Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win gold in Ottawa, Ready to peak in Sochi

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Yes, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir won their sixth Canadian title in front of a house that gave them a standing ovation. Teddy bears rained on the ice. And so it should be for the Olympic champions that wove a spell with their floating quality on ice.

But the tears came for two teams who train together every day, and hope to be Olympic bound when the decision is made Sunday.

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje missed the Olympic spot four years ago by .3 points and this time they snared it easily. And their training mates, budding young stars Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam took the bronze medal, a year after their own heartbreak when they suffered a fall in the free dance that cost them a spot at the world championships in London Ont.

Virtue and Moir won the free dance with 117.87 points, ahead of Weaver and Poje with 110.86, a mark that shocked and pleased them. Paul and Islam couldn’t believe their eyes, either. They finally broke 100 in the free, with a mark of 102.97 points.

Overall, Virtue and Moir set a Canadian record of 194.03 points. Weaver and Poje finished up with 183.54 and Paul and Islam earned 170.64.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Moir, who added that it was good practice for Sochi to have to skate after Weaver and Poje who got a standing ovation. “When they bring the house down like that, it adds to the pressure,” Moir said.  “It’s more real, more what we’ll find in Sochi.”

Virtue admitted to a slip in their final twizzle. “The point is to peak in Sochi,” she said. “It would be alarming if we skated perfectly (at this point).”

Weaver and Poje are just as intent on finishing on the podium in Sochi as Virtue and Moir to take back their Olympic gold.

“We want to be on the podium,” Weaver said. “We want to be standing next to Tessa and Scott. I think we have every right, every ability to be there. Let the chips fall where they may. Let the judges do what they want to do, but we are going to prove to the world that we deserve to be there.”

Paul and Islam could barely speak afterwards. “It’s just an amazing feeling,” Paul said. “I can’t even express it.”

“This whole year, we believed we could do it,” Islam said. “But at the same time, when it happens, it’s still unbelievable. We’re ecstatic. We’re speechless.”

They said they found the day very nerve-wracking but they went into “autopilot” and shed the fears and the stress. “We trusted our training,” Islam said.

Their world championship miss has transformed them into Olympic wannabees. “That motivated the hell out of us,” Islam said. “And it has all year. “

Beverley Smith

SOCHI 2014 CANADIAN OLYMPIC FIGURE SKATING TEAM ANNOUNCED

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OTTAWA – Skate Canada today announced their 17 athletes who are formally nominated onto the figure skating team for the men’s, women’s, pair, ice dance and team events for the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games. The three men’s singles athletes: Patrick Chan, Kevin Reynolds and Liam Firus; the two ladies singles: Kaetlyn Osmond and Gabrielle Daleman; the three pairs: Meagan Duhamel & Eric Radford, Kirsten Moore-Towers & Dylan Moscovitch and Paige Lawrence & Rudi Swiegers; and three ice dance teams: Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir, Kaitlyn Weaver & Andrew Poje, and Alexandra Paul & Mitchell Islam were nominated during an announcement at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa.

“I have thought about this moment for such a long time and it is finally here. I can’t say how honoured I am to be named as a Canadian Olympic Figure Skating team member,” said Eric Radford from Balmertown, Ontario, a Sochi 2014 hopeful. “We will all keep working and training hard in preparation to represent our country in Sochi.”

“When I was little I always imagined what it must be like to go to the Olympic Games,” said Kaetlyn Osmond, from Sherwood Park, Alberta and Marystown, Newfoundland. “Now I am going for sure and I’ve never felt so proud knowing I will represent Canada in Russia. I can’t wait to skate for all Canadians on the Olympic ice.”

“We’re very excited about our figure skating team going into Sochi,” said Marcel Aubut, President, Canadian Olympic Committee. “All of our skaters are very strong contenders and we have tremendous hope heading into the Games. Canada will cheer their skaters on as they compete in Russia to show the world why we are winter.”

The Canadian Team for Sochi 2014 was finalized following the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Ottawa. With 17 skaters, Canada has qualified the largest figure skating team of any country for Sochi 2014: 3 men, 2 ladies, 3 pairs and 3 ice dance. Canada was also the top qualifying country for the team event which will make its Olympic debut in Sochi.

“Canada has a long tradition of excellence in figure skating, and we are proud of the team that has been named to represent our country at the Olympic Winter Games in a few weeks,” said the Royal Galipeau, Member of Parliament (Ottawa-Orleans). “Congratulations to our skaters! Many Canadians will follow you and encourage you as you face some of the world’s best athletes. Good luck!”

