a deterrent for fans, in San Jose and they seemed surprised this is happening. Maybe they need to hear from more of us.

Not just a deterrent, but possibly discriminatory against single-seat buyers who prefer or need an aisle seat for medical reasons (e.g. mobility).

 

[Lanie]

So as a solo person who likes to get up and walk during warm-ups sometimes or Zamboni breaks I can't get my aisle seat? Gotta get my steps in, dammit. Or get up to pee.

 

[tony]

So as a solo person who likes to get up and walk during warm-ups sometimes or Zamboni breaks I can't get my aisle seat? Gotta get my steps in, dammit. Or get up to pee.

Plenty of people get up during resurfacing (and I know you know this ) so it’s not going to be an issue there. And if you’re a few seats in, I don’t see why anyone on the end would have a problem with getting up— they are on the end after all.

I’m not advocating for the policy to stay two seat bulk purchases on the aisle, but really, people will get up either way. Go to any concert or show with and you better believe the people on the aisle are getting up or having to move around constantly!

 

[Lanie]

Plenty of people get up during resurfacing (and I know you know this ) so it’s not going to be an issue there. And if you’re a few seats in, I don’t see why anyone on the end would have a problem with getting up— they are on the end after all.

I’m not advocating for the policy to stay two seat bulk purchases on the aisle, but really, people will get up either way. Go to any concert or show with and you better believe the people on the aisle are getting up or having to move around constantly!

Just saying I prefer to sit by the aisles as I always feel like a complete asshole if I get up! I’ve usually been around folks who stay put. Apologizing for having to step over them and so on.

Maybe I have read the seat policy wrong: as a solo person I wouldn’t be able to get a seat by the aisle?

 

[Gusmom]

I couldn't buy an aisle seat either--very annoying. The two seats next to the one I ended up buying have already been bought this morning, though (I just looked) so I hope I'm at least sitting next to hardcore fans...and based on the looks of the arena in San Jose there will be plenty of room to spread out for all but the men's and women's senior free skates.

Annoying. I could last night but I had the outstanding questions for the staff about open sections. They suggested i call but didn’t have time today.
I’m going to cross fingers that they will help me get an aisle tomorrow.

 

[Gusmom]

Not just a deterrent, but possibly discriminatory against single-seat buyers who prefer or need an aisle seat for medical reasons (e.g. mobility).

This is why I get one. I have asthma and another condition that sometimes triggers cough, so I want to be on aisle so I can get out quickly if it starts to get aggravated.

 

[YukiNieve]

They dropped it and became ‘US Figure Skating’ somewhere in the last decade.

Actually- 2007.

Thanks. I'm glad to know that my memories were not totally wrong, but they changed it 15 years ago!?

 

[MacMadame]

When I bought tickets to San Jose, I was told there was a way to buy a single seat on the aisle but you had to do something special. I never learned what it was because after playing telephone tag with the Box Office, I just bought two seats.

I bet there is a way to do it for 2024 Nats as well, especially if they are using TicketMaster. I would definitely call the Box Office to figure it out if having an aisle seat is important to you and you don't want to buy two tickets.

 

[Gusmom]

Update- I was able to get a single aisle when I called the FOFS contact at the box office. They still weren’t allowed to sell certain sections including club seats that I was hoping to get. And the next option aisle was no longer available.
But at least I have something.
I ended up near K&C end.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

The FOFS contact at USFS that I emailed Sunday about the broken link replied to my email asking if I was able to get tickets. I asked why one entire side is blocked off and of course I’ve gotten no response.

 

[Jarrett]

The FOFS contact at USFS that I emailed Sunday about the broken link replied to my email asking if I was able to get tickets. I asked why one entire side is blocked off and of course I’ve gotten no response.

They are trying to time it perfectly so when we cave and buy they release them the hour after.

 

[Gusmom]

They are trying to time is perfectly so when we cave and buy they release them the hour after.

my thought as I bought my ticket today.
i don’t understand why USFS wouldn’t offer some of the best seats to their supporters & biggest fans. It makes no sense. We should have access to the broadest selection of seats - that’s usually the whole point of a presale. Disappointing.

 

[Jayar]

It used to be that NBC would not allow seats to be released until they determined their in-arena plan. It could be the same reason.