Figure skatingNo holiday for Canadian skaters

Beginning of Story Content

It's the time of year in Canada when the kids are off from school and work has slowed down in anticipation of the holidays. But the work hasn't slowed down at the rink, where figure skaters know that the national championships are just around the corner.

Figure skaters past and present have always had a special place for "Canadians," as they call the event.



I think the 2011 BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships are going to be very interesting because of the possibility of three new champions being crowned in the ladies, pairs and ice dance categories.

Although reigning Canadian and Olympic champion ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir have not officially declared that they won't be competing, their coach Igor Shpillband was quoted recently as saying they're out of nationals.

The Canadian landscape in ice dance is in full bloom, with more than a couple of teams poised for the podium. The frontrunners for the top spot are the teams of Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier, and Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje. Both teams qualified for the recent Grand Prix Final and have been to worlds.

CBC's Tracy Wilson, an Olympic ice dance bronze medallist in 1988, thinks that even without Virtue and Moir, this season is still one of the strongest ever in ice dance.

"The Canadians are competitive on the world stage," Wilson says. "I am so impressed that in ice dance, which is so complex and difficult, teams continue to come up with new and different and difficult material."

The pairs are going to hit the ice in January without Canadian champions Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison. Just before the Skate Canada event in October, Bryce came down awkwardly out of a triple loop jump in practice and severely injured his knee, which required surgery.

At the Challenge event in early December, where many of Canada's skaters qualify for nationals, Bryce was still on crutches. He said that he wouldn't be able to put his full weight on his leg until sometime in January.

In a quirky twist of fate, Dube and Davison's replacements at Skate Canada were Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch, who finished in fifth place in their debut at nationals in 2010. They were only to have competed in one Grand Prix this season, but took advantage of their extra event, collecting one of their two silver medals on the season. Those results qualified them for the Grand Prix Final in December.



In only their second season, it would be a dream come true for Moore-Towers and Moscovitch to win the Canadian title in Victoria in January. For them, and other skaters, the national championship offers the chance to not only go for medals and titles but to rise to the challenge of performing when it counts.



It will be strange to not have six-time Canadian champion and Olympic bronze medallist Joannie Rochette on hand to defend her ladies title.

The last woman to hold the title besides Phaneuf was Cynthia Phaneuf, in 2004. After her win, Phaneuf struggled with injuries and confidence, only to re-emerge as the national silver medallist for the past two years. The ISU World Figure Skating Championships in 2010 were a turning point for Cynthia, who seemed to finally learn that one mistake does not a disaster make. Phaneuf persevered to skate a fine free program at worlds, posting a personal best score in that round to move up from eighth place to fifth with her best overall score.

This is a skater who has all the attributes necessary to earn a figure skating title: strength, beauty, grace, and a way of connecting to music that makes spectators feel like they have stumbled on a private moment.



While thoughts of sugar plums dance in your head, in a rink near you it's thoughts of shining on the Canadian championship stage that keep skaters going during run-through after run-through of their competition programs.

Stay tuned as they write another page of Canadian skating history in January.

For a special holiday greeting from Canadian figure skaters, click here.

Got a question for Pj? Send it to pjkwong@pjkwong.com

End of Story Content

Back to accessibility links