The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games will take place from February 7-23, 2014. The Canadian Olympic Team has set a goal to contend to be the top nation in overall medals won.

List of Figure Skating athletes nominated to the Sochi 2014 Canadian Olympic Team:

Women Singles:

First Last Hometown
Kaetlyn Osmond Sherwood Park, AB; Marystown, NL
Gabrielle Daleman Newmarket, ON

Men Singles:

First Last Hometown
Patrick Chan Toronto, ON
Kevin Reynolds Coquitlam, BC
Liam Firus North Vancouver, BC

Pairs:

First Last Hometown
Meagan Duhamel Lively, ON
Eric Radford Balmertown, ON
Kirsten Moore-Towers St. Catharines, ON
Dylan Moscovitch Toronto, ON
Paige Lawrence Kennedy, SK
Rudi Swiegers Virden, MB

Ice Dance:

First Last Hometown
Tessa Virtue London, ON
Scott Moir Ilderton, ON
Kaitlyn Weaver Waterloo, ON
Andrew Poje Waterloo, ON
Alexandra Paul Barrie, ON
Mitchell Islam Barrie, ON

These 17 figure skaters now join 10 speed skating athletes, 10 Curling athletes, 16 bobsledders, seven lugers, four skeleton athletes, 21 women hockey players, eight biathletes, five snowboarders, 25 men hockey players and three skiers as the next members on the Canadian Olympic Team. Up to eight more teams will be announced between now and February.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir perform to perfect 10’s

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A wash of perfect marks of 10 filled the scorecard of Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir when they won the short dance at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships on Friday night.

Count ‘em up. There were 22 of them handed out by judges for the performance marks. Mind you, some of the higher and the lower would be dropped, but still, these measures of outstanding deliverance don’t happen all that often.

There were plenty of positives to take from their routine to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. Virtue and Moir didn’t get a grade of execution lower than two (when the utmost is three, and the lowermost is minus three.) They received a perfect string of perfect 10s from each judge for choreography and composition, almost as many for interpretation.

Still, Virtue and Moir, ever the perfectionists, weren’t completely satisfied with their performance, for which they earned 76.16, a heavenly send-off for the 2010 Olympic champions. Their faces didn’t look as if they’d just garnered a bouquet of 10s.

“We felt like we had a couple of moments today that weren’t quite the way we have been training,” Moir said. “…It’s one we didn’t perform as well as we would have liked to. “

True enough, Virtue and Moir lost a point for a lift that went too long, but for Moir it was more. “It felt like I was battling a little bit with my knees and I wasn’t quite into the ice.”

“Maybe I was watching junior world highlights,” he said, referring to the Canadian junior hockey team that failed to win a medal at the recent world championships.

Virtue and Moir’s technical mark of 37.66 was only marginally behind that of Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje, who are in second place with 72.68 points. Their technical mark stood at 36.09.

This Canadian championship means far more to Weaver and Poje than mere point-gathering. Four years ago, they lost the chance to compete at the Vancouver Olympics by only .30 points and it crushed them. “It’s still a sore spot with me,” Weaver said. “I can tell you standing here right now, it makes me emotional about how we felt at this event four years ago.”

There is little danger they’ll miss the trip this year, but Weaver is very well aware, from all the incidents that have befallen them, that “You never know when something can be taken away from you.”

The desire to never let an Olympics be taken from them again lies beneath each hard training day. “It was a turning point for us,” Poje said.

Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam, who delighted Canadian crowds so when they first emerged as gems at a Skate Canada International several years ago, have struggled with injuries and bad luck sometimes since, and they don’t want to remember last year’s Canadian championships any more than do Weaver and Poje, who had to sit it out with an injury. Last year Paul and Islam were in third place after the short dance and in line for a trip to the world championships in London, Ont., when a slip plunged them to fourth. However, in the short dance on Friday, they flew around the rink, with big, deft beautiful movement, skating to “Crazy for You.” And took third place with 67.67 points.

Canada has three Olympic dance spots and one of the biggest battles of this event is for the third spot. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, overcoming injury this year, are in fourth place with 65.11 points, while last year’s bronze medalists Nicole Orford and Thomas Williams are fifth. Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill are sixth.

Beverley Smith

Patrick Chan on track for 7th Canadian title in Ottawa

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Patrick Chan is still looking for the missing pieces of the puzzle he’s trying to put together to become an Olympic champion.

He found a few were missing on Friday at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships when he doubled a triple Axel and a Lutz.

