Here are the official statements from VANOC about the test events this weekend. Not surprisingly it's declaring them all a success.

- Whistler Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup
- Cypress Freestyle Skiing World Cup
- Four Continents Figure Skating Championship

While Everett’s 8,300-seat Comcast Arena appeared to be only two-thirds full all weekend for Skate America, but the Everett Herald reported Monday that 29,477 tickets were sold.

The three-day event set a new Skate America standard for ticket sales, breaking Spokane’s 2002 record of 28,664.

“We had more tickets sold than people in the stands,” said Laura Lee, chairman of the Skate America organizing committee. “I’m not sure why.”

Organizers of this weekend's Skate America expected to set a record with 30,0000 spectators according to an article in a September issue of the Everett Herald.

Judging by all the empty seats in the small arena, there's now way they broke the record.

Here's what we're saying about the attendance in tomorrow's paper:

EVERETT – Laura Lee, chairman of the Skate America organizing committee, wants Everett to be the next Spokane.

Spokane hosted Skate America in 2002 and used the event to become Skate City USA. (At least, that’s what they’re calling themselves.)

Lee was happy with this weekend’s event, but it’s clear that Everett is no Spokane.

Spokane set attendance records for Skate America in 2002 (28,664) and for the U.S. Championships in 2007 (154,893), but in Everett most of 8,300-seat Comcast Arena’s upper horseshow was empty all weekend.

“Skate America isn’t an event that sells out,” Lee said. “We never expected to sell out.”

But they did publicly set the goal of breaking Spokane’s Skate America attendance record. U.S. Figure Skating did not respond to multiple requests for this weekends attendance figures.

Whether or not Everett can parlay Skate America into future Olympic sporting events remains to be seen. Lee says the goal is to bring the U.S. Championships and even major gymnastic and NCAA events to Everett.

“Spokane is the model we are trying to follow,” Lee said.
Spokane has become the crowned jewel of U.S. Figure Skating over the past six years.

Spokane Arena only seats 10,440, much smaller than regular Figure Skating venues in Los Angeles, Philadelphia and St. Louis.

“But I was just talking to somebody from the ISU (International Skating Union) yesterday who was saying ‘You guys have something special in Washington,’” said Barb Beddor, executive director of the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane.

Perhaps that’s why Spokane was the first city asked to host the U.S. Championships in the same four-year Olympic cycle since Colorado Springs hosted in 1948 and ‘49.

The 2010 Olympic team will determine at the Spokane competition.

Tickets for 2010 went on sale March 31 and are 25 percent ahead of where they were in 2007, said Toby Steward, president of Star USA, the company organizing the championships.

Spokane also plans to host a USA vs. Canada women’s hockey exhibition game a few weeks before the 2010 Olympics.
They have other big plans, including bidding for a future Figure Skating World Championship, but, for now, Beddor says they’re keeping most of their wish list hush-hush.

“We hope Everett has similar success,” Beddor said. “I do think these events build on each other.”

Yu-Na Kim of Korea concluded Skate America by winning the ladies competition. Her win kept Team USA from winning at least one gold medal at its own event for the first time since 1998. It’s the third time (1993 was the other) since the event began in 1979 that the U.S. failed to win a gold.

American skaters finished with three silvers and a bronze.
Defending world junior champ Rachel Flatt, 16, came closest to medaling for the U.S. in the ladies competition Sunday, finishing fourth. Americans Mirai Nagasu and Kimmie Meissner, both of whom fell twice, finished fifth and eighth respectively.

Nagusu, the top American after the short program, aggravated a nagging ankle injury during warm-ups.

She blames too many jumps in practice for her irritating the injury. However, she says she’s glad she didn’t skip the competition even though she’d hoped to contend with the Japanese and Korean skaters for the win.

“Coming here is not a decision I regret,” Nagasu said. “I learned how much work I have to do.”

Japan’s Yukari Nakano and Miki Ando took silver and bronze.

Despite falling just short of their fifth Skate America title, ice dancer Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto where pleased with their first performance under new coaches Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karpanosov.

“There is good recognition of what we need to do (to improve) … and that’s typical of this point in the season,” Belbin said. “… It’s good to get this feedback now so that we have time to work on it.”

