Okay here we are.
These were the second Nationals I was attending live. In 2017, it was still the golden age of Canadian skating... So it was a completely different feeling...
For instance, the podiums then were
Men : Chan, Reynolds, Nguyen,
Women : Osmond, Daleman, Chartrand,
Pairs : D/R, I/M and MT/M
Dance, well... V/M, W,P, and G/P....
Funny also to see familiar names in juniors and novices, even teams that are STILL now competing like Hensen/Lickers
At these nationals, though there are clear stars in our Canadian team, we are also thriving for new stars to emerge and for depth.
In some ways, one would think that I would have been more excited about the golden age nationals... but actually, these nationals were interesting in another way. There were more surprises... and some more competition tension because of the "one spot" events in singles and the 4 teams battling for 3 spots in dance and pairs
Also, in Ottawa, the rink was much larger and I was sitting a bit far... This time around, first row for me
It was really nice to see the skaters' faces, the details in the costumes etc Of course, it was Patrick Chan's perhaps best ever LP I have witnessed ( ex-aequo with his 4CC 2016 LP ?). Also, I cannot forget Nic Nadeau who really charmed me with his amazing Elvis program (and quad loop a unique feature in Canadian skating)
It is hard to say what I will remember from 2025 Nationals, in 7-8 years from now... I suspect Piper and Paul's both programs may do the job... and perhaps some of the home skaters performances... I will definitely remember Lia Cho's LP. I will certainly remember the crowd. It was so much fun. In any case, I hope I get to attend more Nationals. I loved attending Worlds last year but Nationals has a very different vibe. It's like everyone is winning because, though there are provinces etc, there are no "anthems, country spots, etc" so the mood is less tense and more positive. In some ways, it's a great celebration of our skaters and their skating and I love a good party (with good looking people on top of that LOL) In that sense, I feel like GP events (I attended Skate Canada at Place Bell, larger venue though) are maybe the least interesting to me. YMMV
To wrap things up, let's talk about the women and dance events of today's.
Women : It was a bit weird to have some great skaters like Amy and Uliana in the first group. Amy is very beautiful to watch but she is lacking technical content and would need to land everything to be a factor. She's done so at Challenge and won it but I wasn't surprised it didn't go her way at Nationals. Uliana is an interesting case. Great jumper though the technique is not necessarily the most pleasing to watch (I much prefer bigger jumpers like Fée Ann ) but definite areas needing improvement. I think she's working too hard and not having enough fun. In the SP, it was less apparent and what went wrong was her combo pop.... but in the LP, I was simply not able to find much to follow "artistically" The piece of music was extremely one-tone and the skating, same. The facial expression always the same. I looked at the protocols because some people were complaining about her getting "dinged" by judges... Well, she wasn't. Some skaters who are way better than her PCS wise only got 48 or 49 to her 47. Is 47 low ? for sure but it is not when comparing to what everyone else got and to what she gave the crowd.
Grace Johnson is a great skater. She did better than Amy in terms of execution... she however needs to learn the tougher jumps. I loved Marie-France d'Amour's emotional performance. To me, if there is a program that could have scored a bit more, that's the one
I am not a fan of Hetty. I find the jumps small and the skating very small too. It's nicely done but not reaching out. I am super disappointed that Fée Ann and Julianne didn't manage to skate well for their LP. I was rooting extra hard for Fée Ann because she's a complete package skater with huge jumps. powerful skating and performance flair. Julianne has one of my favourite LP so that was tough to watch. Breken is a breath of fresh air. I love her skating. Kaiya, I don't know... not my cup of tea at this point. I used to root extra hard for her but until she fixes her technical issues, I will wait on what to think of her. I mean, a couple years ago, she was so young and cute but now, I see her as a senior skater and I need more than her natural exhuberance to be charmed. KMS : She's nice to watch but a bit bland. It was not really apparent in the SP but it did get to me in the LP. I was happy she did just enough to be on the podium. SMD : gosh I am happy for her. She's worked so hard and persevered all these years... I remember her winning challenge for juniors just before Covid canceled life in 2020... what is amazing is that this time, she didn't give up after mistakes. Maybe it was the energy of the crowd helping her with this but I am glad, whatever it was, that she recovered after the pop today. Maddie made the right choice to change her program. She has also changed her layout. Now, her repeated jumps are lutz and loop instead of loop and toe, so that's a huge improvement that could help her score in other events, granted she lends them. It had been a long time since we got two great performances from Maddie (O games team ?) So yay !!!! She popped two axels here so her potential score is quite interesting
I hope this helps with her confidence. She watched Lia Cho's LP... maybe it isnpired her to just go out there and perform !
Dance :
Our dancers didn't fail to entertain. The free dances were all great. I really liked F-G/A's dance for instance... so the tenth place finishers were still fabulous ! BB went back to their Romeo and Juliette program which was nice to see. I hope they have a better year next year. I was pretty amazed that Jamie and Everest held on to 6th place. I wasn't too sure about their partnership when it got formed but wow, did they improve and they seem to be just fine with one another. Bravo ! It's nice to see a team that was in the bottom tier, get right there, in the middle of the pack. I hope they keep building on this momentum. Points wise, they are still far from getting what they need to be representing Canada internationally but it could happen. Hensen/Lickers on the other end, have been together forever.. and they are now at the level of getting sent out. I really liked their Firebird but they can do better with this warhorse. The skating was fine, I am talking more about the choreography. I was longing for some more "bird"
Marie-Jade and Romain reassured me that they still wanted to compete. At the beginning of the season, with their lack of preparation, I wonder if it was one season too many... but no.... I think they showed up, with how much they have improved both programs, that they are taking this seriously and want to remain relevant. I hope they get 4CC but in dance, it's tricky... teams need to be seen by judges and maybe Skate Canada will prefer to help the top 3 with that. What we went through this weekend was cruel with 4 great dance teams and only 3 spots but it will be even worse when Olympics are on the line. Fabbri-Ayer won the battle this year but the "war" is far from over. Talking of which, many have criticized F/A's free dance... but it showcases their power and how strong they both are. I think it was a good vehicle to get them where they need to get, Worlds. Marjorie and Zach were phenomenal. Again, people complaining about the music selection... but let's be honest, who cares really ? The music is fine... and they dance so well on it. They are mesmerizing and even if we don't like their programs this year as much as previous years, the skating is fabulous. Piper and Paul. What more to say ? This free dance is not built like many of the previous ones, on story-telling. It's built on beautiful ice dancing, including real tango dancing. It was so beautiful. I am grateful I got to see it live, and admire Pauls' open back jacket from a couple of meters away
I eas very pleased with teh changements they have made to this FD... especially the twizzles. Frankly in dance, Canada has 10 great teams at this point. It was the perfect way to end suca a perfect weekend.
So that's it for me for now
