2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston

peibeck said:
Did your plans change since Monday? :biggrinbo
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Well, we have been talking about me joining him in Boston for a long time now, but I don’t think I’m making it. And there were some skaters I wanted to meet in person.

Now I’m looking at next year and planning on going to some of the events overseas, I will be curious to see if I meet anybody from here.
 
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From mbta.com - they are up to their old renovations on weekends tricks.

Shuttle UPCOMING
Red Line: Shuttle buses will replace service between JFK/UMass and Braintree, the weekends of Mar 22 - 23, and 29 - 30, for signal upgrades. Commuter Rail service between Braintree and South Station will be fare-free during this work. I cannot vouch for using commuter rail trains on weekends. I have only used the shuttle buses. Just another inconvenience.

If you are planning on using the Red Line subway on Sat. 3/29 and Sunday 3/30, you will have to take a shuttle bus from Braintree, Quincy/Adams, Quincy Center, Wollaston, North Quincy. The shuttle bus will drop you off at JFK/ UMass station. This is the Braintree part of the Red Line. Check the MBTA web site for any disruptions in the Ashmont line schedule. I don't see any Ashmont line alerts for the Worlds week, but there is disruption the following weekend for Ashmont, not Braintree.

I would allow one hour for the shuttle bus part. They can be very crowded or slow to load. This happens a lot on weekends and unfortunately one of the repair weekends is on the "headliner" FP day and the other is the day of the gala.
 
YukiNieve said:
The ban on bringing stuffed animals is mentioned in the FAQ on the official website, although I do not know when it was put here. It sounds more like it is about not disturbing the sales of the vendors inside the arena than about safety issues :

Can I bring stuffed animals to throw on the ice?

Stuffed animals are not allowed in the venue per the building’s union guidelines. Vendors will be selling stuff animals that will be available for purchase.
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I'd really be interested to know what "union guidelines" ban stuffies. I can't say that's something I've ever seen mentioned in a collective agreement. It can't be about cleaning them up because then they wouldn't be sold inside the venue.
 
overedge said:
I'd really be interested to know what "union guidelines" ban stuffies. I can't say that's something I've ever seen mentioned in a collective agreement. It can't be about cleaning them up because then they wouldn't be sold inside the venue.
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Probably the same one that prohibits people from bringing in reusable water/liquid bottles. It's designed to force the event attendee to purchase concessions/merchandise from the on-site vendors.
 
Those aren't union contracts: those are proprietary contracts with arena owners. And they preclude anyone else from taking their spots when they aren't even open.
 
Karen-W said:
Probably the same one that prohibits people from bringing in reusable water/liquid bottles. It's designed to force the event attendee to purchase concessions/merchandise from the on-site vendors.
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Except in the most recent email they sent they are allowing people who enter for early practices to bring in "coffee, water, and small snacks" before concessions open. 🤷‍♂️

I find it difficult to believe the TD Garden regularly is offering stuffies on the concourse, unless they are related to hockey or basketball, which isn't what skating fans are gonna want to toss on the ice. Hopefully USFS didn't make some deal with a sponsor for stuffies and everyone will only be able to purchase something ridiculous like those "Smuckers strawberries" of yore. :rofl:
 
peibeck said:
Except in the most recent email they sent they are allowing people who enter for early practices to bring in "coffee, water, and small snacks" before concessions open. 🤷‍♂️
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I’m planning to be at practice on event days well prior to concessions and not leaving before the first comp for this very reason. My original plan was to do my breakfast at Citizen M as lunch around 10:15 as their breakfast goes until 11. Now I will just do a big breakfast early and have some snacks for lunch.
 
I’m honestly a little shocked that people are surprised you can’t bring in everything you wanted to bring in.

They’re not going to let me bring a stuffed animal into any event here in Atlanta unless it’s a beanie baby and it’s my only bag, otherwise it’s over the bag size limit.


