the sweater + doop doop

30 Days of Skating

Hey, remember when I got through 15 days of this, and then I went to Canadians and forgot to finish? Me too. I opened my blog because I wanted to write about the situation with Worlds and Japan, but my thoughts on that are far too scattered, so I'm channeling my energy into a different skating post. Just for fun.

Day 16: What is your favourite ladies professional/show program?

This is turning out to be a tough category to pick from. Shows and galas always seem to be full of girls skating to GFBs (Generic Female Ballads, for those of you that don't speak FSU) and everything kind of looks the same. And when the girls try to do something different, it often comes off looking fake and overchoreographed. So it's a tough category, and I'm going to pick two true classics for my favourites.

The first is "The Sweater," a bit of comedic genius by one of my favourites, Josée Chouinard. There's just something about it that still makes me giggle now, and something about it that made me wear out my tape of it when I was about 13. I didn't tape a lot of skating in those days, but I was determined to have a tape of "The Sweater," so I sat with a video tape and the remote at the ready every time skating was on TV, just in case Jos happened to be in the event and she happened to be skating that program. I finally got it, but I didn't understand that rewinding a tape without stopping it is bad for it, and that tapes wear out after a while, so using a tape that had already been used for countless episodes of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman was probably a bad idea. So the tape didn't last long, but the memories are still there.

I like to think that my second pick was part of what inspired "The Sweater." I will never, ever forget the first time I saw Kristi Yamaguchi's "Doop Doop" or how much I loved the entire thing. It's so quirky and goofy and I just ate it up. I want to say that the year was 1994, I know the event was Ice Wars, and I know that I was eating Market Day Split Topper pizza while watching skating in my parents' bedroom. They were probably watching a movie or a game or something out in the living room, and I almost preferred it when they took over the big TV, and I got the little TV in their room, because I could close the door and get lost in the skating world. The skating world seemed so far away to me then, and so glamorous. I remember watching Ice Wars because I was taking very careful notes on the event so that I could write about it for some school project. I guess it was the first time that I wrote about skating. And Kristi's program was the one to get the best review from me...despite the fringed epaulets.

Honourable Mentions:

Michelle Kwan's "Fields of Gold" - Of course I still wish that she'd had the skate of her life and had won gold in a home Olympics, but I think this program was even better without having won gold, you know? Totally heartwrenching.

Joannie Rochette's "Summertime" - After considerable thought, I think this is my favourite Jo show program. I feel like it's a good choice, since she liked it enough to reprise it last year on tour (she originally skated to it in the 2007-2008 season).

Yuka Sato's "I Love You Always Forever" - this program began my obsession with this song that is still ongoing even today, after like 15 years!

Angela Nikodinov's "To Love You More" - Okay, okay, I know I just railed on GFBs, but this is a special program and it was perfect for her. Plus, I love Céline Dion more than I can possibly explain in this post, so to me, this isn't a GFB.

nyahhh

30 Days of Skating

Day 15: What is your favourite men's professional/show program?

I skipped over pro/show programs when I wrote about my favourite programs in earlier blog posts, because I had some questions that I wanted to change later. Question #15 was about predicting medalists for Sochi, which I find pointless when we haven't even hit 2011 Worlds, so time for a switcharoo.

I had a fairly easy time with the men's discipline for this question, because one program stands out above the rest for me. It's one I've never seen live, though would go to fairly great lengths to see it if the opportunity ever came up.

The skater is Kurt Browning, the music is "Nyah" from the Mission Impossible: 2 soundtrack, the year was 2001, and the result is just unbelievable. Very few skaters can command the attention of an audience like this, but Kurt can, so for him to try something like this wasn't an immediate plan for failure. But still, it was a risk for a pro like Kurt to try a program like this that focuses on subtle movements and musical interpretation, with no jumps or big tricks. He completely pulled it off, though. I think it's still one of the greatest pieces of skating choreography. And since he's been so into bringing programs back lately, I'm cautiously hopeful that I will someday have the chance to see "Nyah" performed live. If I don't have chills from the very beginning, I know I would when the music stops and only the clapping from the crowd provides the soundtrack to the end of the piece. Brilliant.

Honourable Mentions:

Paul Wylie's Apollo 13 - a classic

Kurt Browning's "Serenade to Sonia" - another classic, and my other favourite program by him

Jeff Buttle's "Eclogue" - meant to be his competitive free skate in 2008-09, he revamped it for Stars on Ice when he decided to retire

Well, I am likely forgetting things so I may edit in some more honourable mentions later, but I mainly wanted to write about how much I love "Nyah."

favourites of the favourites

30 Days of Skating

Day 14: Who are your five favourite ice dance teams?