He wanted the short program to be perfect and when he started off on Friday night with an absolutely powerful quad toe loop–triple toe loop combo that netted him plus threes across the board (earning 17.40 points alone for that first move), he let go of his plan.  He began to think ahead of himself, pleased that this could perhaps be the perfect short he was hoping for before the Olympics. “I kind of relaxed because I thought it was over,’ he admitted.

The program, “Elegie in E Flat Minor” had conquered Chan at the Grand Prix Final when Japanese champ Yuzuru Hanyu defeated Chan by a large margin and Chan was not able to make up much ground on him in the long.

“I had a rocky Grand Prix Final and …I think that’s the source of all this,” Chan said.

Chan said he was startled at the marks he received at the Final and the mistakes he made in the short and found it “hard to go back home and have that long of a time to think about it [before the Canadian championships].”

He realizes he needs to take one element at a time – which is what he did when he won the Bompard Trophy in Paris so brilliantly.

“I’m still learning at this point,” he said. “There’s this last missing piece that I need to slot in before the Olympics.”

Still, he won with 89.12 points with his Jeff-Buttle choreographed routine that had produced a couple of world records.

That’s about 10 points ahead of Liam Firus, fifth last year at the Canadian championships. Even Firus was taken aback by finishing second, after having an injury-plagued season, and taking a hard fall on his triple Axel in the short program.

Kevin Reynolds, fifth at the world championships last March, is in third place with 78.29 points, only .64 behind Firus. But he had troubles from the start. After a few seconds into his routine to AC/DC, the music stopped.

It was just a little too much to bear for Reynolds, who had missed all of his international competitions and everything else because of boot problems that have plagued him all season. “I really had to focus and get back into my space,” he said afterward.

He fell on his opening quad Salchow, and then had the presence of mind to squeak a double toe loop onto the end of his quad toe loop, allowing him a combination worth 10.27 points.

Among the other competitors trying to get those Olympic spots: Elladj Balde, also competing on the same old boot-new boot combination that he used at Skate Canada International. He was pleased to land a quad with a hand down and finish fourth and last year’s bronze medalist Andrei Rogozine is fifth.

However, the skater who got the loudest standing ovation among the men was 14-year-old Roman Sadovsky, who delighted the large crowd with his flair and his spins and performance to finish eighth at 68.59 points. It was the largest crowd he had ever faced having been only to a few junior grand prix events.

“It was different,” he said. I’m so used to performing basically to a wall.”

Beverley Smith

Battle in pair event close with Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in the lead after short

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Meagan Duhamel hopped up and down like a little girl. Eric Radford clutched his heart. When their marks came up, they felt relief. They were in first place after the short program at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships with 75.80 points. These points are slowly and surely moving ever upwards on their road to Sochi.

Their arch-rivals and friends, Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch earned a standing ovation for their flawless routine and finished second with 74.96 points. They glowed.

In third place are Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers, who both doubled their triple toe loops. “We’re trying to focus on the positives,” she said.

Lawrence still skates with a heavy bandage on a thigh from a strained groin that has hobbled her all season. “It’s doing a lot better,” she said. “But it’s one of those things that is pretty finicky and I just didn’t get the preparation and training without the bandage back home.”

Duhamel and Radford, third at the world championships last year, also earned a standing ovation for their emotional performance. Radford noted that the nationals are always a special competition and to bring it on home ice is particularly gratifying. They skated to Radford’s own musical composition called Tribute, which honours his former coach Paul Wirtz, who died some years ago. “I think that the story of this program is understood enough that people understands what it means to us and to me.”

“When I hit the ending position, I just felt a swell of emotions,” Radford said. “It was just an indescribable moment.”

The two-time defending Canadian champions, Duhamel and Radford earned top marks for a triple twist and they executed their difficult triple Lutz and throw triple Lutz. Radford admitted there were a few “sticky” moments but they can be ironed out before Sochi. “This sets us up perfectly for (the long program).”

Duhamel said they did not execute their throw as well as they can, and she feels they left a point or a point and a half on the table. “This is the ballpark we expected we can be in,” she said. They earned 73 points at NHK Trophy in Japan. The trend is going in the right direction.

Only .84 points separate the top two teams. They push each other perfectly.

Beverley Smith

Kaetlyn Osmond wins second straight Canadian title in Ottawa

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When Kaetlyn Osmond finished her free skate at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, with the crowd standing cheering in front of her, she felt in shock.

It had been such a frustrating year for the 18-year-old native Newfoundlander with the sparkle and energy. One injury after another caused a change in plans again and again. But under coach Ravi Walia – a young coach who has never taken a skater to the Olympics – Osmond got to the finish line on Saturday with the best performances of her career and the highest points.

