WJC: 2016 WJC in Finland. When? and How? | General talk (tickets, hotels, etc)

[Ghost Bear]

Got tickets to Can - Usa on December 26th!

 

[OHLTG]

Two things...

1. If you've bought tickets to either arena, you can go online and see where your exact seat is.

For Helsinki Ice Hall - http://www.helsinginjaahalli.fi/fin/index.php/katsomot

For Hartwall Areena 1st level - http://hartwallarena.fi/en/node/316

Hartwall Areena 3rd level - http://hartwallarena.fi/fi/vieraili...katsomokartat/katsomokohtaiset-kartat-3-krs-0


2. Does anyone know what the camera policies are for the tournament? I'm assuming it's any professional lens, or cameras with 75+mm, but I could be wrong. I'm actually hoping I'm wrong, haha, but I can live without if needed.

 

[rduck1]

2. Does anyone know what the camera policies are for the tournament? I'm assuming it's any professional lens, or cameras with 75+mm, but I could be wrong. I'm actually hoping I'm wrong, haha, but I can live without if needed.

I'm not 100% on this, but I think I've seen "no cameras" signs at Hartwall at least. The website also says that only "amateur cameras" which they strangely define as cell-phone cameras only are allowed. Neither the signs(as far as I remember) nor the website for Jäähalli explicitly disallow them, but I think it's better to just leave them at the hotel.

 

[Metalcommand]

Few tips I'd give to people from abroad that come to enjoy the WJC to Finland just from a perspective of someone that has liven his whole life in suburban Helsinki.

1. Don't fear. Cheer for your team whether it be Russia, Canada or US. You won't get in any sort of physical alteration unless you yourself want to do that. Someone might heckle you but really you can't get in a fight unless you want it. As in IF someone hits his shoulder into you whether it be by accident or by purpose instead of not caring you go ''WHAT THE **** MADAFAKA''

2. If you are staying somewhere in downtown, lunch and beverage are very expensive. If you take a few train stops to the suburbs you can get cheaper lunch and beer. Just by going to Pasila/Ilmala stops (where Hartwall Arena is) you can save a few Euros per meal and beer. If you are on a budget try to get a room with a microwave and food will be very cheap. If you don't eat at restaurants shops in the centre are same price as anywhere.

3. For alcohol, bars are very overpriced. And I'm not making it up.It's like 500% price compared to market price. If you want to get a little little buzz going before game, go to a K-Market, Lidl, City-market, Prisma for any pre-game beer. All of em are in the downtown, just by walking aimlessly you should find one. If you want wine, booze or anything stronger, ask some Finn where the closest ''Alko'' is. They'll know. By law you cant get booze or wine in regular shops.

4. Helsinki is a beautiful city especially at night. The social awkwardness you will notice during the day will vanish in the night when people have a few drinks. At the clubs openly tell where you are from to girls especially if you are from North America. Use those social skills and capitalize on what is regarded as exotic in here.

5. Have fun! I was thinking about offering some HFBoarders residence here if they so desired but a heated negotiation with my girlfriend saw me come out as the loser. You cant go wrong with coming to Helsinki. Enjoy your stay =)

 

[FiLe]

The website also says that only "amateur cameras" which they strangely define as cell-phone cameras only are allowed.

With the lenses on those modern smartphones these days, is there really even that much of a difference?

 

[rduck1]

With the lenses on those modern smartphones these days, is there really even that much of a difference?

For casual tourist and social media usage, there isn't much of difference between a good smartphone and a low-end pocket cam. With a DSLR and someone who knows what they're doing it's a different matter. They don't want people taking professional quality pictures without arranging for a media permit; they want to control the coverage as much as possible. However they obviously can't take away everyone's cellphones, so they have to make a little caveat for that.

