(March 6, 2003)
Novice Men take centre stage
The Novice Men's event got underway with an exciting short program.
Karolin Metivier, of Quebec, finished in first-place after this portion of the event. Metivier's program was the only clean program of the evening. He opted to include the less difficult triple toe loop-double toe loop combination, but performed it beautifully. His double Axel was perfectly executed, as was the required double Lutz. Metivier had a great program and all his elements, including his spins and his step sequence, were of good quality.
In second-place after the short program is Daniel Miller, who is representing Ontario. Miller completed an excellent program that highlighted his great skating skills - deep edges and nice flow throughout the program. He completed a beautiful triple loop-double toe loop combination and a double Lutz, but he fell on the double Axel.
Third-place went to Matt McEwan, of British Columbia, who had a small turnout on both his double Axel and triple toe loop-double toe loop combination. His program was well presented, and all other elements were well executed.
Craig Lee, of Saskatchewan, completed the only clean triple Lutz-double toe loop in the event and stands fourth after the short program. Jonathan Gugulyn, who is also representing Saskatchewan, attempted the only other triple Lutz in the event, but had a fall on the element.
The Novice Men's free program takes place March 6.
Crowd enjoys Novice Pair short programs
The Novice Pair short program featured a number of very impressive performances.
The current Canadian Novice Pair Champions, Michelle Cronin and Brian Shales, of Ontario, finished in first-place in the short program after skating a very exciting and clean program, which the crowd really enjoyed. Their star lift was the best in the group.
Standing second are Jericho Boulin and Sean Connor, who are representing British Columbia. Boulin and Connor skated a great program that featured an amazing double twist. They maintained great speed and energy throughout the program.
The sister and brother team of Neeta and Devinder Singh are currently in third-place. The Singhs, who are representing Manitoba, also had a great skate. Their program was well choreographed, but they took a deduction on the double twist.
This exciting short program sets up for the Novice Pair free skate, which will be held on March 6.
Pre-Novice Rhythm Dancers solid in final skate
Coming off a silver medal win at the 2003 BMO Financial Group Skate Canada Junior Nationals, Sonya Vermeer and Justin Trojek, of Ontario, won the Pre-Novice Dance event.
Despite a fall and a second-place finish in the rhythm dance, Vermeer and Trojek were able to hold on to first-place overall. Their program maintained good speed throughout and they had nice quality edges. The duo had good use of their upper bodies as well.
Maggy Pellerin and Dominique Dupuis, who represent Quebec, finished in second-place. They had great rhythm, expression, use of music and high's and lows throughout the program. Their choice of music was a good one for this dance. They actually won the free dance portion of the competition, but due to their third-place standing in the compulsory dances, they were not able to maintain first-place after the results were compiled.
The bronze medallists from Nova Scotia, Britney Gennette and Joseph Scott, skated a great rock and roll dance with full use of the ice, good flow and lots of footwork.
Pre-Novice Men show much talent in the free skate
British Columbia's Calvin Lefebvre won the gold medal in the Pre-Novice Men's event after completing an original and wonderfully choreographed free program.
Lefebvre landed a beautiful double Axel-double toe loop combination, a triple Salchow, and another double Axel near the end of the program, in addition to four other double jumps.
The silver medal went to Simon Beaudoin, of Quebec, who opened his program with a great triple toe loop-double toe loop combination, a triple Salchow-double toe loop combination and another triple toe loop, which both had a turn out on the landing. Beaudoin also completed a double Axel and four other doubles. Also featured in his program were nice spins and connecting steps.
Newfoundland's Joey Russell had a strong start to his program, opening with a double Axel and a triple Salchow in a jump sequence. He had good spins and presentation, and completed five more double jumps, including another Axel, to hold on to the bronze medal.
Special Olympics Men's free skate a highlight of the competition
The Special Olympics Men's free skate program was again a highlight, as well as an inspiration to all athletes and spectators.
The 90-second program to music of the skater's choice was required to include eight of the 11 following elements: A forward two-foot turn - clockwise and/or counterclockwise (counts as 2 elements); forward crossovers - clockwise and/or counterclockwise (counts as 2 elements); backward circle thrusts - clockwise and/or counterclockwise (counts as 2 elements); a bunny hop completed on either foot; a waltz jump; a one-foot spin; or a forward spiral completed on either foot.
Nova Scotia's James Blood won the free program after completing a forward and backward spiral, forward lunge with a turn into a backward lunge, waltz jump and an amazing one foot spin, which was the best in the field. It was a superb performance!
Finishing in second-place was Walter Reddecliff, of British Columbia. Reddecliff completed a two-foot turn, two-foot spin, lunge into a spiral, two waltz jumps and an inside spread eagle. His spread eagle was the only one in the event.
Paolo Paiement, who represents New Brunswick, really had the crowd behind him, and was first to skate in the event. He had a great performance, completing a spiral, a two-foot spin, backward crosscuts, waltz jump, and a shoot the duck. Paiement's shoot the duck was the only one completed in the event.
Of special mention is Zane Salera-Nasra, of Quebec, who finished in fourth-place. The music stopped about ten seconds into his program and then restarted, but he was able to continue on as if nothing happened. He was the fastest skater in the event and really interpreted the music well.
These skaters have a lot of personality. Congratulations to all the men - you are all champions!
Medallists determined in Pre-Novice Pair free program
Quebec's Nathalie Gendron and Pierre-Philippe Joncas held on to the first-place standing that they held after the short program. They skated a strong free skate that included three lifts, a throw double loop, side-by-side double Lutzes, nice spins and a unique entry to their death spiral. Overall, it was a good performance!
Taking the silver medal was the team of Whitney Young and Shawn Verasammy, of Newfoundland, after completing a very strong performance. The pair had a technically superior program, but unfortunately missed the side-by-side double Axels and the throw triple Salchow - the only throw triple in the event. They completed a beautiful double twist, throw double loop and three lifts in the program.
Finishing in third-place were the crowd favourites, ten-year old Kelsey McNeil and her partner Douglas Gardner, of New Brunswick. The team completed an amazing double twist, three lifts and a throw double Salchow.
Pre-Novice Ladies impress in free skate
Quebec's Myriane Samson put down another great performance last night, completing a beautiful double Axel-double loop combination, a triple Salchow and five more double jumps. Her only mistake was a fall on a good attempt at a triple loop. She had lovely spins and maintained great speed throughout the program. A very strong performance by Myriane!
Olivia Skonieczka, of Ontario, maintained her second-place standing after the free program. She had good speed throughout her performance and completed a double Axel-double toe loop combination and seven more doubles, including another double Axel. Skonieczka also attempted a triple toe loop.
Maintaining her third-place standing after the free program was Alberta's Heather Jenken. Jenken skated a lovely flowing program and completed a double Axel-double toe loop combination. She had a good attempt on a triple Salchow, and completed seven more doubles in her program. Jenken's program was also highlighted by good spins.