The Americans won the free dance Saturday, but it was not enough to claim gold in the three-dance competition. Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France took first with 187.64 points. The Americans scored 186.53 points to take silver.

“We are so pleased with the progress we are making under the tutildge of our new coaches,” Belbin said. “… I hope this is a platform we can build on.”

Part of the reason the dancers brought in a new coach was to develop a clear plan for progressing over the next two seasons.
“This is the first step in this season,” Agosto said. “But at the same time it is the first step toward the Olympic games. And the Olympic games is the main goal.”

While Skate America participants are trying to score points to qualify for the Dec. 10-14 Grand Prix Final in Korea, they’re also trying to get paid.

The winner of each event gets $18,000. Second is worth $13,000, third $9,000, fourth $3,000 and fifth pockets $2,000.

Prize money increases by more than 50 percent at finals.

Final standings for the men's competition. Evan Lysacek slipped from first to third and Johnny Weir took silver. Takahiko Kozuka of Japan gets gold.

1 Takahiko KOZUKA JPN 226.18
2 Johnny WEIR USA 225.20
3 Evan LYSACEK USA 223.21
4 Kevin REYNOLDS CAN 204.89
5 Shawn SAWYER CAN 199.98
6 Alexander USPENSKI RUS 177.81
7 Adrian SCHULTHEISS SWE 177.26
8 Adam RIPPON USA 174.82
9 Igor MACYPURA SVK 169.61
10 Ian MARTINEZ CAN 155.18

American ladies Mirai Nagasu, Rachael Flatt and Kimmie Meissner finished the short program in fourth, fifth and sixth place respectively, but Meissner felt like she missed out on much more.

Meissner, the 2007 national champ, fell trying to land a triple flip. As disappointed as she was, she says today’s long program is her strength and she vows not to make the same mistake.

“I’m going to come out with a vengeance for that triple flip,” said Meissner who scored 54.90 points Saturday.

Yu-Na Kim of Korea leads after the short program with 69.50 points.

Two young USA pair skaters dazzled the fans at Skate America this afternoon, but watched as more experienced pairs took the title.

Americans Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker surprised the field by edging the Russian favorites, Maria Mukhotova and Msxim Trankov for second place.

Germans pair of Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the defending world champs, glided to victory with 180.77 points. McLaughlin and Brubaker had 172.69 points and the Russians scored 167.67.

Rena Inoue and John Baldwin (146.51 points) finished fifth and John Coughlin and Caitlin Yankowskas (141.70) finished seventh for the Americans.

Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto took a small step backward in their pursuit of a fifth Skate America ice dancing title.

Belbin and Agosto are still solidly entrenched in second place behing Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France, but finished third Saturday afternoon in the original dance.

Belbin and Agosto's 57.47 points weren't as good as the British brother-sister combo of Sinead and John Kerr, who scored 57.74 points. Delobel and Schoenfelder scored 58.26 points but were not entirely pleased with their performance.

"Out technique marks were not what we wanted," Shoenfelder said, "because we made mistakes."

I have to confess, my primary sports interests are pretty typical. College basketball and any kind of football. I also love skiing, cycling and many Olympic sports.

But when it comes to figure skating, well, let's just say I don't get it.

As I watched ice dancing a few minutes - listening to the Viennese Waltz 9 times in an hour - I kept pondering this thought: "Sport or not sport?"

I get that these competitors are athletic - probably more so than some baseball and football players - and if I ever start thinking figure skating is for wimps I remember this:

But there's something about sports decided by judges that make them seem more like reality TV.

Any way, I'll leave this debate to you guys. What do you think? Sport or something else?

I spent the afternoon at Comcast Arena where some of the world's best figure skaters were practicing for Skate America. The 3-day event starts Friday.

The event is the kickoff to the pre-Olympic season and no small thing for the athletes.

"I've made a lot of changes," defending Skate America champ Kimmie Meissner said after practice skate. "... I think I'm stronger (this season)."

The first event of the season will allow her and the other skaters see how there off-season changes stack up against everybody else.

"It's the start of everything," Meissner said. "We get to see everybody's new programs and their new costumes."

The event starts Friday at 3 p.m.

Here are a few pics from today:

Meissner address the media in the bowels of Everett's Comcast Arena earlier today.

A pair practices their routine.