01 May 2008 22:17:56

2010 U.S. figure skating nationals to be spread across two weekends

April 23, 2008 The senior events at U.S. Figure Skating's 2010 national championships, which also serve as trials for the 2010 Winter Olympics, will be over two weekends from Jan. 15-23. Sources familiar with the plans said the switch is being made to accommodate NBC, which wants to have live prime-time telecasts of all finals. The four cities bidding to host the championships have been told to figure on a two-weekend senior event. The Tribune has learned Spokane, Providence, R.I., and Portland are among the cities in contention. Recent U.S. Championships have included two weekends only because novice and junior level events began on the initial weekend. The proposed schedule USFS sent to the bidders says "tentative" only because it may be tweaked slightly. It is designed to mirror as much as possible the program for the 2010 Olympics. The schedule has pairs and men's short programs Friday, Jan. 15, 2010, with the pairs free skate final Saturday and men's free skate final Sunday. The women's short program would be Thursday, Jan. 21, with the free skate final Saturday, Jan. 23. Dance would be Friday, Jan. 22 (compulsories and original dance) and Saturday, Jan. 23 (free skate final). Rumors about the two-weekend idea have prompted general discontent on Internet message boards devoted to figure skating, with many long-time fans saying they cannot afford to attend both weekends and may skip the entire event in protest. Attempts to reach USFS chief executive David Raith for comment about the schedule or the bid cities have been unsuccessful. Raith had told the Tribune in February the schedule change was under consideration and likely would apply only to 2010. An NBC spokesman declined comment http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/international/cs-080423-figure-skating-us-championships,1,4555443.story