It's no secret that ice dance has become my favourite discipline over the last six years. So many dancers have inspired me and challenged me as a photographer since the first time I clicked my shutter at the 2007 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships. But I'll try to stick to teams that have already completed their competitive careers, with one exception, I guess.

1: Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe

Especially towards the end of their competitive career, I would have rather watched them skate than anyone else, so I guess I have to put them at number one. I found them to be so musical and so versatile, and their programs were always so accessible and charming. And they were so consistent. Perhaps they didn't have the most difficult programs in the field, but they always showed up prepared and skated confidently, which goes a long way with me. They were a big part of the reason why I jumped ship and became a dance fan, why I skipped other events at Nationals to watch dance practices, why I got hooked on the discipline. And in the beginning, when I was fangirly and awkward, they were always so gracious and kind, always had time for a chat and a photo. Somewhere along the way, a transition took place and we became friends. I still have an incredible respect for them, not only as skaters (though I still say they were really underrated), but also as people. They're coaching now, and just four years into that endeavour, their dancers rank among the best in Canada at every level. I think they've surprised a lot of people, but not me. I've always seen the greatness in them.

I'd almost forgotten about this: sad faces with Megan & Aaron, just before they vacated the central part of the continent for Vancouver

2: Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon

I started paying attention to MF&P around the same time that I started paying attention to Megan & Aaron—during the 2002-2003 season. But while I liked them during the years between '02 and '05, it wasn't until fall 2005 that I really latched on to them. It was, of course, "Somewhere in Time" that turned me from a moderate supporter to a superfan. My feelings on SiT have been documented on this blog already, so I won't rehash, except to that that the 2005-2006 season was the turning point for me. At the end of all of that, and the heart attack I nearly suffered waiting for the free dance at Worlds, they began notching up the list of my favourites. In those days, I found them equally glamorous and terrifying. It took me 3 years to track them down at an event and work up the nerve to talk to them. But in the past couple of seasons, they've become two of my favourite subjects to photograph—every program is a hit parade of gorgeous moments—and two of my favourite people to catch up with at events, as well. It turns out that, once you get to know them, they're actually kind of hilarious and quite charming.

Circling up with MF&P for the usual self-po, October 2010

3: Tracy Wilson & Rob McCall

I can't watch their programs without a giant smile on my face. In my eyes, they were one of the perfect teams—so well-balanced in having different strengths, but working together so well. And I think Tracy Wilson is a dance goddess, basically. I hadn't even started watching skating yet when Rob passed away, so everything I know about them has been thanks to the wonders of internet video sharing. Perhaps it tainted my opinion a bit because I already held them on such a pedestal, but heavenly days, how I love watching their old programs. And I don't think you'll ever convince me that they didn't deserve to win in 1988.

I finally got to meet Tracy Wilson at the Olympic free dance!

4: Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz

When I was little, Shae & Vic were one of the only dance teams I could stand to watch. I thought she was so pretty and I liked their happy programs a lot more than all the other boring stuff in ice dance. I didn't understand why they didn't win everything. Of course, the years have given me perspective and more of an understanding of ice dance, but Shae & Vic still rank among my favourites. Some of their programs, especially when they were trying to fit in to get better results, are real doozies, but overall, the gems outweigh the doozies. And I'm forever grateful to them for keeping my attention when I was young and giving me a bit of early exposure to the discipline I would eventually grow to love. I still love watching Shae, who is one of the sweetest and most gracious people I have gotten to know through skating. She was the first world champion I ever interviewed, and even though I was shaking the whole time, she was patient and far more articulate than I was!


Chele, me, and Jen with Shae, spring 2010

5: Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir
Ah, the exception to the rule, the one team on my list that hasn't finished their competitive career. I decided I could include them, now that they're Olympic champions and I'm confident that they'll always have a special place in my heart. I knew they had something special when I first saw them as juniors, and I knew they were destined for great things when they burst onto the senior international scene so emphatically in 2006. And then their rise to the top of the world was so meteoric that it even caught me by surprise. I hope that if they're really going to continue to compete (I won't be convinced until they actually take the ice and skate a program during a competition!), that they will start to push the envelope a bit more and develop other facets of their presentation. I'm fiercely proud of them and I adore them, but I think they can do a lot more and I'd like to see that happen. We will see, I guess!