The figure skating fans should all get an exemption from the rules theory is kind of entertaining, but not realistic. You’re lucky to get the exemption to the bag size as it is. I would not be surprised at some point in the future it is not going to be given, and I can’t imagine the hysterical out cry on here.


So all they really had to do, was just when you showed up with your bag and your stuffy was tell you that your stuffy was the second bag and it wasn’t coming in. At least they’ve warned you now.

I also expect the real truth is that USFS and organizers are trying to discourage this. It slows down the competition. Not for everyone now, but I’ve been there when the ice was completely covered for people like Jason and Michelle and the next skater can’t warm up because we have to throw our stuff. It’s not fair to the skater behind them because there’s stuff all over the ice. It slows down the competition. They know from having sold stuffed things at other events that most people aren’t going to pay their price so this will cut down dramatically on the amount of stuff on the ice.
 
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For those planning on dining out… The Massachusetts sales/meals tax is 6.25%. The customary tip for decent service is 18-20% of the pre tax total. For the math phobic, that means leaving $12.50 for every $10 of the meal’s base cost. Alternatively, just triple the tax and round up to the nearest dollar.
 
I realize that some skaters enjoy getting the customized stuffies, but as others have noted some of them get so many stuffies & already have such a large collection of them that they donate the new ones they receive at each competition to places like the local Ronald McDonald House or children's hospitals & local charities. I've seen some skaters posting on social media the huge garbage bag hauls of stuffies that they then have to drag back to their hotel room and, if they do take them back home, they then need to pay for the extra baggage fees, which will add up pretty fast.

I don't know what the answer is, but it's not some fan believing they have the God-given right to bring two different life-sized bears and throw them onto the ice - one during the SP and one during the FS - that their favorite skater, Mikhail Shaidorov, then has to figure out how to transport back to Almaty. If that had happened in Harbin at AWG rather than Grenoble at the GPF, he would have needed to bring those bears along with him to Seoul for 4CCs before he actually got to go back home.

Insert the name of your favorite skater - Vasiljevs, Malinin, Glenn, Higuchi, Petrokina, etc - and put yourself in their position. What exactly is Ilia Malinin supposed to do with 10 Toothless stuffies let alone 100 or more? Whatever was Hanyu supposed to do with all those damn Poohs?

Perhaps the solution should be for the ISU & event organizer at these major competitions to organize an actual Fan Fest where ALL of the skaters have a scheduled time at a pre-assigned table/booth in which fans are able to interact with their favorite skaters and the stuffies thrown on the ice are limited to smaller ones that are much easier for the sweepers to gather up off the ice quickly - things like the single-stemmed roses, daisies & other flowers, or beanie babies, etc.

Also, I'd say kudos to the USFS/ISU/Boston 2025 organizers if they DID land a sponsorship deal with some stuffed toy manufacturers to exclusively sell their products at the arena, especially if it included board signage. Would that be any worse than the board advertising for various makeup companies, cruise lines, bargain store outlets, national poultry/produce associations, or tire stores?
 
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If they wanted to discourage people throwing stuff onto the ice, they wouldn’t have a slew of sweepers and have made such a big deal of announcing them on IG. No one except Hanyu back in the day and maybe Jason currently get a crazy amount of things thrown to them.
 
In one competition — it may have been a Canadian Nationals — there were stand-alone towers about the size of coat racks with clear plastic drums in them full of small stuffies with big holes to take them out and put them in. There was also a donation box or a specific charity, probably kids-related.

The skaters were allowed to keep any, but the rest were returned back to the drums, for mostly kids to re-throw. (They didn’t look soggy, and they may have dried them out between shifts.). After it was over, the ones that weren’t taken home were donated. I remember a discussion about whether they were laundered first.
 
kwanfan1818 said:
In one competition — it may have been a Canadian Nationals — there were stand-alone towers about the size of coat racks with clear plastic drums in them full of small stuffies with big holes to take them out and put them in. There was also a donation box or a specific charity, probably kids-related.

