Amelie Lacoste's performance at the world championships could impact how many Canadians are allowed to compete at the 2014 Olympics. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)
For Canadian skaters, there's a lot riding on the results at the World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, France. Patrick Chan is defending his men's title, while dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are trying to re-claim
theirs after finishing second in 2011 to Americans Meryl Davis and
Charlie White.
But I think in some ways the most challenging
competition will be for Canadian champion Amelie Lacoste, who's the
country's lone representative in the ladies' event. In order for Canada
to be able to send two women next year, Lacoste has to finish in the top
10.
I've been thinking a lot lately about the preparation that the athletes are currently undergoing to get ready for next week's World Figure Skating Championships in Nice, France.
For Canadian skaters in particular, there's a lot riding on the results this year. Patrick Chan is defending his men's title, while dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are trying to re-claim theirs after finishing second in 2011 to Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White.
But I think in some ways the most challenging competition will be for Canadian champion Amelie Lacoste, who's the country's lone representative in the ladies' event. In order for Canada to be able to send two women next year, Lacoste has to finish in the top 10.
Earning as many entries as possible in next year's worlds has taken on increased performance this year. That's because in 2013, when the worlds return to Canada in London, Ont., countries will be vying for the number of spots they will qualify for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Is Lacoste up to the challenge? It seems so by the enthusiastic post the Delson, Que., native made recently on her Facebook wall. Translated from French, it reads: "10 days before the great start! Wow! I am so excited! :)"
There's been a lot of talk about the lack of depth in women's skating in Canada, but I don't find it entirely fair. After all, the last time that Canada qualified only one woman to compete at worlds was in 2002. Jennifer Robinson had to bear the burden of her poor 15th-place finish from the year before, along with the equally disastrous 21st-place showing posted by teammate Annie Bellemare. The result was only one woman competing for Canada in 2002 at both the world championships and the Olympics.
In this generation of Canadian women's skaters, Joannie Rochette has been the "world beater." It's true that her absence has left a hole in the ranks. But it's also true that her performances varied wildly at world championships, where she finished as high as second place and as low as 17th. In other words, every competition offers a unique opportunity to either succeed or fail.
PJ KwongPJ is a self-proclaimed Word Broker who goes by the motto: I read them. I write them. I speak them. A degree from the University of Toronto studying Modern Languages has been put to good use as a bilingual PA announcer for, among other things, the last 5 Olympic Games, the FIFA U-20 2007 Men's World Cup and numerous international figure skating events since 1993.
Working as a figure skating coach for the last 25+ years led to commentating opportunities from CTV/TSN, ABC, Tokyo Broadcasting, CBC, Fuji TV, Seoul Broadcasting and CCTV among others. CBC has been home to Pj's skating voice, writing and commentary opinions since 2007. She would tell you that although working in skating is where her passion lies; she is the voice of lots of commercial projects, a blogger on her own site, a public speaker and with "Taking The Ice: Success Stories from the World of Canadian Figure Skating" a published author. You want opinions? She's got them. Follow her on Twitter to see.
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Amelie Lacoste's performance at the world championships could impact how many Canadians are allowed to compete at the 2014 Olympics. (Paul Chiasson/Canadian Press)
PJ Kwong
PJ is a self-proclaimed Word Broker who goes by the motto: I read them. I write them. I speak them. A degree from the University of Toronto studying Modern Languages has been put to good use as a bilingual PA announcer for, among other things, the last 5 Olympic Games, the FIFA U-20 2007 Men's World Cup and numerous international figure skating events since 1993.