Jen, Jules, me, and Christina with Scott, Lesley Hawker, and Tessa in February 2007.

I just realized that all of these picks are Canadian. I guess it's fitting. I fell in love with dance in Canada and continue to watch dance most often in Canada, all the way down to the juvenile level. But I also feel like I should point out that my previous #5, recently usurped by Tessa & Scott, were not Canadians. Just to try to prove that I do have a bit of perspective.

five pairs

30 Days of Skating

Day 13: Who are your five favourite pair teams?

1: Jamie Salé & David Pelletier

Easy first answer. I think I can still recite their entire competitive record from memory. Not that it's super long. It's staggering to think that they accomplished so much in four years...and really, it was that first year and a half when they made the biggest leap. After '99 Skate America, it was a matter of progressing from really good to fantastic. I still know most of those competitive programs by heart. And for the first couple of years after they turned professional, they were still the most magical team in the world to me. For a lot of reasons (and this happened long before they separated, it isn't because of that), they started to kind of fade from my fangirly heart, but I think I will always consider them the greatest pairs team ever. I don't think I'll ever adore anyone quite like I adored them in the height of my fandom. And to them, I owe countless wonderful memories and the start of some of the most important friendships in my life. Being there, with everyone, when they were inducted in the Skate Canada Hall of Fame is a memory I treasure. And like I said before, "Tristan und Isolde" always, always gets me.

Salé & Pelletier on Stars on Ice in 2008

2: Valérie Marcoux & Craig Buntin

In the fall of 2003, the whole idea of "live streaming" was so foreign to me. But at some event in Europe that fall, a link to a live video of the competition got circulated. And one Saturday morning, before I went to work at the video store, I was squinting at Windows Media Player, watching a fuzzy video of Val & Craig's free skate. And I realized that Val & Craig had made it past the awkward first year and were getting fairly good. And then they went and won nationals.

Two weeks after that victory, Four Continents were in Hamilton, and it was my first international competition. Christina had indoctrinated us upon arrival at her house; we showed up at the rink already planning to cheer heartily for Val & Craig. Once I saw their "Caravan" short, I was all in, inscribing with bingo dabbers on a hot pink posterboard our wishes: "Allez Val et Craig!" For the next few years, they were one of the dearest competitors to my heart. We saw them as often as we could, even at summer events, and we cheered until we were hoarse. I'm still heartbroken that things didn't work out for them together, still disappointed that, in my opinion, they never got the credit they deserved for the parts of their skating that were so solid. But I'll always have a place in my heart for them—for them and all of their sassy short programs, especially.

With Val & Craig, January 2006

3: Utako Wakamatsu & Jean-Sébastien Fecteau

Of all skaters, ever, that I have liked, I think I have carried the most outright bias for this one. I adored them—and told other people how good they were—before I had ever seen them. Before anyone had ever seen them, really, besides a few people at Québec Sectionals, I guess. I became friends with Jules during their first season together, when they had to sit out of Canadians because she was injured. When I met him in summer 2003, I was already in the fan club. I still hadn't ever seen them skate when I was frantically refreshing results from Nebelhorn and Finlandia, then calling Jules at work to relay them. When they got the Skate America assignment, I was so thrilled, not only for them, but also for me, because I was finally going to have a chance to see them skate! And then they went and made the Monday night ESPN broadcast of the short program, and I was at a college that didn't support the idea of cable in dorm rooms. So I staked out the basement lounge for a couple of hours before the broadcast, and got half the girls on my floor interested in it, too. I was so relieved when they were actually kind of awesome.

Even if they hadn't been, I still would have supported them, but it was easier that I ended up adoring them. Pairs kind of died for me in 2007, when they retired and Val & Craig split. My heart broke; maybe it still is. Although I can recognize when pairs teams are good and there are a few that I like, it's been almost 4 years since I've really had a favourite pair.

With Utako & Jean-Seb, August 2005

4: Ekaterina Gordeeva & Sergei Grinkov

I feel like it's nearly impossible not to include this pair, at least for someone in my generation. I was a little girl who was swept up in the magic of what they put on the ice, who thought they were the closest thing to perfect. I cried my eyes out when it was on the news that he'd died. There's such a pure quality about their skating, something that keeps them on a pedestal, unmatched by others. They always made me feel like I could fly.

