Breaking The Ice

Riding The Orient Express

2007-03-25T13:08:00.000-04:00

Figure skating's new world order has officially arrived.
With the 2007 Tokyo worlds now in the books, what has been predicted for a few years now has become very apparent — the power base in the sport has shifted to the Far East.
Consider that only two countries won multiple medals at these worlds: Japan and China. Asian skaters swept the podium in the women's event, and took two of three pairs medals. Japan's Daisuke Takahashi nearly snared the men's gold with a stunning free skate.
On the flip side, look what's happened to some of figure skating's 'traditional' powers. For the first time in 47 years, no skater from Russia or the former Soviet Union won a medal. It wasn't that long ago that the Russians were sweeping all the golds.
The U.S. was limited to one medal, and in the discipline that probably gets the least attention in that country. And half of that ice dance bronze was earned by a skater who was born in Canada (Tanith Belbin of Kingston, Ont.). In the event that matters most to Americans — the women — U.S. skaters were shut out of the medals at worlds. The last time that happened? Try 1994.
Canada, meanwhile, brought home one medal from worlds for the second straight year. It was the same colour (silver) in the same event (ice dance) earned by the same skaters (Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon) as in 2006 in Calgary.
An interesting point was raised in a Canadian Press story over the weekend. Only one Canadian in singles or pairs — Joannie Rochette — improved her position from the short program to the free skate. That has to be a little disconcerting to officials from Skate Canada, because it's the free skate which determines who lands on the podium and who doesn't.
In Rochette's case, she was simply too far behind after the short to join the medal hunt, but the moxie she showed in battling back is a positive sign for the future.
Going forward, Canada kept three ice dance and three pair spots for next year's worlds in Sweden. Thanks to Rochette, we'll send two women to Goteborg in 2008 (and she's owed a bunch of thank-you cards for that from senior women across the country).
Our men's complement is down to two, meaning the dogfight for the world team will be even fiercer at Canadians in Vancouver next January.
When the fight moves across the pond to Sweden, the battle figures to be on a higher plane there, too. With Asian skaters clearly raising the bar once more, and daring everyone else to keep up.

Canada's Saving Grace

2007-03-24T13:14:00.000-04:00

Sometimes, the result isn't the whole story. Even if the final number was so critical to the immediate future of Canadian women's skating.
When Joannie Rochette stepped on the ice at the world championships in Tokyo earlier today, the weight on her shoulders was immense. With compatriot Mira Leung having skidded to a 24th-place finish, the petite three-time Canadian champ from Ile-Dupas, Que., knew it was on her to save the day. To assure a nation of aspiring young skaters back home that there would be a second women's world berth to chase in 2008.
After a disastrous short program that left her in 16th place, it meant a climb of at least four places was necessary in the free skate, against perhaps the toughest field she'd ever faced in competition. But the will was clearly there, and that's where it had to start.
“I wanted to come back and fight for it,” Rochette, 21, told reporters afterward. “I knew I needed a top-12 finish.”
Turns out she went two steps better. With a free skate judged to be fifth-best on the night, Rochette battled back to finish 10th and got the job done. That part, she had to be happy about. But Rochette also saw what she's up against now — the new technical heights reached by the three medallists, Japan's Miki Ando (gold) and Mao Asada (silver), and Yu-Na Kim of Korea (bronze) — and knows her arsenal isn't anywhere near good enough yet. She needs triple-triple combinations and, perhaps down the road, even a triple Axel.
Good part is, Rochette knows she's got that kind of talent in her. But she also is very aware she can't make a habit of digging herself the kind of hole she had to climb out of in Tokyo.
“I never want to feel like that again,” she said, the strain of the day clearly evident.
It reminds me of the emotion another Canadian female skater once displayed after two straight disappointments at the national championships. But Jennifer Robinson wanted no pity or condolences on that 1998 night in Hamilton, and vowed to return with a vengeance.
Five straight Canadian titles later, she'd clearly backed up her words. Robinson was also the one to get that vital second worlds spot back for Canada, and inspired a generation of young girls across the country.
Rochette did her part for the country today. Now she needs to do what's necessary for herself to compete in what is now “a different game.”
It's a battle that isn't about to get easier anytime soon.

Dance Bridesmaids Once More

2007-03-23T20:41:00.000-04:00

The music for their free dance seemed to suggest the right finish.
At Last, Etta James once sang. And it was a phrase Canadian skating fans hoped to use when Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon were crowned ice dance champions at the world championships in Tokyo.
Instead, it's this again ... not just yet.
For the second straight year, the five-time Canadian champs came up a whisker short in their bid for the world gold. Last year in Calgary, Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria got them by a scant 0.45 points.
Earlier today in Tokyo, it was another close call. When the final results were tabulated after a thrilling free dance final, Stenkova and Staviski were world champs again with 201.61 points. Right behind with 200.46 were the Canadian bridesmaids, who led after the compulsories but slipped behind after Thursday's original dance.
“We have a saying: 'If you aim for the moon and miss, you'll end up with the stars,' ” Lauzon told reporters afterward. “We didn't win but we still have our silver medal and I think we'll be very happy thinking about it (Saturday).”
It was likely the last great duel between these two teams — Denkova and Staviski have indicated they will now retire. Will Dubreuil and Lauzon, both now in their 30s, do the same? Bet on the answer not coming for a few months yet. But don't wager too much that the answer will be yes.
If the classy couple does call it quits, the future of Canadian ice dance appears to be in very capable hands. Worlds rookies Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir showed they're on the verge of contending for medals by placing an impressive sixth, with a flair that suggested they could be future champions someday soon.
The London, Ont., area couple, which became Canada's first-ever world junior ice dance champions in 2006, are clearly on the fast track. Former world champions Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz finished 14th in their worlds debut; Dubreuil and Lauzon were 10th.
“We definitely want to be competitive with the top teams in the world over the next few years,” said Moir, 19 (Virtue is 17). “We're hoping next year to push the envelope and get into that last group.”
Americans Tanith Belbin (originally from Kingston, Ont.) and Ben Agosto were fortunate bronze medallists after a free dance that included two major errors.
Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Kitchener, Ont., finished 20th.
The efforts of the top two Canadian entries again secured three ice dance berths for the 2008 worlds in Sweden, which no doubt brought cheers from a hungry group of young teams eager to make their own debut on the big stage.
It should be some fight next year in Vancouver, to be sure.