Osmond scored a total of 207.24 points, 24.77 points ahead of 15-year-old fireball Gabby Daleman, she of the wondrous triple-triple combinations and all the moxie to drive her to the top.

Taking the bronze medal was Amelie Lacoste, who left no stone unturned to fight for one of only two Olympic berths for Canadian women. She left her home and French-speaking community in Montreal to train in Colorado, aiming high.  She fell short, with 166.69 points, a fraction ahead of another intrepid young Quebecker, Veronik Mallet. With 165.20. Alaine Chartrand was fifth with 161.46.

Daleman did by far the most difficult combination in the long program, a sabre-rattling triple Lutz – triple toe loop, a move that earned her 11.50 points. Osmond had a small margin of victory (2.28 points) over Daleman in the technical mark but she blasted the youngster with her performance marks. While Osmond earned 68.40 for her emotive Cleopatra program, Daleman earned 57.83.

Osmond, who said she’s skating better now than before her injuries, is even pushing marks of 9.0 in the program component (performance side.)

Osmond did only a triple toe loop- triple toe loop in the short program, and not in the long. Preferring to stick with her comfort-zone jumps that she did last season, especially after missing so much training time, Osmond is aiming for a top eight finish in Sochi (when she is actually chosen for the team). She’s not aiming for a podium finish. Coach Ravi Walia said it’s not realistic to expect her to top athletes who have say, five years’ experience doing formidable combinations. But who knows? Osmond finished fourth in the short program at worlds in London, with an overall goal of being in the top 10.

Daleman will turn 16 on Monday, and her idol, Joannie Rochette, also has a birthday on the same day. It could be a good omen.

When Daleman saw her marks, she looked overwhelmed and surprised. “It was great,” she said. “I was not expecting that score at all. I was not even focused on it from the beginning. I was more focused on what I needed to do to get the job done. I’ve been working really hard on my second mark. Just seeing that mark and getting over the 180 just made my day.”

Daleman’s previous highest mark was 174, she earned that earlier this season. She won the silver medal last year.

Osmond was getting ready to go on the ice and started to shake, just at the thought of what she has had to overcome this season. “I was actually nervous, but then I remember in practice I get nervous, but in practice the nerves are coming from if I don’t do a good program, I’ve got to redo it. But when the music started [here], it’s just like everything just went away and it was just like I was back home and just practicing in my own rink with my friends skating around me.”

“I’m really happy with that skate,” she said. “I was a little nervous, knowing what is on the line with Sochi but I just talked to myself, calmed myself down, knowing that I know how to do it, trust my training. I just felt great doing it. I just fought.”

Beverley Smith

Kaetlyn Osmond energizes the Canadian Tire Centre with winning short program

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Despite the lack of competition this season and overcoming two injuries, Kaetlyn Osmond ruled Friday in the short program at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Still only 18, Osmond stepped out to the Big Spender, delivering a program made “comfortable” because of the injuries – and she still won by about nine points.

Her mark of 70.30 is marginally ahead of last year’s short program mark, when she won the Canadian title.

Former Canadian champion Amélie Lacoste, rejuvenated by a switch in training venue to Colorado Springs this season, finished second with her first clean short program in years, she said, and sits at 61.27 points. Gabby Daleman, only 15, is third at 58.38, while delivering the most ambitious combination: the triple Lutz-triple toe loop.

Osmond had planned this season to increase the difficulty of her combination to a triple flip – triple toe loop but because of her extensive time off the ice, she decided to stick with last year’s plan: the triple toe loop – triple toe loop. And her early idea of doing a triple Lutz as a solo triple, became a triple flip, which she scored huge grade of execution marks on (a couple of plus threes).

Osmond dominated both the technical and performance marks even though Daleman did a combination that many of the young jet-setting women do.

Lacoste had been working on a difficult triple loop – triple loop combination, but decided after practice on Friday to scale it down to triple loop – double loop. She’ll go for the triple-triple – she’s been landing it four times out of five – if she gets assignments for the rest of the season, like the Olympics or world championships.

Lacoste deserves top marks for keeping things together despite her horrendous trip from Colorado to Ottawa for the event due to bad weather.

Lacoste was at the Colorado Springs airport for her flight to Ottawa at 7 a.m. Tuesday, but her flight was cancelled. She took a shuttle to Denver to catch a flight to Ottawa via Toronto, but that flight was cancelled. It took her another three hours to get onto another flight to Calgary at 8 p.m. Tuesday. She arrived at 11 p.m. Finally she got the last seat on a plane to Montreal the next morning at 6 a.m., stopped to have lunch with her mother and a niece and took a train to Ottawa.

