Canadian Nationals were very good this year, much better than last year I would think.
For instance, 10 women out of 18 reached the domestic benchmark score and could get international assignments based on that.
Women skated so well this weekend. Of course, there were a few deceptions but that's also normal. So many 3-3 combos in the SP too ! WOW Maddie decided she wanted to win and did what she needed. One pop in the SP, one in the LP. I hope she now realizes how good she is and get rid of the darkness. Gabrielle, gosh, I would have cried with her today. She did so well all weekend. I wish her layout was a bit simpler. It may have been the difference for her. But she fought so hard and came close. If anyone had told me she would win a silver medal at Nationals in September, I would have been very doubtful. Welcome to Minsol. She did well. She will need to clean her flutz though... She got 3 deductions for her edge calls and couple rotation calls too but she is beautiful to watch. A bit sad that Sara-Maude didn't land her triple axel today but there was a lot of pressure on her shoulders. Fée Ann was so close from a perfect program. She's one of the best jumper in the world. You gotta watch her jumps. They are something else : huge, beautiful air position, speed at landing... I hope she will be at 4CC
Men's SP was something else too. The number of quads landed was impressive. It was a huge contrast with last year's nationals plagued by injuries and illness when two out of the three medal winners didn't even have a triple axel let alone a quad. This being said, the level is being pushed by our juniors, many taking part in the senior category this year. It was so nice to see Stephen with two solid skates win his first senior title (so he is no longer in the category of Canadian skaters winning an international competition and not winning their own championship... sadly Katherine Medland Spence and Sara-Maude Dupuis are still in that club). I look forward to seeing him acquire more and more confidence as he is clearly a top ten kind of skater. Thank you Roman for all these years. We will miss your beautiful skating. There were no announcements yet but it did feel like a swan song for Roman. Keegan : all I can say is that it was fun that he could do backflips in the actual competition now
. I wish he had returned a few months earlier as he was getting better and better but it was too little too late. At 33, it's still quite an achievement. I am so happy for John Kim's SP and well his LP was good too. He is my dark horse for a medal soon.
Pairs : the 3 "senior" regular teams were hit and miss. I cannot believe that Deanna was sick again. She is such a fighter. I hope they experience the Olympics with joy and healthy. Lia and Trennt have been knocking on the door for a while winning the free skate last year too.. Well, it was their moment. Kelly Ann and Loucas were amazing in the LP. They are young and already have so much experience. If there is one discipline I wish Canada had another spot, it would be for the pairs. Ava and Yoni are stellar. They, and our other junior team of Jazzy and Kiki are the future of pairs in Canada and I believe this future is bright. It will be even brighter with Miyu and Tristan who showed a lot of promise and flair this weekend as well.
Dance... I kept it for the end. Piper and Paul didn't just complain about the judging this season. They went home and revamped their programs. They worked hard and it paid off. Not a dull moment. Tons of flow and speed. The integration of the elements is smoother. I hope this work will be recognized at the Olympics. LaLa were divine today. Their White Crow program is exquisite. It goes by in a flash. Marie-Jade and Romain will have a lot of work to do now because they need a new RD for the Olympics. They too made sure that they would work on their FD. It was better than earlier. Alicia and Paul were close but not close enough. They are still quite young and they remind me of Hubbell and Donohue with their power and speed (though they are not as tall) and I hope to see them for the next quad cycle.
Syncrho was very strong too. I love how Skate Canada has included it in our Nationals.
Juniors : what else can I say aside from Lia Cho. WOW !
Fournier/Zhu have come a long way and it's great to see them getting the chance at 4CC.