Here We Go Again

2007-03-23T16:25:00.000-04:00

Just when you thought this was a subject dead and buried long ago ...
Questions are no doubt being raised again today about the quality of women's skating in Canada. Or rather, to be precise, their ability to deliver when it matters the most.
Take a look at the latest evidence we have to consider. The women's short program is in the books at the Tokyo worlds, and here's what we've got to show for it: Three-time Canadian champ Joannie Rochette, 16th, and Mira Leung, 20th.
In other words, not a hope in hell of reaching the podium, assuring that our women's medal drought at worlds will be extended to 19 years.
And counting.
Here's the bigger worry at the moment, though. If either of those placements doesn't improve greatly in Saturday's free skate — like, by about 5-6 spots — we're looking at one solitary women's berth for the 2008 worlds in Sweden. And a flashback to the dark days of the 1990s, when the poor girls at the top had to field constant questions about what was wrong with women's skating in Canada.
Quite frankly, I thought we were beyond all this. Now I wonder.
I've been a Rochette fan for quite a few years now, I'll admit. She's a very bright, engaging young woman with more talent than even she probably knows. So when some of my media colleagues questioned her chances in Tokyo after she'd barely retained her national title in Halifax, I kept thinking back to 2006.
When Rochette was good enough to be fifth at the Olympics, the highest finish by a Canadian woman at the Winter Games since Ottawa's Liz Manley in 1988. And, a few weeks after that, held the lead after women's qualifying — the first Canadian woman ever to do that — before her nerves got the better of her in the short program. But hey, that position was new territory for Rochette, and everyone was willing to cut her some slack even after she slipped to seventh by the end.
Something, however, is very wrong this week. I see the 16th placing beside her name — Rochette's been top-10 material in two of the last three worlds — and it just doesn't look right. It's only one spot better than the 17th she recorded in 2003 as a 17-year-old worlds newbie although, to be fair, this competition isn't over yet.
Leung's currrent standing in 20th also suggests a step back.
But in today's skating world, you only get points for what you do on the ice, and obviously, neither Rochette nor Leung did enough today.
They'd be much better placed if they had.
Meanwhile, a teen like South Korea's Yu-Na Kim — now under the tutelage of Canadian skating legend Brian Orser — is posting a world record short program score (71.95) in her first try at worlds. Hell, American Kimmie Meissner won the whole damn thing last year at 16.
And yet, our women are still looking for answers.
To a question that should have stopped being asked years ago.

Woe Canada, What A Tumble

2007-03-22T16:55:00.000-04:00

My, what a difference 24 hours can make.
Just yesterday, Canadians were cheering the performances of the country's three men's entries at the Tokyo worlds. Jeff Buttle seemed like a sure medal bet. His training mate, worlds newbie Christopher Mabee, was on the fringe of podium contention. Even Emanuel Sandhu, just five points back, had to rank as an outside threat.
Then came today.
Splat. Splat. And splat.
Just like that, no medals for Canada. And one less men's berth for the red and white at next year's worlds in Sweden.
Ouch, indeed.
Let's start with some happier stuff. France's Brian Joubert, twice a world silver medallist, finally claimed the world crown, even though he placed third in today's free skate.
The story of the night was Daisuke Takahashi, who enthralled his home country fans with a marvelous free skate that included eight triple jumps and a quad. It was almost enough to push Takahashi to the top of the podium, but he fell a few points shy.
The final scoring: Joubert, 240.85 points; Takahashi, 237.95.
Two-time defending champ Stephane Lambiel of Switzerland, who looked rather ordinary during the short program (he placed sixth), rebounded in a big way in the free skate. The Little Zebra totalled 233.35 points to claim the bronze medal.
The top three all landed quads in their free skates.
Now, about those Canadians ...
Buttle appeared to be an absolute medal lock with the impressive form he showed in the short program. But it all unravelled in the free and, two falls later (on a quad and triple Axel), the three-time Canadian champion had tumbled to sixth, matching his finish at the 2006 Calgary worlds.
Mabee, who looked so relaxed during his career-best short program, crumbled under the spotlight today. He wound up 13th.
Sandhu's slide was even more disastrous. He also tumbled to the ice twice and generally struggled through a free skate. He skidded all the way to 16th place — his worst finish at a worlds since 1999, when he placed 18th in Helsinki.
While Sandhu bravely spoke yesterday of still making a run at the 2010 Olympics in his adopted home town of Vancouver, it appears his career is about to hit a crossroads. If he can't land a spot on the world team next year — and there are only two of them now — it'll truly be decision time.
Maybe he can summon some of that old magic in Vancouver, where the Canadian championships will be held next year. And the same city where, a decade ago, Sandhu first really flashed some of his immense promise by winning the national junior title.
Seems like such a long time ago now, though, doesn't it?

Throw A Blanket Over Them

2007-03-22T14:27:00.000-04:00

In track and field, it's known as the blanket finish.
When a whack of sprinters cross the line en masse, and a photo finish is often needed to declare a winner.
Okay, it won't be quite like that in the ice dance competition at the world championships in Tokyo. But it's hard to imagine a closer battle than the one we'll see Friday. And in ice dance, of all things.
You know, the discipline with the long history of being the most predictable of the bunch.
Not anymore, it appears. And thank heavens for that.
Reigning world champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria seized the lead by winning today's original dance. But it's anything but secure. With a 99.52-point total through two phases of the event, the Bulgarians hold a scant 0.02 point edge over Canadians Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. Another 0.48 points back are Americans Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto.
Not that we didn't see this coming. It was game on when Denkova and Staviski were beaten by both France's Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (fifth here at the moment with 96.02 points) and Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia (fourth, 97.63) at the European championships in Warsaw a few months back.
On this side of the pond, Dubreuil and Lauzon outpointed Belbin and Agosto at the Four Continents Championships after the Americans led after the original dance.
“All season it’s been like this,” Dubreuil told reporters today. “People keep beating each other and it’s quite exciting.”
It's also a wonderful change from the stodgy days of yore. Who knows, now, what will happen in Friday's free dance final?
“For once, dance is not predictable,” added Dubreuil. “I just hope everybody skates really, really well (Friday) so we can have a pleasant competition for everyone — the fans and ourselves.
“It will be a great fight.”
The other good news for Canadians: Worlds rookies Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir climbed to seventh after the OD, all but assuring that Canada will send three teams to the 2008 world championships in Sweden.
Canada's third couple in Tokyo, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, stand 22nd after the original dance.