The skaters were allowed to keep any, but the rest were returned back to the drums, for mostly kids to re-throw. (They didn’t look soggy, and they may have dried them out between shifts.). After it was over, the ones that weren’t taken home were donated. I remember a discussion about whether they were laundered first.
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I believe that was a Canadian Tire activation if my memory serves me correctly!
 
When I was doing work BOH it was so lovely to see how happy skaters were with their stuffies. I think being organized with donation bins etc is a nice way. Also some of the special stuffies are home made and some skaters still have them.
 
In today's world of Covid and other crud, I don't know that I'd recommend recycling stuffies over and over to kids to toss on the ice. (But maybe I'm just a reactionary liberal? :P)

Personally I could care less if they banned stuffies just like they did throwing flowers. My contraband is usually food or headache meds, not stuffed animals.

And it's actually a bit rare that stuffies really slow a comp down that much. Even in they heyday of Kwan and Hanyu the ice was cleaned before scores came up. I do think the massively oversized stuffed animals are crazy though, especially when they are sometimes the size of a ten year old kid! I give props to the Japanese (?) fans who custom create matching costumes for stuffed bears for their favorites though.
 
4rkidz said:
When I was doing work BOH it was so lovely to see how happy skaters were with their stuffies. I think being organized with donation bins etc is a nice way. Also some of the special stuffies are home made and some skaters still have them.
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I think donation bins are also a good idea.

I don't want to sound like a heartless jerk about the stuffies, but there are better ways for them to be delivered to the skaters than the current process of tossing them on the ice after they skate.
 
Karen-W said:
Whelp... No Mark Hanretty for the Worlds commentary this year. Kill me now if we have Belinda - she was so clearly uninformed at Asian Winter Games about anything that had been happening with any of the skaters this season. I'd rather have Chris Howarth who has at least seen some of the GPs, Euros and 4CCs.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1900705617419137295
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This is not off to an Enormous start :)
 
Who are the stuffies really for? (Rhetorical question!) If they are handmade or hand-dressed, especially say, a Pooh bear hand-crocheted in a replica of a Yuzuru skating costume, it is a real joy to see the human skater receive something that they will cherish. Most people don't collect anything so are cynical about stuffies. My collecting passion is Snoopy and other "Peanuts" and I am now I'm a big fan of Yuma K. as he too is a Snoopy collector. I understand the security concerns post 9-11 but also the motivation of the (adult) fan who wants to give something special to a favorite skater, someone whom we would like to "give back to" for all the moments their preformances have given us. So, there will be no custom Yuma Snoopy from me, although it was exciting to think about (In years past, I have gifted Brian Boitano with a Snoopy plush dressed as he was for the 1988 OGM as well as a "regular" Snoopy for Rena Inoue (who with her husband shared an elevator with me at a competition hotel once. John saw I wore Snoopy gear and told me Rena was crazy about Snoopy too.) So I brought a Snoopy for Rena. I also crocheted Ukraine color scarves for my church and brought two of them to give to Ukrainian ice dancers at Skate America. Cherished memories, probably more for me than the skaters, but this is part of skating fandom.
 
TanithandBenFan said:
If they wanted to discourage people throwing stuff onto the ice, they wouldn’t have a slew of sweepers and have made such a big deal of announcing them on IG. No one except Hanyu back in the day and maybe Jason currently get a crazy amount of things thrown to them.
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Well, I’m older than you so yes I’ve seen other skaters with the same impact. I also watched skaters trying to warm up before their skate not be able to because they were so many stuffed animals on the ice but apparently that’s OK


But you really think that was the only point of having sweepers.
Vagabond said:
Fairfax native skates her way into World Figure Championships

She's eleven.
I didn’t say that she was a competitor. :p
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They could not possibly have had sweepers for any other reason like promotion and attention could they?
 
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Carolla5501 said:
They could not possibly have had sweepers for any other reason like promotion and attention could they?
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You do realize what the word "sweeper" in this context means, right?