 

[OHLTG]

I've got a Nikon D5100 and a Samsung phone; the difference is night-and-day. Samsung takes great photos, no question (and that's what I'll be using for general arena shots), but the quality of zoomed in shots, plus the reaction time for the shots to be taken doesn't come close to dSLRs.

Curiosity - what regulations do they usually require for the media permits? (not that I'd get one, but...)

 

[rduck1]

I've got a Nikon D5100 and a Samsung phone; the difference is night-and-day. Samsung takes great photos, no question (and that's what I'll be using for general arena shots), but the quality of zoomed in shots, plus the reaction time for the shots to be taken doesn't come close to dSLRs.

Curiosity - what regulations do they usually require for the media permits? (not that I'd get one, but...)

I'd guess that you would have to be working for some kind of media entity that they deem significant enough. IIHF regulations probably give some kind of criteria as well. Perhaps someone from the HF staff would know more.

EDIT: The Hartwall Areena website states that media coverage has to be arranged with the event organizers, which would in this case be IIHF and the Finnish Ice Hockey Association I guess.

 

[llwyd]

2. If you are staying somewhere in downtown, lunch and beverage are very expensive. If you take a few train stops to the suburbs you can get cheaper lunch and beer. Just by going to Pasila/Ilmala stops (where Hartwall Arena is) you can save a few Euros per meal and beer. If you are on a budget try to get a room with a microwave and food will be very cheap. If you don't eat at restaurants shops in the centre are same price as anywhere.

Good advice! I would head to Kallio for any pre-game pints and cheap food, it's quite near the centre and trams will take you close to the venues (number 9 for Hartwall Arena). More bohemian atmosphere and lots of cheap bars (some easily half cheaper than the touristy and/or trendy places in the centre).

 

[OHLTG]

I'd guess that you would have to be working for some kind of media entity that they deem significant enough. IIHF regulations probably give some kind of criteria as well. Perhaps someone from the HF staff would know more.

EDIT: The Hartwall Areena website states that media coverage has to be arranged with the event organizers, which would in this case be IIHF and the Finnish Ice Hockey Association I guess.

Yeah, I was looking it up after I posted and there's almost zero chance I could get one. I work for a magazine in my town, covering all sports (mainly hockey right now), but it's not a "major" magazine at this point. Not a huge deal.

 

[webnogg]

So here's a question....

The ticket PDFs say quite explicitly that "this ticket is only valid as a complete A4 printout."

For those that don't know (I didn't until about 10 minutes ago), A4 paper is the standard in most of Europe, but it is not really used in North America. Here in NA, our standard "letter" size paper is slightly different in size. For specifics, see http://betweenborders.com/wordsmithing/a4-vs-us-letter/

So if print out my tickets before leaving home on my usual paper, might this not actually work once I get to the arena? Of course I can't imagine them measuring paper size at the game, but perhaps the bar code won't scan because the PDF scales down the A4 image to fit US letter paper....?

I guess I could go find and buy some A4 paper and use it just to print out these tickets, but it would otherwise be useless to me.

Anyone have any experience with this issue?

 

[rduck1]

So here's a question....

The ticket PDFs say quite explicitly that "this ticket is only valid as a complete A4 printout."

For those that don't know (I didn't until about 10 minutes ago), A4 paper is the standard in most of Europe, but it is not really used in North America. Here in NA, our standard "letter" size paper is slightly different in size. For specifics, see http://betweenborders.com/wordsmithing/a4-vs-us-letter/

So if print out my tickets before leaving home on my usual paper, might this not actually work once I get to the arena? Of course I can't imagine them measuring paper size at the game, but perhaps the bar code won't scan because the PDF scales down the A4 image to fit US letter paper....?

I guess I could go find and buy some A4 paper and use it just to print out these tickets, but it would otherwise be useless to me.

Anyone have any experience with this issue?