No Mabees About This

2007-03-21T20:29:00.000-04:00

Today's men's short program at the world figure skating championships produced a lot of storylines we might have expected to see.
France's Brian Joubert, a world champion in waiting for a few years now, lit up the ice in Tokyo like no other and seized control of the event with a powerful display. He seems ready to finally snare that elusive crown.
Joubert, by the way, was Kurt Browning's pick to win the thing. Granted, the four-time world champ has a bit of a vested interest in this — he became one of Joubert's choreographer's this year. But he's also in Japan as a TV analyst, and his prediction, it should be noted, was made with that hat on. He's also a guy whose opinion we generally tend to trust.
With 83.64 points in his pocket, Joubert holds nearly a four-point edge of Canada's Jeff Buttle, who's no stranger to the world podium. Ironically, when Buttle won his world silver two years ago in Moscow, it happened in part because Joubert imploded during his free skate.
Both, however, appear to be in sharp form this week. Buttle's 79.90-point score was also a personal best, but his French rival owns one key trump card — the quad-triple combination, which he landed with ease today.
That being said, Buttle seemed completely comfortable on the ice in Japan, a country in which he is a fan favourite and has a track record of performing well. It would be an utter shock if Buttle isn't wearing some sort of world hardware again by this time tomorrow.
Emanuel Sandhu delivered about what we've come to expect from him. The guy's got oodles of talent, and put it on display for most of his short program. But a fall on a triple Axel doomed him to an 11th-place standing. He skates clean, and we're putting him in the pot of podium contenders.
Here's the good news, though. With 69.42 points, Sandhu is only about five points away from being in the medal mix. And, as he showed a year ago at the Calgary worlds — when he rose from near-oblivion at the beginning of the week to a fifth-place finish — anything is possible with Sandhu.
And what to make of Christopher Mabee, the young lad from Tillsonburg, Ont., making his worlds debut? We suggested back in Halifax that, in winning the silver medal there and performing so well, he'd taken a big leap toward the big time.
But that might now be viewed as a mere baby step compared to what happened earlier today in Tokyo. As good as Mabee was in his short program at Canadians, he was even better on the world stage, all but floating his way through a fabulous performance. With 71.33 points, Mabee stands seventh, and well within reach of the podium.
Imagine the celebration back at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont., if Mabee joins his good buddy and training partner Buttle in bringing home medals from the other side of the world.
Some party that would be. No Mabees, er, maybes about it.

Half Full ... Or Half Empty?

2007-03-21T18:06:00.000-04:00

You know that old line about two ways of looking at the glass of water.
The optimist sees it as half full. The pessimist sees half empty.
So it is that there are two ways of analyzing Canada's performance in the pairs event at the Tokyo worlds.
On the one hand, Canada remains medal-less in the pairs discipline since Jamie Sale and David Pelletier won the world gold in 2001 in Vancouver.
On the other, we were the only country to put three teams in the top 10.
Valerie Marcoux and Craig Buntin had the best Canadian finish. But their sixth-place final standing was a step back from the No. 5 slot they owned a year ago in Calgary.
Still, add that sixth-place finish to the seventh earned by Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison, and Canada keeps three pairs spots for the 2008 worlds in Sweden. That's important for the future.
Half full? Half empty? Depends on your point of view.
For Marcoux and Buntin, it was a bit of both.
And not exactly in the right order.
The three-time Canadian champs were positively brilliant in the short program with what had to rate as their best skate of the year. They were well positioned to maybe make a move up from that fifth-place finish of 2006. Then everything came off the rails in today's free program, and backward they skidded.
Now questions are starting to be asked by some about the future of this pair. For sure, it will be a summer of deep thinking for this eminently likable duo.
Not so for Dube and Davison, who are clearly the present and the future of the pairs program in Canada. Given what they went through a little more than a month ago in Colorado Springs — Dube's face was sliced open by her partner's skate blade when they got too close on side-by-side camel spins during their Four Continents free program — just making it to Tokyo and competing well was admirable in itself.
Surely, there must be a world medal in the future. If Dube, the queen of bad luck, can stay in one piece, that is.
Canada's No. 3 entry in Tokyo is also a team on the rise. Anabelle Langlois and worlds rookie Cody Hay leaped up into the top 10 with an enchanting free skate, and things can only get better for them on the road to Vancouver 2010.
No questions at the top, though. Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao showed they're back as the class of the pairs world. They've indicated, however, that they plan to take at least next season off, meaning a new champ will be crowned in Gothenburg.
One final note of interest: For the first time since 1960, the pairs podium didn't include a team from Russia or the former Soviet Union.
That's 47 years, if you're counting.
And the end of an era, indeed.