“After I experienced that, I am not afraid of anything,” she said.

Daleman, who competed internationally this year in junior grand prix, landed marginally behind Lacoste in the standings after doubled her flip and stepped out of it. “The flip didn’t go the way I wanted it to,” she said. “The timing wasn’t just right. Sometimes you go too fast or too slow. I think I just lost my train of thought for a second.”

But she’s still pleased that she landed the big combination. She says she doesn’t feel too much pressure at making the Olympic team, but she likes a little pressure. “Yes, I’m one of the youngest competitors but I’m really showing what I’m able to do at my age.”

Although Osmond has been hobbled by first a stress reaction injury (a precursor to a stress fracture) in her left foot and a right hamstring injury that caused her to pull out of Skate Canada International after the short program, Walia feels she is rallying at just the right time.

Beverley Smith

Celebrations planned for the 100th Anniversary of the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Ottawa

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OTTAWA, ON: This week Skate Canada will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in its birthplace of Ottawa, Ont. The event will take place from January 9-15, 2014 at Canadian Tire Centre with additional festivities around the city that will also be open to the public.

CANADIAN TIRE CENTRE
Over 250 athletes in senior, junior and novice will vie for Canadian titles and the opportunity to represent Canada internationally. The event will act as the final step in the 2014 Olympic qualification process.

OLYMPIC ANNOUNCEMENT
On Sunday, January 12 at the conclusion of the senior events, Skate Canada will nominate the 17 member Olympic figure skating team to the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) for selection to represent Canada at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.

CANADA SKATES
To celebrate this rare historic milestone, Skate Canada presents a mini-ice show “CANADA SKATES! 100 YEARS OF CHAMPIONS” with daily performances from January 10-12 at Ottawa City Hall’s Rink of Dreams. Admission is free!

Choreographed by Olympic bronze medalist, World and Canadian Champion, Jeffrey Buttle, and performed by top-level skaters primarily from the Ottawa area, the 10-minute show will guide viewers through an artistic representation of the century-long development of the sport in Canada. The show depicts how Canada’s love for skating began in the early 20th century and has progressed to the artistic and athletic modern competition.

Schedule

Friday January 10 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 & 20:00
Saturday January 11 14:00, 16:00, 18:00 & 20:00
Sunday January 12 12:30

FREE SKATING LESSONS
If you want to learn-to-skate or brush up on your skills, Skate Canada will have coaches and skaters from Ottawa area skating clubs on hand at the Rink of Dreams to interact and provide personal instruction.

Schedule

Friday, January 10 Minto Skating Club 14:00 to 18:00
Nepean Skating Club 18:00 to 22:00
Saturday, January 11 Goulbourn Skating Club 14:00 to 18:00
Patinate Gatineau 18:00 to 22:00
Sunday, January 12 Gloucester Skating 12:30 to 16:30

LIVE VIEWING
Watch coverage of the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships on the Skate Canada big screen set up at the Rink of Dreams. Canada’s best and brightest will be competing for national titles and a spot in Sochi.

TICKETS
Fans can purchase their tickets for the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships online at www.capitaltickets.ca, by phone at 1.877.788.FANS (3267) or 613.599.FANS (3267), or in person at the Canadian Tire Centre box office.

 

Dr. Jane Moran Named to Most Influential Women List of 2013

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OTTAWA – Twenty outstanding women have been named by the Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) to the Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity List of 2013. CAAWS publishes its Most Influential Women List annually to celebrate and highlight Canadian leaders who influenced sport and physical activity in Canada and on the international stage.

“This is the 12th edition of the CAAWS Most Influential Women List and it is great to see the number of strong leaders who contribute so much to our country and on the international scene,” said CAAWS Executive Director Karin Lofstrom (Ottawa, Ontario). “Our goal is to assist in raising the profile of these leaders as well as celebrate women who make a significant contribution to physical activity through to high performance.”

The 2013 List includes athletes, officials, coaches, professors, administrators and volunteers. A few of the women have been named to the List several times, such as Anne Merklinger (Own the Podium) Caroline Assalian (Canadian Olympic Committee); while some are newcomers such as Monique Levebvre (AlterGo), Michelle Stilwell (Paralympian), Carol Huynh (Olympian) and Jane Riddell (GoodLife Fitness Clubs Inc.).