5: Jenni Meno & Todd Sand

My other nostalgic favourite. I was caught up in their story, too—how they fell in love in Albertville at the Olympics and decided to start skating together. I loved their pretty, pretty programs and their gooey romantics. A lot of people dismiss them for being boring and bland, but I was a kid without much of an attention span the first time that I saw them, and they always captivated me. Even going back as a better educated skating fan now, there's a lot of good in their skating—lines, presentation, choreography. So what if they weren't really fans of triples? It certainly didn't matter to me then; to me, they were the best in the world in '96 especially, and they'll always have a place in my heart.

five girls

30 Days of Skating

Day 12: Who are your five favourite ladies figure skaters?

Well, this hasn't really been much a daily effort lately, but I'm trying! My wrists and eyes certainly appreciate the break from my laptop during New Year's weekend, and here's hoping for a fantastic 2011! And now, onto the ladies.

1: Josée Chouinard

Even when I was just a little girl, Josée's charm always captivated me. I was just getting into skating at the end of her competitive career, and while I loved her then, I don't think she really became my absolute favourite until the 1994-95 season, when she skated as a professional for a year before returning to competition for 95-96. Without the pressure of competition, Josée absolutely shone on the pro circuit, and I would have watched her skate her American in Paris program a hundred times in a row, if my mother would have put up with it. And a couple of years later, I probably did watch "The Sweater" a hundred times in a row. I always wanted to see her skate live, but by the time I was in college and attended my first Stars on Ice shows in 2003, she really wasn't skating much at all, so I'd just about given up hope.

And then came the announcement for Dreams on Ice, conveniently located in Windsor, slated for Fall 2003. I was planning on moving back to Chicago for school, and my new skating fan friend lived in Michigan. It was perfect. Even better—VIP tickets included passes to the reception and a chance to meet the skaters. So in September 2003, I finally got to see Josée skate, and an hour later, I was standing in front of her, knees shaking, and when I said something completely stupid, like how I'd been wanting to see her skate for 9 years, she was so sweet and gracious.

Meeting Josée in 2003

2: Joannie Rochette

Jo is also a sentimental favourite, on quite a few levels for me. For as long as I've been going to skating events in Canada, I've been cheering for Jo. I was a fan even before I ever saw her skate, just because my friends knew her. I met Jo at a concert my friend Lori gave in Montréal in August 2003, five months before I ever saw Jo skate live. While I always wanted her to do well, it ultimately didn't matter to me whether she skated cleanly or not—I was always going to support her, no matter what.

And while my whole group of friends knew that she was capable of capturing at incredible moment at her home Olympics this year, we never could have anticipated what actually transpired. The grace, perseverance, and passion that she showed during the Olympics and since the Games ended have simply been consistent with the girl that I have always wanted great things for. I can't say enough wonderful things about her character, and I haven't even made it to her skating yet! Well, I guess that speaks for itself.

The group of us at Lori's concert in 2003

3: Kristi Yamaguchi

I was a seven-year-old American girl who'd just fallen in love with figure skating when Kristi Yamaguchi won Olympic gold. Of course she's on my top five list. When I was seven, I wanted nothing more than to be her. I wanted her voluminous ponytail and poofy bangs and pretty dresses and fantastic talent and gold medal. I wanted my face on the Wheaties box that I convinced my mom to buy for me, even though she knew I never finished a box of cereal. I wanted desperately to see her skate when Stars on Ice came to town, but it wasn't in the budget for my family then. So, much like Josée, I felt like I might have missed my chance with her. And I almost did, but I snuck out of the country and went to Isabelle & Lloyd's farewell show in 2004. When my mother found out, she nearly disowned me. I think she was going to, but my fiancé broke up with me right after she found out, and I think she felt a little bit bad for me. But it was worth it, to see my seven-year-old hero, still able to completely captivate me.

Also like Josée, it was Kristi's professional career that really endeared her to me. For some reason, I often remember seeing "Doop Doop" for the first time on TV, lying on my parents' bed while they watched something boring in the living room. It's funny how certain performances, though only viewed on a TV, are such happy moments from my childhood.

I finally met Kristi last year, at Thin Ice in Connecticut. I'd had the opportunity a couple of times before, but she's one of the few people that I've literally frozen in front of.

Proof that I got over my stage fright and met Kristi!

4: Michelle Kwan

Though Kristi and Josée were my first loves in figure skating, Michelle was the one that I grew up with. I remember her first Nationals, how young she was, how much I wanted to be like her. And every year after, I was in front of my TV for Nationals again—captivated in '96, heartbroken in '97, overwhelmed with emotions in '98. Even in the years after Nagano, when high school took over and I didn't watch nearly as much skating anymore, I still kept tabs on Michelle, checking in on an old fansite, happening to catch Nationals or Worlds performances, at least most of the time.