Now That's More Like It

2007-03-20T13:21:00.000-04:00

Good news for Canada in the pairs discipline today in Tokyo.
Former Canadian champs Valerie Marcoux of Gatineau, Que., and Craig Buntin of Kelowna, B.C., laid down their best short program of the season and stand fifth in the pairs event at the 2007 worlds — exactly where they wound up a year ago in Calgary.
With 60.73 points, Marcoux and Buntin are also well placed to gain a spot in the final standings. They’re just 1.34 points behind Yuko Kawaguchi and Alexander Smirnov, a new team representing Russia.
“It feels good to be smiling. We’re happy with what we did,” said Buntin after their clean skate. “We kept the focus just on ourselves and skated like Val and Craig out there, and we’re just really happy.”
Also heartening was the effort of Jessica Dube of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que., and Bryce Davison of Cambridge, Ont. The Canadian champions are seventh after the short with 58.94 points.
It was only about five weeks ago, you’ll recall, that Dube was cut badly across her nose and left cheek by Davison’s skate blade when they got too close on side-by-side spins. Today’s skate was, by all reports, a little rough, but it should help them settle in a little more for the free skate.
Again, keep an eye on the final placings for these two teams. The magic number is 13 — anything totalling that number (or less) means Canada keeps three pairs spots for the 2008 worlds.
Anabelle Langlois of Hull, Que., and Cody Hay of Grande Prairie, Alta., wound up 13th in the short. This is Hay’s worlds debut.
Former world champs Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao of China hold the lead with a whopping 71.07 points. They're followed by Germany's Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy (67.65) and the reigning world champs from China, Qing Pang and Jian Tong (66.75).
We should know a final result by the time us folks in the East rise and shine on Wednesday morning.

Oh, Canada, What A Start!

2007-03-20T13:09:00.000-04:00

Canadian skating fans couldn’t have asked for a better start for the gang in red and white at the world championships in Tokyo.
Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon hold the lead after today’s compulsory dance (the Rhumba). The Montrealers posted a score of 38.96 points, and hold a 1.54-point lead over reigning world champions Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria (37.42). Packed tightly behind them are Russia’s Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin (37.29), European champs Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder (37.20), and Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto of the U.S. (37.17).
“We are the world champions of the Rhumba,” exclaimed a happy Dubreuil after their winning compulsory.
The result is significant for two reasons: Dubreuil and Lauzon didn’t win the compulsory at last year’s worlds in Calgary, and had to play catch up the rest of the way. And the final margin of victory for Denkova and Staviski (after the Canadians won the free dance) was a mere 0.45 points. So every point matters in what is shaping up as probably the tightest competition of these Tokyo worlds.
Also worth noting is the standing of Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. The duo from London, Ont., finished ninth in the Rhumba in their worlds debut. If they can stay in the top 10, Canada will again be able to send three ice dance teams to the 2008 worlds in Sweden.
Our third team in Tokyo, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, currently stand 18th. They’re also worlds rookies.
The original dance is Thursday and the free dance on Friday.

Worlds When You Want It

2007-03-20T09:48:00.000-04:00

It’s the Internet age, which means fans shouldn’t have to wait.
So good on the CBC for making the decision to offer figure skating fans the opportunity to watch the world championships in Tokyo live — if they’ve got the week off work or happen to live in Vancouver, that is.
CBC Country Canada, a digital TV channel the public broadcaster owns, is offering live coverage of all the events from Japan. If you happen to own a digital cable box, just call your cable or satellite provider and order up the channel. If you don’t have a box, they’re easy (and quick) enough to buy or rent. The price is rather cheap these days, too.
For those unable to watch live, the CBC is offering a prime-time show through Friday (8 p.m. ET) with everything replayed on tape.
"We want people to be able to see it when they want to see it," CBC Sports executive producer Chris Irwin said. “You can choose to watch it (live), or you can ... wait for it."
The live and taped schedules can be found through a sports TV blog I write for the Ottawa Sun. The address is blog.canoe.ca/remotecontrol. Look for the post titled ‘Live From Tokyo’ and follow the link contained within it.

Happy Dance In The Klondike

2007-03-05T21:50:00.000-05:00

It was barely a month ago that Lisa Casselman and Ryan Behnia were crowned pre-novice dance national champs at the Skate Canada Junior Nationals in Brampton, Ont.
Now they're on the verge of a second 'national' title, so to speak.
Today in Whitehorse, the young Nepean Skating Club couple seized command of the pre-novice dance event at the Canada Winter Games. Casselman, 14, and Behnia, 16, posted a score of 48.70 points in today's compulsories, and own a solid 3.26-point lead over Quebecers Raphaelle Viau and Benjamin Arcieri, who wound up fourth in Brampton.
The free dance final is on Wednesday. And for the record, Casselman and Behnia's were the class of the field in that phase at junior nationals.
Might be time for them to do the happy dance again in the Yukon.
***
Stop me if you've heard this one before.
Ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Canada finished sixth in the compulsories at the world junior championships last week in Oberstdorf, Germany. Then they moved up to fourth in the original dance.
When the medals were handed out Friday night, there were Weaver and Poje, perched on the bronze-medal step of the podium.
Quite a feat for the Houston-born Weaver and Poje, of Kitchener, Ont., who've been a team for less than eight months.
But shouldn't we have seen this coming?
At the Canadian championships back in January in Halifax, Weaver and Poje quietly made their way through the compulsories, finishing in seventh place. They slipped up to fifth after the original dance, but still rather out of sight and mind. But there they were on the final Sunday of the competition, wearing bronze-medal smiles and holding a ticket to the world championships in Tokyo.
It was deja vu all over again in Oberstdorf.
Consider it a lesson well learned. Meaning if Weaver and Poje seem to be lagging behind the pack early on in Japan, don't lose sight of them. These two have proven — as the old saying goes — that it ain't over until it's really over.
***
A quick update (and my bad for not doing it much sooner) ...
Casselman and Behnia did win the pre-novice dance gold in Whitehorse.
They move up to novice next season.