THE CAAWS MOST INFLUENTIAL WOMEN LIST FOR 2013 IS (alphabetical order):
Note: profiles are available for editorial use at caaws.ca

  • Caroline ASSALIAN, Chief Sport Officer, Canadian Olympic Committee (Montreal, QC)
  • Beverly BOYS, Official; “A Level” International judge; coach / diving (Surrey, BC)
  • Jill BREWER, Coach; Mentor; Master Learning Facilitator and Evaluator / diving (St. John’s, NL)
  • Jennifer CAMPBELL, Chef de mission of Team Canada, Special Olympics (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Jane EDSTROM, Official, International Association of Athletics Federations / athletics (Winnipeg, MB)
  • Cyndie FLETT, VP Research and Development, Coaching Association of Canada (Ottawa, ON)
  • Jennifer HEIL, Because I am a Girl Campaign / freestyle skiing (Spruce Grove, AB)
  • Kaillie HUMPHRIES, Olympian; role model / bobsleigh (Calgary, AB)
  • Carol HUYNH, FILA Panellist to IOC to Save Olympic Wrestling / wrestling (Hazelton, AB)
  • Monique LEFEBVRE, Executive Director, AlterGo; founder of Défi sportif AlterGo (Montreal, QC)
  • Monique F. LEROUX, President, Sherbrooke 2013 Canada Summer Games (Montreal, QC)
  • Anne MERKLINGER, CEO, Own the Podium; Board, Special Olympics Canada (Ottawa, ON)
  • Dr. Jane MORAN, Chair, International Skating Union’s Medical Commission / figure skating (Victoria, BC)
  • Dr. Margo MOUNTJOY, FINA Sports Medicine Committee; IOC Medical Commission (Guelph, ON)
  • Jane RIDDELL, COO GoodLife Fitness Clubs Inc. / fitness (London, ON)
  • Christine SINCLAIR, Captain, Canadian Women’s Soccer Team / soccer (Burnaby, BC)
  • Tricia SMITH, VP, International Rowing Federation / rowing (Vancouver, BC)
  • Michelle STILWELL, Paralympian; MLA; Advocate / basketball & athletics (Parksville, BC)
  • Lisa THOMAIDIS, Head coach, Canada’s senior women’s basketball team / basketball (Dundas, ON)
  • Dr. Joan WHARF HIGGINS, Professor & Research Chair; Volunteer / physical education (Victoria, BC)

Each year, in addition to publishing its Most Influential Women in Sport and Physical Activity List (MIW), CAAWS also highlights Ones to Watch. For 2013, CAAWS has selected the following women as Ones to Watch in order to highlight their initiatives and impact: Andrea BRAZEAU and Julia ST-AUBIN (Kangiqsualujjuaq, QC); Ashley HOWARD (Vancouver, BC); Monali PATEL (Kitchener ON); and Carrie SERWETNYK (Mississauga, ON).

The final List was compiled by a CAAWS selection panel, from both public nominations and from contributions from knowledgeable sport and physical activity leaders. The panel reviewed the submissions and based its decision on accomplishment and scope of activities in the 2013 calendar year. Past Lists can be found at http://www.caaws.ca/influentialwomen/e/past_Lists.htm

The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS) is a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating an equitable sport and physical activity system in which girls and women are actively engaged as participants and leaders. CAAWS provides a number of services, programs and resources to a variety of clients, including sport and physical activity organizations, teachers, coaches, athletes, volunteers, health professionals and recreation leaders. Since 1981, CAAWS has worked in close cooperation with government and non-government organizations on activities and initiatives that advocate for positive change for girls and women in sport and physical activity. Follow @CAAWS on Facebook and Twitter.

 

Skate Canada Appoints Chief Marketing Officer

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OTTAWA, ON:  A seasoned marketing and television executive, Mark Halliday, has been appointed as the Chief Marketing Officer for Skate Canada. He begins his new duties today, almost on the eve of the start of the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Ottawa, Ontario.

A native of Montreal, Halliday is fluently bilingual and brings almost 25 years of progressive marketing experience to Skate Canada.  In the 1990s he was a global product manager for the Bauer/Nike Skate division and in the early 2000s he served as a Brand Manager for Cadbury Adams.  He continued his career as Senior Product Manager for Rogers Cable where he managed premium TV products, including dealing with rights holders to negotiate programing.  More recently Halliday worked for the CTV/Rogers 2010 Olympic Broadcast Consortium and helped create integrated multiplatform partnerships for Olympic broadcast sponsors creating digital, broadcast and promotional and general content programs.  The last three years Halliday has been the Senior Director Marketing, Content & Pay Per View for UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship).

