U.S. Figure Skating State of the Union
by Troy Schwindt
 (1/24/07) - U.S. Figure Skating President Ron Hershberger opened Wednesday afternoon’s annual president’s address by announcing a new State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships attendance record of 146,311. Walk-up tickets here in Spokane, Wash., are expected to drive that figure even higher as the event hits its stride this weekend.
The previous record was set in Los Angeles in 2002 of 125,345.
“I have a big smile on my face this morning,” said Hershberger, who addressed a room full of media covering the event at Spokane Arena. “This has been an enormously welcoming city from the moment we arrived. Everything has been perfect. The community spirit and involvement has been tremendous.”
Hershberger said he knew something special was happening when he witnessed a capacity crowd of 4,000 at the new convention center to watch novice compulsory dance. That scene, he said, has repeated itself every day since.
Hershberger and U.S. Figure Skating Executive Director David Raith addressed a variety of issues during the 45-minute press conference.
In looking at the state of U.S. Figure Skating, Hershberger reported that interest in the sport is high and cited the Basic Skills Program’s record-breaking figures over the last year.
Raith said the success of the U.S. juniors during the international season is proof that many more good years are ahead for U.S. Figure Skating. At the Junior Grand Prix Final in December, the U.S. won nine of 12 medals, including all four golds.
“On the senior Grand Prix circuit, we won more medals than any other country (15),” Raith said. “I think it just shows that we are working hard with our athletes. We’ve hired Olympic coach Mitch Moyer to be our senior director of athlete high performance to ensure that our athletes are getting all the attention and programs that they need to excel at their highest level.”
Hershberger made mention of the memorable performances by junior gold medalist Mirai Nagasu and silver medalist Caroline Zhang, as well as the reported historic triple Axel performed by novice men’s bronze medalist Keegan Messing during his free skate.
The future of U.S. Figure Skating on television was addressed by Raith.
U.S. Figure Skating is nearing the end of its current 10-year-contract with ABC and is evaluating its options.
“I’m confident that we will be on television on a broadcast network next season,” Raith said. “We are doing our due diligence to make the best arrangement possible for this organization before we announce anything.”
Moving forward, Raith said U.S. Figure Skating will take ownership of the marketing of its events that it has shared with ABC.
“We’ll work with strategic partners to make that happen,” Raith said. “I think that’s probably the ultimate way to go to control your own destiny - that you need to do it yourself.”
Raith also talked about IceNetwork.com, which is a new joint venture between U.S. Figure Skating and Major League Baseball (MLB) Advanced Media.
Figure skating fans have been able to watch all qualifying competitions this season. Beginning next summer, Raith said Icenetwork.com will be a much more robust site that will feature news, results, photos, merchandise and more. It will be a place to go to find out what’s going on in the world of figure skating.
In regards to the selection process to determine future U.S. Championships sites, Hershberger said an Events Advisory Board is in place to evaluate which cities can best meet the necessary criteria to hold such an event.
Raith said a city which has hosted a U.S. Figure Skating major event would be looked at more favorably during the selection process.
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