Silver Lining

2007-03-01T23:52:00.000-05:00

Canada's wait for a men's gold medallist at the world junior figure skating championships has been extended by another year.
But Ottawa-born Patrick Chan's silver medal — the first medal of any colour won by a Canadian man at this global event in 23 years — is still a positive sign. For Chan's future and that of men's skating in this country.
While Chan had his wobbly moments in today's free skate final in Oberstdorf, Germany, he didn't exactly crumble under the pressure of being the leader after the short program. And that's the one thing that has dogged many of the 'next great things' in Canadian skater too many times in recent years (I'll leave it to you to supply any names you want).
Internationally, at least, Chan has never found himself in this position before. And he simply got outskated by the brilliant Stephen Carriere of the U.S., who landed seven clean triples in his free program to soar from sixth after the short to the gold.
Carriere finished with 188.87 points; Chan 184.55.
Chan is a bright young kid (just turned 16) who will take this experience back to his current home in Toronto and learn from it. Just the way his mentor, the late, great Osborne Colson, would have taught him to over their years together at the Granite Club.
A Canadian champion three times over already (pre-novice, novice and junior), Chan remains perhaps the name to watch in the runup to the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. By then, he should have the triple Axel and a quad or two in his arsenal. And the experience necessary to stare down any of the world's best on the biggest stages of them all.
It'll be fun watching as young guns like Chan, Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C. (5th at these world juniors) and Joey Russell of Labrador City, NL (11th) contend for spots on that Vancouver team.

Chan Might Be The Man

2007-02-28T15:41:00.001-05:00

Patrick Chan could be on the verge on some history at the world junior figure skating championships.
Chan won the short program today in Oberstdorf, Germany, posting a personal best score of 64.10 points. That's a little more than three points higher than he scored at the NHK Trophy senior Grand Prix series event in December.
He placed sixth in his world junior debut last year.
“I'm very happy with my program today,” said the Ottawa-born Chan, 16. “I'm keeping my cool. I can't celebrate yet because I still have the free skate, but I'm very grateful to have been able to accomplish such a feat in the short program.”
Chan, who is considered perhaps the brightest prospect in Canadian men's skating, holds a 2.43-point lead over China's Jinlin Guan (61.67), while Takahito Mura of Japan stands fourth (61.16).
Another Canadian, Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., stands fourth (59.52). Reynolds beat his old personal best by more than five points.
If both Canadians somehow wind up on the podium, it would be a stunning result. Since the junior worlds started 31 years ago, Canadian men have won only four medals. Three of them came in the first three years of the event, all of which were held in Megeve, France: Brian Pockar (bronze), 1976; Daniel Beland (gold), 1977; and Dennis Coi (gold), 1978.
The last Canadian man to win a medal in this event: Mark Ferland, who earned a silver medal in 1984 in Sapporo, Japan.
“This is one of the best results after a short program by Canadian men at a world junior championship,” said Skate Canada CEO William Thompson.
The third Canadian man in this year's event, Joey Russell of Labrador City, NL, stands 12th (53.89). He also notched a personal best score.
The free skate final is on Thursday.

Vancouver Calling ...

2007-02-21T16:39:00.000-05:00

If you've been waiting to line up tickets for the 2008 BMO Financial Group Canadian championships in Vancouver ... well, your wait is about to end.
All-event packages for the event go on sale Feb. 27 at 1 p.m. ET.
Prices are $175 and $150 for the week, and can be purchased over the phone (604-280-4444) or online from TicketMaster (www.ticketmaster.ca).
The 2008 nationals run Jan. 16-20 at Pacific National Exhibition, which will also be the figure skating venue for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics.
Call this your opportunity for a sneak peek.
For Vancouver, it's the fifth opportunity to host Canadians. The last was in 1997. The city also held the world championships in 2001.
Also worth noting: It's gone back to being a five-day nationals with the elimination of the senior qualifying rounds (which will now be a part of the East/West Challenge. We're hearing that event is likely headed back to the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont., in December).

It Ain't Over Until It's Over

2007-02-11T00:07:00.000-05:00

Used to be a time — and not that long ago — when it was easy to separate the contenders from the pretenders heading into a free skate.
It was this simple: Top three, have at it for the medals.
The rest of you ... well, thanks for coming out.
Not anymore.
The men’s and women’s finals at the Four Continents Championship offered the latest evidence that — as that old saying goes — it ain’t over until it’s over.
Start with the men’s free skate on Friday night. Evan Lysacek of the U.S. found himself in fourth place after the short program, 10.68 points behind leader Jeffrey Buttle of Canada. But Lysacek skated the lights out in the free skate final in Colorado Springs (most notably, landing a quad, even if it wasn’t the cleanest landing) and wound up on top of the podium when all was said and done.
Final scores: Lysacek, 226.27; Buttle, 223.96.
(the three-time Canadian champ, it should be noted, went quadless and botched a triple Axel).
His training buddy, Christopher Mabee, had the third-best free skate and jumped up five spots to finish fifth.
Fast forward to today and the women’s free skate final. No surprise seeing that reigning world champion Kimmie Meissner won the gold. But the American teen had to rally from a sixth-place finish in the short program.
Granted, Meissner was only 4.11 points in arrears of short program winner Joannie Rochette of Canada. But this is the kind of leap that would have been virtually impossible under the old 6.0-based system.
With a 172.75-point overall total, though, Meissner had more than enough to slide past American compatriot Emily Hughes (166.60) and Rochette (165.90).
Worth noting: Had Rochette been able to match her ISU personal best free skate score of 118.26 (recorded at Skate Canada in Victoria), the gold would have been hers.
Meissner wasn’t even the biggest mover among the women. Canada’s No. 2 entry, Lesley Hawker (a.k.a. Mrs. Doherty), turned in a fine season-ending skate (she’s not on Canada’s world team) to rocket up from 16th after the short to a seventh-place final standing (Fumie Suguri's withdrawal accounted for one of those spots).
No matter where you sit, you’ve gotta love this kind of volatility. The skaters know they’ve still got a shot at the podium if the point gap isn’t too wide. And there’s more drama for the fans.
Good for the skaters, good for the fans ... isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

Dance Fever

2007-02-09T22:40:00.000-05:00

There's a delicious duel for global ice dance supremacy already brewing.
And we're still a month away from the Tokyo world championships.
Yes, I'm talking about ice dance.
And no, this isn't a misprint.
Consider what's gone on at the two major competitions that act as table setters (although not necessarily predictors) for the world championships. Two weeks ago, reigning world ice dance champs Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski finished third at the European championships in Warsaw. Knocking them off were gold medallists Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder of France, and the newest Russian sensations, Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, who took the silver.
The Bulgarians were third in all three phases of the event. Domnina and Shabalin won the free dance, while the French were tops in the compulsories and the original dance.
Now, there's tonight's result in Colorado Springs, which saw Canadians Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon recover from a stumble in the original dance (that knocked them back to second) to take the gold in a sizzling battle with Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto.
To build the intrigue a little more, let's line up the scores (and you can do that now with the current system) that the Fab Five posted at the two major competitions.
Europeans: Delobel/Schoenfelder, 199.47; Domnina/Shabalin, 199.16; Denkova/Staviski, 193.73.
Four Continents: Dubreuil/Lauzon, 198.59; Belbin/Agosto, 196.98.
In other words, one misplaced step here or there, and you can go from first to fifth in a hurry.
So yes, it's looking very much like race for the 2007 world crown is — wait for it — wide open.
And when's the last time we could say that about ice dance?
Yes, ice dance.