Dan Thompson, Skate Canada’s CEO, was pleased that after an extensive search, a new Chief Marketing Officer has been added to the executive ranks of Skate Canada.  “Mark brings a tremendously rich background to this newly created position. He is a seasoned marketer with a passion for athletes, competition and sport, and knows how to build a brand as well as a having a keen understanding of the multiple media platforms that is today’s marketing reality.  With this addition and the recent appointments of our new Chief Sport Officer, Patricia Chafe and Chief Operating Officer, Bethany Tory, we now have a powerful leadership team that I’m certain will guide Skate Canada boldly towards the implementation of the  association’s 2014 to 2018 strategic plan.”

Halliday will be based in Toronto and will spend his first week learning firsthand about Skate Canada at the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Thompson added, “Mark will have the opportunity to take in all of the activities surrounding the 100th anniversary of the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, with many returning Canadian Champions in attendance and the excitement of sending off our incredibly talented 2014 Olympic team to Sochi.”

The 2014 championships take place in Ottawa from January 9-15 and will feature approximately 250 of Canada’s best figure skaters in the senior, junior and novice categories. The championships will act as the final step in the 2014 Olympic qualification process.

Tickets for the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships are available online at www.capitaltickets.ca, by phone at 1.877.788.FANS (3267) or 613.599.FANS (3267), or in person at the Canadian Tire Centre box office.

 

Skaters contend for entries to Olympic Winter Games at the 100th anniversary 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON: The top figure skaters in the country are set to converge on Ottawa, Ont., for the 100th anniversary 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, taking place from January 9-15 at the Canadian Tire Centre. This year’s event celebrates 100 Years of Champions by returning to the host city of the first Canadian championships in 1914.

“Ottawa is where it all began 100 years ago in 1914 and we are so excited to be back in the birthplace of the Canadian championships for the fourteenth time. This year’s event also adds additional excitement and pressure as it is the final competition before our team is named for the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, Russia,” said Dan Thompson, Skate Canada CEO. “Skate Canada is proud to be sending the biggest figure skating team in the world to Sochi and the largest Canadian team since 1988.”

“The Canadian Tire National Skating Championships embodies a spirit of hard work and dedication. We applaud the athletes, families, coaches and supportive communities, for their tremendous work in getting these athletes here today,” said Landon French, Vice President, Sport Partnerships, Canadian Tire. “We are extremely proud to be a supporter of this event and the 100 years of heritage and memories it has brought to Canadians everywhere. Our Family of Companies has been a part of skating and learning to skate for over 90 years. From equipment, to keeping parents and coaches warm in the stands, Canadian Tire, Mark’s and L’Equipeur are committed to skating in Canada.”

Approximately 250 skaters in the men’s, women’s, pair and ice dance disciplines at the senior, junior and novice level will compete for the title of Canadian champion. Athletes will vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, the 2014 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, the 2014 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and the 2014 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Leading the way in the men’s category is three-time defending World Champion, six-time defending Canadian champion and 2010 Olympian Patrick Chan, 23, Toronto, Ont.

In women’s, 2013 Canadian champion Kaetlyn Osmond, 18, Marystown, Nfld. & Sherwood Park, Alta., looks to defend the title and secure a debut berth at the 2014 Games.

The 2010 Olympic Champions, two-time world champions and five-time Canadian champions Tessa Virtue, 24, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 26, Ilderton, Ont., will compete for their sixth Canadian title in ice dance.

The pair discipline will feature 2013 world bronze medalists and two-time defending Canadian champions Meagan Duhamel, 28, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 28, Balmertown, Ont.

Other Canadians ranking among the top-10 at the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships® include three-time men’s Canadian medallist Kevin Reynolds, 23, Coquitlam, B.C., 2011 Canadian pair champions and 2013 Canadian pair silver medalists Kirsten Moore-Towers, 21, St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch, 29, Toronto, Ont., and six-time Canadian ice dance medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 24, Waterloo, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 26, Waterloo, Ont.

For full entries and the event start orders please click here. For further event information, click here.

Tickets still remain and can be purchased online at www.capitaltickets.ca, by phone at 1.877.788.FANS (3267) or 613.599.FANS (3267), or in person at the Canadian Tire Centre box office.

Media who have not already applied for accreditation are asked to contact Emma Bowie, Manager, Communications. She will be the onsite media contact at the event and can be reached at 613.747.1007 x2547 or at [email protected].