If you print them in a way that crops instead of scales, you shouldn't lose any valuable information. I think you can do this in Adobe Reader by setting the "page scaling" option to "none" in the print dialog. They should also be able to scan the bar-code even if it's scaled as long as it doesn't get blurred in the process, since the readers they use work from variable distances. I'm certain they won't be checking the paper size despite that declaration; it's only there to allow them to refuse entry for people using wildly different sizes that would cause their readers trouble and increase queue times.

It's also possible to print out documents at most public libraries, including the one in Pasila which is very close to Hartwall Areena. I think it costs something like 50 cents per sheet. Might be a good idea to bring a USB drive with the PDFs as well just as a backup.

 

[FiLe]

They should also be able to scan the bar-code even if it's scaled as long as it doesn't get blurred in the process, since the readers they use work from variable distances.

It's actually a feature of barcodes - as long as the thing doesn't blur out, the scale could even be a 10th of the original and it reads just fine on any device.

However, if you feel iffy about it, just bring a thumb drive with you (or use some cloud service) - we have printers in Finland too. You can either ask the place your staying for a printout, or visit a public library.

That being said, I doubt scaling it for the US letter size will make a huge difference, more like none at all. Just take copies that are both scaled and cropped (will all the critical information visible) and at least one of them will let you in.

 

[Miggus]

You don't even need to print the tickets if you have a smartphone. Just show the pdf ticket from your phone and they should be able to scan the barcode on it.

 

[OHLTG]

It's tough to tell the difference in actual printed material. The biggest difference I see is the borders; definite difference.

That said, how do you fold these things? I've been trying for a bit now and can't get it (with normal binder paper)

 

[rduck1]

It's tough to tell the difference in actual printed material. The biggest difference I see is the borders; definite difference.

That said, how do you fold these things? I've been trying for a bit now and can't get it (with normal binder paper)

Sometimes they have little lines indicating the fold positions. If it has those, fold the part below the line behind the paper starting from the bottom(though I'd guess you'd have got that on your own ). If not, then do it however you want, as long as you don't make a crease on the barcode/QR and then unfold it before entering the venue.

 

[OHLTG]

There are multiple folds, which is why I'm As long as the barcode isn't folded, I'll be alright.

 

[Jonnieboy15]

Any Swedes going? Would be fun if a ***** load of Swedes took the ferry over to Helsinki. One can only dream.

We're 4 guys going over from Nyköping, think we'll grab a either a ferry on the 25th or flying over early Boxing Day morning. Where are you guys going from?

 

[Apari]

I got tickets for the QF, SF and bronze and final games played in the Hartwall Arena. Hopefully there will be loads of people coming and making a great atmosphere to all of the games.
I really want to see a Canada-Finland final, even I'm not sure if it's possible? I hope there will be huge crowds coming overseas to Helsinki to chear for the Canadian team. At least that's what I've seen in the other U20 tournaments.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Flights booked, tickets booked, ready to go! Now all I have to do is find a place to stay . . . I'll be flying in for the last 2 games of the round robin and then staying through for the final! Super stoked!

 

[SMJK]

Okey, 8 tickets in a row fixed for the final and the bronze game in Hartwall Arena, Helsinki, on the 5:th of january 2016.

For a cool 49 Euro or so each.

From Sweden and Jönköping/Huskvarna that is - but half of our crowd is Finland!

Roots bloody roots ...

 

[OHLTG]

Anyone know how good the Wifi is at either Helsinki Ice Hall or Hartwall?

 

[Mogo]

Got tickets to Can - Usa on December 26th!

Me too

 

[tony d]

Going to be strange to see Canada/USA meet on a day other than New Year's Eve in this tournament.

 

[CPFC]

Anyone know how good the Wifi is at either Helsinki Ice Hall or Hartwall?

Hartwall Arena doesn't have a public wifi. Ice Hall has free wifi, but it's terribly slow, especially during intermissions.

Most people have limitless 3G/4G connections in Finland, so there's not a huge demand for public wifi ( though 3G doesn't really work at Hartwall Arena).