A Pair With Heart

2007-02-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

Sometime very soon, we’re thinking, the fates of figure skating just have to leave Jessica Dube alone.
Seems like the poor girl’s run of bad luck is never ending.
The latest — and perhaps scariest — evidence of that came Thursday night at the Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs. The petite (she’s 4-foot-11) and sweet 19-year-old from St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que., was cut badly when the skate blade of her partner, Bryce Davison, smacked her in the face (just below the eye) during side-by-side camel spins.
If you’ve seen the photos of Dube lying on the ice with a trail of blood beside her, you also no doubt noted the look of horror in Davison’s face.
Yes, it was that bad.
Dube was kept in local hospital overnight after undergoing surgery for the gash across her left cheek and nose. International Skating Union medical advisor Jane Moran called it a “significant laceration.”
Now the question becomes whether Dube and Davison, the newly crowned Canadian pairs champions, can recover physically and — perhaps more important — mentally in time to skate at the world championships in Tokyo next month.
Given their recent past, don’t bet against it.
Last season, Dube was involved in a serious car accident about six weeks before the Canadian championships in Ottawa. She suffered a sprained wrist that had the couple wondering whether they’d be able to be ready to skate at the Civic Centre (Dube’s knee injury had wrecked their chances at Canadians the season before. They withdrew after the short program).
But not only did they show up in the nation’s capital, they skated well enough to land Canada’s second pairs berth for the Turin Olympics. Then went out and posted the country’s top pairs finish (10th) in Italy.
Fast forward to the current season. Dube needed knee surgery back in September, which kept the couple off the ice for about a month and forced them to play catchup (again) for most of the fall.
Somehow, Dube and Davison got it together in time to go out and win their first Canadian senior title in Halifax.
The lesson in all of this: If you wager against these two, you’ll lose.
Big time.
Nothing, it would appear, can keep them down for long.

Time To Seal The Deal

2007-02-09T11:31:00.000-05:00

Here we go again, Joannie Rochette.
Time to put the lesson of Calgary to use.
The three-time Canadian women’s champion finds herself on top of the heap after Thursday’s women’s short program at the Four Continents Championship in Colorado Springs.
If the 21-year-old from Ile-Dupas, Que., can maintain that spot after Saturday’s free skate, she’d claim her most significant international triumph yet. And an enormous dose of momentum heading into the world championships in March in Tokyo.
The deal is anything but done, though. With 56.60 points for a short program that, outside of a step out on the front end of her planned triple flip-triple toe combination, was top notch, Rochette posted the score of the night. But she’s got plenty of company nipping at her heels.
American Emily Hughes is a mere 1.26 points behind Rochette. Even reigning world champion Kimmie Meissner of the U.S., who’s down in sixth spot, remains in hailing distance of Rochette, just 4.11 points back.
In other words, Rochette is going to need another quality skate on Saturday just to ensure a podium spot, let alone the gold.
For Rochette, the position should look familiar. At the 2006 world championships, she found herself in first place after the qualifying rounds. It was hardly expected and it showed in the short program: Rochette made two major errors that all but finished her medal hopes.
She vowed then that she’d learned something new about pressure, that it would make her a better skater in the future if/when the situation presented itself again.
Well, it has now.
Time to see whether Rochette has indeed learned how to close the deal.

At The Four Front

2007-02-07T10:39:00.000-05:00

Looks like the Four Continents Figure Skating Championship might finally have come of age.
Scan the entry list for the annual event — which begins later today in Colorado Springs — and you’ll see a world champion or medallist in every single discipline. That’s a far cry from the days (not so long ago) when Four Continents was filled with what you’d call a lot of ‘B’-list entries.
No more.
With a nearly two-month gap between Canadian and U.S. nationals and the world championships, Four Continents is the perfect place for skaters to keep sharp for the ultimate test at the end of March in Tokyo.
So it is that, with just two exceptions, Canada’s team in Colorado Springs will mirror exactly the one headed to Japan next month. Vancouver’s Mira Leung has chosen to take a pass on the event (former Canadian champ Cynthia Phaneuf of Contrecoeur, Que., takes her place), while surprise Canadian ice dance bronze medallists Kaitlyn Weaver of Houston, Tex., and Andrew Poje of Kitchener, Ont., will instead head to the world junior championships Feb. 26-March 4 in Oberstdorf, Germany (Vancouver’s Lauren Senft and Leif Gislason of Winnipeg become Canada’s third dance entry at Four Continents).
The quality of the overall field means Canada will be in tough to bring home the raft of medals it’s earned in the past. Expect Montreal’s Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, last year’s world silver medallists, to claim the ice dance gold. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of London, Ont., are good bets to join them on the podium.
Olympic bronze medallist Jeffrey Buttle, who showed at last month’s Canadian championships in Halifax that he’s back in form, rates as the men's favourite this week (Worth noting: Christopher Mabee of Tillsonburg, Ont., won the silver medal in this event a year ago, when he posted all his current ISU-best scores).
Three-time Canadian women’s champ Joannie Rochette of Ile-Dupas, Que., has some serious work to do to reach the podium against a field chock full of top U.S. (world champ Kimmie Meissner, Emily Hughes, Alissa Czisny) and Japanese (Miki Ando, Fumie Suguri) foes.
In pairs, new Canadian champs Jessica Dube of St. Cyrille de Wendover, Que., and Bryce Davison of Cambridge, Ont., face two Chinese teams with world championship pedigree (Qing Pang/Jian Tong and Xue Shen/Hongbo Zhao), along with new U.S. champs Brooke Castile and Benjamin Okolski and former American champions Rene Inoue and John Baldwin.
The more interesting question: How will Valerie Marcoux of Gatineau, Que., and Craig Buntin of Kelowna, Que., rebound from being dethroned as Canadian champs in Halifax? No place like here to start making amends.
The ice dance compulsories get the competition started this afternoon, followed by the pairs and men’s short programs. The women get rolling on Thursday.