Yes, sweepers are there to pick up stuffies thrown onto the ice after skater performances. If there was nothing thrown, the LOC would not have held auditions (which required advertising, ice time rental, recruiting local coaches or judges or whoever to run the audition and make sure the kids could do it), hired someone to create costumes, put the schedule together, given a free ticket to their chaperone for the event, made sure a volunteer is in place to manage the flow during the event, etc. There are other ways to promote the event to local skaters and clubs w/o doing all that if they weren't planning for stuffies to be thrown.

At this point, I'm not even sure what you are trying to argue.
 
Two Worlds-related events in Boston:

(1) Thursday, March 20 · 6 - 8:30pm EDT
Panel discussion at Harvard Club of Boston: Tenley Albright MD ’61, Paul George '63, Sofia Jarmoc [reigning U.S. junior pairs pewter medalist], Suna Murray '77, Misha Petkevich '73, and Paul Wylie '91 MBA ’00. Moderated by Ron Kravette AM '06.
Ticket cost: $17.85 (including appetizers)
Open to the public, membership in Harvard Club not necessary

" As Boston prepares to welcome the World Figure Skating Championships back for the first time in nine years, this discussion will celebrate the sport’s deep legacy in the city and the athletes who have shaped it. ... Central to the discussion is the panelists' deep ties to Harvard University and the Skating Club of Boston - two institutions that have played a significant role in their development, both as athletes and individuals. ... In addition to celebrating their achievements, the panel will honor the strength and unity of the skating community, particularly in light of the recent tragedy in Washington, D.C. They will reflect on the unwavering support and resilience that define the figure skating world, both in moments of victory and in times of profound loss. ... "

https://www.instagram.com/p/DG6MgalJgP3/
www.eventbrite.com

A Legacy on Ice: World Champions + Olympians Share Their Journeys

A captivating and inspiring panel discussion featuring an extraordinary lineup of figure skating legends
www.eventbrite.com www.eventbrite.com

ETA, some FYIs:​
There will be a Live Q+A after the panel discussion.
Timeline: 6:00 pm – Arrivals and Reception; 6:45 pm - Figure Skating Panel Conversation; 8:00 pm – Post Event Networking
"We [Harvard Club] ask that your refrain from wearing athletic attire and caps. Jeans are permitted."
In support of the U.S. Figure Skating families who lost loved ones on the January 29th Flight 5342, Harvard Club of Boston has made a contribution to the U.S Figure Skating Family Support Fund.​

(2) Saturday, March 29
Join us for a Learn to Skate event, Celebrating AAPI Excellence: Together on Ice, hosted by U.S. Figure Skating in partnership with The Skating Club of Boston, the National Association of Asian American Professionals and Gold House. This special event offers an incredible opportunity to connect with Olympic and world-class figure skaters, enjoy live performances and discover how to continue or begin your skating journey!
Celebrating AAPI Excellence: Together on Ice is a special community impact event recognizing the contributions of Asian and Asian Americans in figure skating. This gathering brings together local Boston community members who champion AAPI excellence and representation. Join us for a unique experience to take the ice with Olympic and World Champions while fostering awareness and engagement during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
ETA:​
For more details, please also see post #969 later in this thread.​

Time: 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Location: Steriti Ice Arena, 561 Commercial St, Boston, MA 02109
U.S. Figure Skating members: $35; NAAAP and Gold House Members: $45; Boston community: $55
Session 1: 10:00 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.
11:15 -11:35: Special Remarks by ISU President Jae Yeol Kim and Olympic Athletes
Session 2: 11:50 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Please sign up for Session 1 (10-11:10 a.m.), Session 2 (11:50 a.m.-1 p.m.) or both if you’d like to skate all day. Keep in mind that if you sign up for more than one session, each session must be paid for separately due to high demand for this event. Register by March 24 to secure your spot as spaces are limited.

https://www.usfigureskating.org/event/isu-world-figure-skating-championships-2025
 
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