I received an email last week, asking me to fill out an online survey for US Figure Skating. I don't know whether the message was sent to all purchasers of tickets, all purchasers of all-event tickets, or just a random sample. I haven't seen the survey mentioned here on FSU, so I guess there was some random selection going on. The email contained a recipient-specific link, so there seemed no way to share it and let other people respond.
Nearly all the survey questions were multiple-choice. Although there were a few about how many skating events I attended last year, how many I watched on TV, and the in-venue "entertainment" (but none about SkateRadio), the bulk of the survey was advertising-related (who are the USFS sponsors, etc.).
There were also a couple of questions about sources of skating information. One listed a bunch of websites, including GoldenSkate but omitting FSU. I was able to call out that omission in response to a subsequent question that allowed text entry.
One question asked whether I'd recommending that family/friends attend Nationals (or perhaps it was about attending USFS events in general). I was delighted that it was followed by an opportunity to explain my answer in text form, allowing me to state my concerns about recent Nationals--or at least as many of them as I could think of at the moment. This is what I wrote (with paragraphs added here to improve readability).
"Ticket prices are an issue, most especially when coupled with a schedule that makes it impossible to see all the ticketed events and causes us to question whether to buy all-event tickets in the future.
"Locating half the junior events and all the novice events in a venue that requires taking taxis/Uber back and forth reduces the value of an all-event ticket--as does use of such venues for senior practices, which many of us like to attend. It seems that every year we are able to see less at the main arena. Paying top dollar for a really good seat and only being in it for 12 of the 24 novice/junior/senior competitive sessions is not a trend we are happy about.
"We appreciated San Jose's providing back rests at Solar4America Ice, but the seating at that venue was uncomfortably cramped, and it was quite cold. Again, that's not what we expect, especially for junior events, when we pay $1000+ for all-event tickets.
"ALSO, it was a huge disappointment not to be able to hear the SkateRadio in our seats this year. It was so staticky that it was incomprehensible. Why was this suddenly a problem in San Jose? Why wasn't reception tested in advance? Furthermore, none of us can understand why it was considered acceptable to have an iPhone app and not an Android app for that very important audio, which is so important to serious fans. Market-share statistics as of June 2017 show that Android phones make up 54% of the US market, vs. 45% for iPhones. [If] Prudential was only willing to fund one app, it should have been for the device that more of us have. What on earth are USFS and Prudential thinking? It is maddening."
<End of survey response>
I know a lot of other Nationals attendees share at least some of my concerns, so I hope my comments are at least seen by the decision-makers.
I wish there had been an opportunity to add other comments, because I would have liked to thank the Detroit Nationals organizers for not putting tickets on sale during this year's Nationals, which meant we didn't have to skip an event we had tickets for in order to buy next year's tickets.
Nearly all the survey questions were multiple-choice. Although there were a few about how many skating events I attended last year, how many I watched on TV, and the in-venue "entertainment" (but none about SkateRadio), the bulk of the survey was advertising-related (who are the USFS sponsors, etc.).
There were also a couple of questions about sources of skating information. One listed a bunch of websites, including GoldenSkate but omitting FSU. I was able to call out that omission in response to a subsequent question that allowed text entry.
One question asked whether I'd recommending that family/friends attend Nationals (or perhaps it was about attending USFS events in general). I was delighted that it was followed by an opportunity to explain my answer in text form, allowing me to state my concerns about recent Nationals--or at least as many of them as I could think of at the moment. This is what I wrote (with paragraphs added here to improve readability).
"Ticket prices are an issue, most especially when coupled with a schedule that makes it impossible to see all the ticketed events and causes us to question whether to buy all-event tickets in the future.
"Locating half the junior events and all the novice events in a venue that requires taking taxis/Uber back and forth reduces the value of an all-event ticket--as does use of such venues for senior practices, which many of us like to attend. It seems that every year we are able to see less at the main arena. Paying top dollar for a really good seat and only being in it for 12 of the 24 novice/junior/senior competitive sessions is not a trend we are happy about.
"We appreciated San Jose's providing back rests at Solar4America Ice, but the seating at that venue was uncomfortably cramped, and it was quite cold. Again, that's not what we expect, especially for junior events, when we pay $1000+ for all-event tickets.
"ALSO, it was a huge disappointment not to be able to hear the SkateRadio in our seats this year. It was so staticky that it was incomprehensible. Why was this suddenly a problem in San Jose? Why wasn't reception tested in advance? Furthermore, none of us can understand why it was considered acceptable to have an iPhone app and not an Android app for that very important audio, which is so important to serious fans. Market-share statistics as of June 2017 show that Android phones make up 54% of the US market, vs. 45% for iPhones. [If] Prudential was only willing to fund one app, it should have been for the device that more of us have. What on earth are USFS and Prudential thinking? It is maddening."
<End of survey response>
I know a lot of other Nationals attendees share at least some of my concerns, so I hope my comments are at least seen by the decision-makers.
I wish there had been an opportunity to add other comments, because I would have liked to thank the Detroit Nationals organizers for not putting tickets on sale during this year's Nationals, which meant we didn't have to skip an event we had tickets for in order to buy next year's tickets.
The stuffies, btw, are one of the best parts of the whole kit and caboodle!
