Day 3 highlights - 2008-9 Skate Canada International
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Canadians Crone, Poirier capture silver
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ijCKs5qEZ4fYCbGklIL8_A2a_v3A
OTTAWA - If Jeffrey Buttle's retirement less than 17 months before the
2010 Vancouver Olympics sent shock waves through the figure skating
community, the Canadian team's performance at HomeSense Skate Canada
International was reassurance the program's in good hands.
Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier captured a silver medal in the dance
Sunday to wrap up a strong showing by the Canadian team, which won
four medals in four disciplines.
"Obviously from our point of view, this was an overwhelming success,"
said William Thompson, Skate Canada's CEO. "The athlete results were
outstanding, particularly to see some of our younger skaters perform
so well under the pressures of the Grand Prix series was really even
beyond our expectations."
Crone, from Aurora, Ont., and Poirier, from Unionville, Ont., scored
81.89 points on their free dance to move up from fifth place and
finish second with a combined score of 162.13 in their Grand Prix
debut.
Earlier in the weekend, Patrick Chan of Ottawa, a 17-year-old who was
thrust into the skating spotlight with Buttle's retirement in
September, won the men's title, while Joannie Rochette of Ile-Dupas,
Que., who finished fifth at last season's world championships,
dominated the competition to win the women's title.
Jessica Dube of Drummondville, Que., and Bryce Davison of Cambridge,
Ont., bronze medallists at last season's world championships, won
silver in the pairs.
"Some real highlights for me were Joannie getting a top-of-the-world
type of score, she definitely established herself as one of the key
women in the world," Thompson said. "Patrick, he had some errors in
his performances here, but the overall standard of Patrick's skating
is undeniably high."
The results were promising considering several of Canada's key skaters
were missing - Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, silver medallists in dance
at the 2008 world championships, and reigning national pairs champions
Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay withdrew due to injury.
"We had a camp in Vancouver in September and it was so great to see so
many young and up and coming skaters, not only the veterans," Poirier
said. "I think it's a really hopeful place for Skate Canada right now,
especially going into the Olympics in our home country and we just
hope all this young talent can make it up to the top, that's the
ultimate goal."
Crone and Poirier, who turns 17 on Thursday, stepped in admirably in
the dance, skating a near flawless performance to "Doce de Coco" and
wowing the crowd at the Scotiabank Centre with their innovative and
athletic lifts, en route to a standing ovation.
"Each year we try to make sure we don't use the same lifts, we try to
create and create and create," Crone said. "This year we wanted to go
for really hard technical lifts, and really we just take what we have
and make it better or work a lot off the ice to get our lifts and do
positions that nobody's done."
Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White captured their first Grand
Prix victory with 178.89 points, while Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian
Bourzat of France earned the bronze with 159.06.
Andrea Chong of Toronto and Guillame Gfeller of Montreal were eighth
with a score of 136.99.
Canada's figure skating team captured three medals at the 2008 world
championships in Sweden in one of its strongest performances in nearly
two decades. Skate Canada has set a goal of two medals at the
Vancouver Olympics, a target that was determined before Buttle's
retirement but one that Mike Slipchuk, the national skating
organization's high performance director, still believes is within
reach.
"We feel our skaters are coming to a point where two is a realistic
goal," Slipchuk said. "The group we have has really developed and made
some strides. When you look at Joannie, just the improvement we've
seen this year. . . when you're blowing away the field by 25 points,
you're sending a message.
"Plus, when those skaters are in that top five, anything can happen.
This is an important year for Joannie and Patrick to just keep moving
up the ranks."
Chan, who was ninth in his world championship debut last spring, will
be barely 19 when the Olympics open in Vancouver, but the teenager
insists 2010 isn't too soon to starting thinking about a medal.
"My goal is if the chance is there, then go for it. There's no point
in staying back, this sport is tough on your body," Chan said. "I
don't think I want to give the chance to get a medal to someone else
in 2010, because 2014 is a long way, it's another four years, and I
don't know how long I can stand doing this, training fulltime for four
years, that's pretty hard.
"I think it's all right to put everything into 2010, and then there's
another four years to recuperate and restrategize for 2014."
Skate Canada drew 16,382 fans over three days to Scotiabank Place.
Next year's event will be held in Kitchener, Ont.
Thompson also announced that Canada will bid to host the world figure
skating championships in either 2012 or '13.
The weekend marked Skate Canada's debut of the "Skate Bug," an
earpiece that allows fans sitting in the arena to hear live commentary
on what they are watching, provided by Buttle and Olympic silver
medallist Elizabeth Manley, among others.
"We're continuing to lead the world in how to provide added value to
the fans," Thompson said. "I'm quite excited about where we're
going."