As Good As It Gets

2007-02-03T23:26:00.000-05:00

Another Skate Canada Junior Nationals.
One more medal for the Nepean Skating Club.
When Lisa Casselman and Ryan Behnia won the pre-novice ice dance crown on Friday night in Brampton, Ont., it extended a nice little run at this event for the west Ottawa club.
Last year, Brooke Paulin and Nathan Last earned a silver medal in novice pairs in Moncton, N.B.
In 2004, it was Mandy Valentine enjoying a golden moment in the novice women's event right at home at the Nepean Sportsplex.
The latest one, though, had to be the most thrilling.
Casselman and Behnia were fifth after he first compulsory dance (American Waltz), then moved up to third following compulsory No. 2 (Rocker Foxtrot). They made their big move to the top in the free dance.
Still, it was a nail biter. Check out the final overall numbers: Casselman and Behnia, 61.87 points; Quebec’s Marie-Philippe Vincent and Kevin Pierro, 61.29; Quebec’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Anthony Quintal, 61.13.
Three teams, separated by less than a point.
Doesn’t get much closer than that.
Casselman and Behnia were second-last to skate. But they had to wait out the performance of Vincent and Pierro before they finally knew.
That they’d gone from 10th a year ago to Canadian champs.
“Oh, my God. That was the first thing I said,” Casselman, 14, said on the afternoon after their triumph. “It was like ‘I can’t believe we actually did this.’ ”
Behnia, 16, was still overwhelmed by it all a day later.
“I don’t think it’s quite hit me yet,” he said. “It seems like such a big shock. We’ve been hoping for this all year, but I don’t think it’ll hit me until we get home.”
The young duo are in their sixth year together. They gave a hint of what might be possible at Junior Nationals back in December, when they posted the highest total score of any team at the East and West Challenges. But that was ancient history by the time they showed up at the Powerade Centre this week.
“You really can’t focus on that,” said Casselman. “You just have to put it behind you. This is a different competition, and anything can happen.”
Not that they hadn’t dreamed about what happened Friday night.
“We’ve been talking since the beginning of the year about how much we wanted to win nationals,” she said. “But it didn’t become real to us until (Friday) night. It’s one of those things that just hits you — you weren’t really expecting it, but you were wishing it would happen.”
Wish granted, you could say. After a few days of celebration, though, it’s back to work. The Canada Winter Games in Whitehorse await them early in March.
While many of the same teams they just skated against will be there, Behnia said “it’ll be a different atmosphere in a different place. It will feel like a mini-Olympics.”
But will it will like Friday night? That, my friends, will be tough to top.

A Mad Waltz To The Finish

2007-02-02T11:58:00.000-05:00

There’s quite the battle brewing for the pre-novice ice dance medals at the Skate Canada Junior Nationals in Brampton, Ont.
And Lisa Casselman and Ryan Behnia of the Nepean Skating Club are right in the middle of it. Casselman and Behnia posted a score of 23.55 in Thursday’s compulsories to stand third behind a pair of Quebec teams — Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Anthony Quintal (24.70) and Marie-Philippe Vincent/Kevin Pierro (23.78).
Right behind Casselman and Behnia in fourth are another Quebec couple, Penelope Mondion and Benoit Gagnon (23.25).
That the Nepean duo are in the hunt for the medals shouldn’t be a surprise: They recorded the highest score of any duo at the East and West Challenges back in December. And they got stronger as the day went on Thursday, finishing fourth in the first compulsory and a solid second-best in the other.
We’ll know how it all shakes down later tonight — the free dance final is scheduled for a 5:55 start.
*** They spread the gold medals all around the country in Thursday’s juvenile finals. The new champs included B.C.’s Nam Nguyen (men), Quebec’s Roxanne Rheault (women, with an impressive 43.23 score), Saskatchewan’s Tara Hancherow and Paul-Romi Poulin (pairs), and Elisabeth Dyer and Tayor Dilley of Alberta (ice dance).
*** Nepean’s Sarah and Steven Clarke wound up fifth in juvenile dance, while Elizabeth Comeau of the Gloucester Skating Club placed ninth among juvenile women. Hillary DesRoches of Pembroke and Renfrew’s Spencer Yakaback were seventh in juvenile ice dance.

Taking A Bow

2007-02-02T00:00:00.000-05:00

Spotted at the Ottawa Sports Awards dinner on Thursday night — ice dancers Allie Hann-McCurdy and Michael Coreno.
The reason? Hann-McCurdy, who spent five years training at the Gloucester Skating Club and still represents them, was on hand to receive the sport award for figure skating for 2006. The 19-year-old from Orleans earned the honour — which included a medal and certificate — in great part because of their efforts at last year’s Canadian championships in Ottawa (Coreno made the long drive from his home town of Delhi, Ont., to share the happy moment with his partner).
In only their second year together, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno won the junior ice dance crown (they’d been silver medallists the year before in London, Ont., the same season they reached the Junior Grand Prix final).
The awards circuit isn’t done yet for the promising duo, which finished eighth in their senior debut at the just-completed 2007 nationals in Halifax. On Feb.12, both will receive the B.C. Premier’s Athletic Award for their accomplishments during the 2005-06 season. Then they’ll be special guests at the Vancouver Board of Trade’s Countdown to 2010 luncheon.
Both skaters returned to their home towns — Hann-McCurdy to Ottawa, Coreno to Delhi — for some down time after the Halifax nationals. They tell me they’re headed back to Vancouver next week to begin planning for next season (they train at the B.C. Centre of Excellence in Burnaby under the tutelage of former world champ Victor Kraatz and his wife, Maikki Uotila Kraatz), when their goal will be a top-five finish (and national team berth) at the 2008 Canadians. No road trip necessary for them: It’s right in Vancouver at Pacific National Exhibition, which will be the venue for the Olympic figure skating competition in 2010.
A stage, Hann-McCurdy and Coreno will tell you, they’d dearly love to dance upon in three years time.