Liam Firus finding his way along the road to Sochi

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Liam Firus, a 21-year-old Vancouverite with an enviable slip across the ice, can see an opportunity: one of those three Olympic spots that Canada has earned for men.

He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most.

Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. He surprised himself, because he had been battling a groin injury in the weeks leading up to the event. The skate of a lifetime doesn’t usually happen after such impediments. And it was a painful injury, too. He had endured six tortuous injections of a sugar solution into his injury, meant to inflame the site, bring blood to a bloodless area and help the healing.

He and coach Lorna Bauer had considered withdrawing from the Canadian championships, but only the Sunday before the event, they decided to go. And because Firus really wasn’t trained, the long program slipped out of his control and he dipped to fifth overall. It was still his best finish at the senior national level.

His problems weren’t over, by any means, when he went home. He immediately set to work with choreographer Mark Pillay to design two new programs for the Olympic season and then he didn’t set foot on an ice surface for months.

He got six more injections, a week apart. He went to physiotherapy three to four times a week. His life revolved around rehabilitation. He didn’t get back onto the ice again until June. “It was tough,” he said. With the Olympics coming, he wanted to train like a fiend, but he knew that wasn’t smart. “I knew that if my groin was bothering me while I was training for the Olympics, I don’t think I would have a shot,” he said. “It was just so painful and so mentally hard, too.”

So restrain himself, he did. He didn’t start jumping again until late July, and that didn’t mean full-out triple Axels. It meant doing doubles, half a year before the Sochi Olympics. By the middle of August, he slowly introduced triples back into the mix. By the beginning of September, he was finally doing full programs. With five months to the Olympics, his training finally began in earnest.

He decided to step things up, by leaving Vancouver to train full time in Colorado Springs with Christy Krall, Damon Allen and Eric Shultz, coaches he’d visited sporadically for four or five years. It meant leaving his first and only coach, Lorna Bauer, behind.

Bauer has been a mentor, a force, a “second mom” in Firus’ life. She brought him from being a hockey player to a figure skater with a lovely glide over the ice. Never mind that in the early days, Firus insisted on taking figure skating lessons with hockey skates on. Grudgingly, he adopted the toe picks, with predictable results. Bauer was a coach who came to the table with interesting skills: a kinesiology degree, a high school teacher’s certificate, a skating career at the hands of Hall of Fame coach, Linda Brauckmann, and high qualifications as a pianist with music theory to boot. And she’s the sister to Susan Humphreys, the 1997 Canadian champion.

It was Bauer who insisted Firus focus on skating skills so much that she has turned a hockey player into a skater with a beautiful glide over the ice. “I’ve skated with her since I was nine years old,” Firus said. “I really believe it came from my coach, Lorna. She made me work on my skating skills and how I push the right way. ” Even now, Firus’ first session of the day involves basic skating skills and body movement, rather than jumping. It’s all about line and speed and edges.

Firus knew he needed to train with the best in the world (Max Aaron, Josh Ferris, Agnes Zawadski, Brandon Mroz, first man to land a quad Lutz)  and be motivated by the heady atmosphere in order to contend for the Olympic team. In Colorado, his jumps have become more consistent. And Bauer let him fly. “She just said, do whatever I need to do to succeed and be happy with this sport,” he said.  She will always remain close to Firus. She accompanied him to his first international competition of the year at Coupe de Nice in late October. He treated Coupe de Nice as it if was a summer competition – a couple of months late.

Firus has had to use his time efficiently to get where he is. He’s not had time to pursue quads. He did one triple Axel in the long program in France, then added a second one for Challenge in Regina, an event in which he finished second to Andrei Rogozine. “I haven’t had as much time as everybody else,” he said. “When everybody else was competing at a summer competition, I was just starting to run my programs. Every day has been a grind. I think I’ve caught up to training and I’ve got just a little bit more to go to get ready for nationals, just polishing up everything.”

Firus comes to the table with two new programs that he loves. The short program is to the romantic French classical piece Fascination. “Every time I do it, it’s so much fun to do,” he said. “I’ve been really trying to be a character in it and bring out a personality.”

The long program is ambitious and totally different: The Bolt by Dmitri Shostakovich. “It’s quite extreme, very intense,” Firus said. “It’s very powerful intense music and it’s great.”

The Bolt? Doesn’t that ring a bell? It was Brian Orser’s music when he earned the silver medal at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. Even though Orser skated the music four years before Firus was born, the Vancouver skater knows all about it, how it was a shot across the bow in the famous Battle of the Brians. He’s hoping for an Olympic effort, too at the Canadian championships. He knows it will be a tough fight.

Beverley Smith