oziceskatecommunity.myfreeforum.org

[Impoverished Parent]

Hi there

As a skating family we try to commit through out the year to figure skating competitions both state and interstate. However we find it very difficult to plan an organise holidays, travel and accomation bookings, due to the inability of the organisers to produce the dates (until a month or so before the comp) when skaters are expected to compete.

If the dates for competitions together with dates when each level of skaters are competing, were supplied much earlier then they are now I feel more skaters would be able to commit to competitions. I know it would really help our family.

I would love to know if this lack of information affects other skaters as much as it does us.

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[kwillyau]

A couple of suggestions.

Contact Ice Skating Australia (www.isa.org.au) and ask them for the national competition calendar.  Most of the National events take place around the same time each year.

Contact the individual state associations and ask them what events are being held in the forthcoming year.  I can tell you now in Victoria Olympic Trophy Challenge is held over Easter and I think Dragon City in Bendigo is on the week after.

Unfortunately with skating in Australia it is a matter that you have to go out and get the information - no one is going to hand it to you on a platter.  But you have to remember that like most sports it is done on a volunteer basis.  There is no-one out there paid to promote it.  It is a matter of finding the right people to talk to.

However a forum like this one is designed to help people like yourself find out information.  Just ask the questions and we will try and help you as much as possible.  

So is there any particular events you were interested in?

[Strike3]

[quote="kwillyau"]A couple of suggestions.
Contact Ice Skating Australia (www.isa.org.au) and ask them for the national competition calendar.  Most of the National events take place around the same time each year. unquote]

  I think the point was not when the specific competition is going to be held, but when during that competition a specific group of skaters is going to compete.  If you take the most recent Nationals in Brisbane, correct me if I am wrong but I believe that times / days for some of the divisions were changed more than once in the lead-up to the competition.  This makes it extremely difficult for a long competition when you are trying to arrange / change accommodation bookings and a myriad other details.

I agree the forum may help people out with some info, but locking in times and days for some of the lengthier competitions would help as well.  

[Oz_Sk8_Mum]

Yes, I know what your saying Impoverish Parent. This years Nationals was a very good example with events  things being changed up to within a few weeks of the comp . The thing that threw a lot of people this year was the move of the primary Ladies from early in the week to the end of the week. I know that we had our accommodation and flights booked very early in the year but it makes it it very hard to plan if you only have limited time to take off from the work place ect.
Maybe clubs could look at scheduling a little earlier and give a tentative schedule when the Announcement comes out based on last years competition? How would that work??
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Oz_Sk8_Mum
I dont suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

[kwillyau]

Strike3 - I think the question was about competitions generally and that is why I answered it that way.  Unless you know someone involved with the sport it is very difficult to find out information.  It is not always readily or easily on hand.  I get so many questions just from people at my rink about the club, tests and competitions and they are local.  

What was with ISA doing Primary Ladies at Nationals later on in the week rather than what they have done previously?  I thought that was particularly strange.

[Oz_Sk8_Mum]

[kazz]

Yes, we got stuck with Nationals, having booked an airfare well in advance in order to save several hundred dollars in travel costs, and I know we were not the only interstate families this happened to. The cost of changing the flight even to a later flight the same day was almost as much as the airfares cost.  

I know it is hard to determine ice time until you know how many competitors are entering, but knowing, well in advance, the day that a division will skate on would be a big help to interstate competitors.

[Oz_Sk8_Mum]

Hi Kazz
Welcome to the forum.

This year we also have the added difficulty off needing to possibly move between Synchro and Singles as well so hopefully there will be plenty of notice so accommodation can be sorted
_________________
Oz_Sk8_Mum
I dont suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

[magic thinkin]

The rearrangement of 2008 Nationals was to facilitate the trial of the solo Dance events.
It wasn't only Primary ladies who felt the impact of the change because all Dance events were moved.

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