Medal Dance?

2007-02-01T12:12:00.001-05:00

Will the Nepean Skating Club be in the medals again at the Skate Canada Junior Nationals?
Young ice dancers Sarah and Steven Clarke are certainly in position to challenge for the podium heading into today’s juvenile free dance final at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ont.
The Eastern Ontario Sectional champions stand fourth after Wednesday’s compulsory dances, but it’s a close, close fourth. After finishing fifth and third in the two compulsories, the brother and sister team posted an overall score of 21.98 points. That’s a mere 0.17 behind Jayden Rau of Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., and Tyler Grant of Ingersoll, Ont., who currently hold down the bronze-medal position.
Alberta’s Elisabeth Dyer and Taylor Dilley hold a commanding lead with 25.43 points. Currently in second are Edna and Edberg Khong of Ajax, Ont. (22.57).
If the Clarkes climb onto the podium, they’ll follow in the footsteps of Nepean clubmates Brooke Paulin and Nathan Last, who were silver medallists in novice pairs at the 2006 junior nationals in Moncton, N.B.
All the juvenile medals will be handed out today. Here are the times for the free skate finals: pairs, 1:25 p.m.; men, 2:40 p.m.; ice dance, 4:25 p.m., and women, 5:40 p.m.

Junior Achievement

2007-01-31T09:32:00.000-05:00

One of my favourite events that I've ever covered was the 2004 Skate Canada Junior Nationals, which were held at the Nepean Sportsplex right here in Ottawa.
It was truly a treat to see the real future of skating in our country, from the juvenile through novice levels. A couple of the medallists from that year — Diane Szmiett of Watford, Ont., and Vancouver's Jeremy Ten — have since gone on to bigger and better things, each having progressed to a Canadian junior title (Szmiett a year ago in Ottawa; Ten this year in Halifax).
The 2007 version of Junior Nationals gets under way today at the Powerade Centre in Brampton, Ont. There's only one event today — juvenile compulsory dance — but they'll keep two ice pads hopping from Thursday through Saturday.
If you're in the Brampton area, it's worth your time to give it a look.
*** Taking care of my own backyard ... here are the Ottawa-area entries at this week's junior nationals:
Juvenile — Elizabeth Comeau, Gloucester Skating Club, women; Sarah and Steven Clarke, Nepean Skating Club, ice dance; Hillary Desroches, Pembroke, and Spencer Yakaback, Renfrew, pairs.
Pre-Novice — Lisa Casselman and Ryan Behnia, Nepean, ice dance; Chelsi Fahrngruber and David Leenen, Nepean, pairs.
Novice — Paul Parkinson, Nepean, men.

She's Still A Champion

2007-01-30T22:55:00.000-05:00

The folks at IMG got the ball rolling this week for Stars On Ice Canada with the news that Canadian champions Joannie Rochette, Jeffrey Buttle, and Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon will all participate in the 13-city tour, which begins March 29 in Halifax.
For Dubreuil and Lauzon, the five-time Canadian ice dance champs, it's their SOI debut.
The 2007 extravaganza almost marks the national tour farewell for Brian Orser, who's immersed himself into coaching big-time at the Toronto Cricket Curling and Skating Club.
Long-time Canadian favourite Kurt Browning (skating's Mr. Entertainment) and Olympic pairs champs Jamie Sale and David Pelletier are also on board again.
The theme this year is Double Exposure: The Many Lives of Figure Skaters. My pal (and aspiring journalist) Jennifer Robinson, who's currently with the tour south of the border, tells me it's definitely worth a look.
(Jen's again penning a journal about the 'behind the scenes' stuff that goes on with SOI. It's on the U.S. tour website, which you'll find under our 'skating links.').
Conspicuous by her absence this year is former world champion ice dancer Shae-Lynn Bourne, who has lent her talents to SOI Canada the past few years as a solo dancer.
Shed no tears for Shae, though. She'll be plenty busy soon enough: She tells me she's signed a two-year contract with Tom Collins' Tour of Champions.
“I wasn't asked (to join SOI),” Bourne said recently in Halifax after she and partner Victor Kraatz were inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame. “So I thought, okay, Champions (tour) ... I'm going to be doing that through the summer.”
Hey, once a champion, always a champion, right?

Beyond The Chronicles ...

2007-01-30T15:05:00.000-05:00

What's a skating blogger to do when the event he just had so much fun blogging at doesn't happen again for another year.
Start up a brother (or sister) blog, of course.
And so, welcome to Breaking The Ice.
(catchy title, huh?)
What will you find here? Well, if you're looking for the definitive be-all and end-all blog filled with every shred of figure skating news and gossip that's out there ... sorry, but that's for somebody else to write. The parameters of my day job (they expect me to earn my pay) just don't allow me to spend that kind of time digging up that volume of ice-breaking stuff (see, there is a reason for that title).
Rather, what you'll find here are a mix of interesting tidbits I run across and some occasional commentary and views on the sport, with a dash of whimsy mixed in now and then.
Kinda like the recipe that made The Halifax Chronicles such a hit at the just-completed Canadian figure skating championships (hey, that's not just me talking. Ask the people who flattered the heck out of me with their compliments during my stay in Nova Scotia — the link is off to the right if you haven't seen that blog for yourself).
Being that I'm from Ottawa (see bio), naturally there will be more of an Eastern Ontario slant to things every once in awhile — it is, after all, my backyard rink, so to speak.
But I'll keep it fun and keep my blogging itch going. After all, 12 months (give or take a week or so) is just way too long to be away from skating posts, don't you agree?
Enjoy!