In the years after Salt Lake, it got hard to be a fan. I started following the sport more closely, and it was maddening that it never seemed like her heart was all the way in the sport anymore. She didn't learn the Code of Points properly, always seemed to be bouncing between coaches, and it seemed like she withdrew from events more often than she skated in them. During that time, I was going to Canadian events anyway, so I kind of lost interest. Plus, she had some really creepy fans, I never wanted to be associated with that.

But looking back, it's impossible to say that overall, she's not still one of my favourites. One of the most consistent, genuine performers of her era, and also one of the most decorated. My uncle, who watches skating occasionally but is far from a close follower of it, was watching the Tribute to American Skating, or whatever it was called, on Christmas with me. When they mentioned Michelle, he said something about how it was too bad she never won an Olympic medal. I was quick to defend her: "She won two!!" Of course I didn't fault him for not remembering her credentials properly, but it's too bad that the general American public remembers Michelle as "the one who never won," when really, she won so much.

I don't have any photos of Michelle that I can post. Sadly, I've never met her, nor have I ever even seen her skate live. So unless I dug out my poster of her from Sports Illustrated for Kids, circa 1993, and took a photo of that, I don't actually own any photos of Miss Kwan.

And I don't think I'm going to pick a fifth. There are, of course, many other female skaters that I admire, but none who are on the same level as Josée, Jo, Kristi, and Michelle.

five guys

30 Days of Skating

I'll edit in some photos later, if I get an internet signal again in Detroit. I'm currently on a train leaving Chicago, and I have mobile 4G for my computer, but the signal will probably die shortly.

Day 11: Who are your five favourite men’s skaters?

In the almost 20 years that I’ve been watching skating, men’s has probably been my least favourite discipline overall. So narrowing my favourites down to five is probably easier than it is in other disciplines.

1: Stéphane Lambiel

Lambiel is definitely my favourite guy, ever. I saw him first during 2003 Worlds, when he was completely brilliant. I guess Europeans expected great things from him, but this was before I got really good at following all skating and I mainly stuck to what the American networks showed, plus the Canadians that my friends told me to watch. So I was pretty much blown away by the spinning Swiss. Over the next seven years of his career, he continued to amaze me. He was always such a gorgeous skater, even when the jumps weren't there, but when the jumps were, I think he was one of the best in skating, ever.

I finally got to see him skate live at Thin Ice, a pro competition last spring. I also got to meet him, and the 18-year-old fangirl inside me that first saw in 2003 had a little meltdown. On the outside, though, I managed to play it cool, even when I ended up sitting next to him at dinner that night.

2: Kurt Browning

Speaking of being among the best in skating, ever, I don't think I can say enough about Kurto. I grew up watching him, back when pro skating was on the major networks almost every weekend in the winter, and he was churning out classics like "Brickhouse," "Serenade to Sonia," and "That's Entertainment." I saw "Brickhouse" live when he brought it back for Battle last year, "That's Entertainment" when he brought it back for Stars on Ice this year...seriously, who do I have to talk to to get him to bring back "Serenade to Sonia" so my childhood can be complete?!

Kurto was at the first show that I saw live, Stars on Ice in 2003, and he's been at a ton of shows and events that I've seen since. One thing never changes—his ability to hold a crowd, especially a Canadian one, in the palm of his hand.

3: Paul Wylie

P-Dub may not have been one of the best competitors in skating history, but I certainly think that during those times when he was on, he was one of the greats. He was definitely one of the greatest artists that men's skating has ever seen. I wrote a few posts back about his free skate in Albertville, so I won't repeat myself too much, but oh my goodness. It's always going to be one of those programs that has stuck with me. And then he really shone in his pro years, too, with classics like Apollo 13. By the time I started going to skating events in 03, he'd already retired, but then my life was kind of made when he made a comeback in 2004 and rejoined Stars on Ice for some guest spots. The closest show to me where he was scheduled to skate was Cincinnati, and guess what, I have a friend there. I can't remember the details, but some sort of car chaos (maybe the tires?) nearly stopped me from going and I think my mom wanted to disown me (she went through this phase where she thought that skating, and me going to skating events, was synonymous with me being addicted to heroine), but in the end, I made it. And P-Dub skated to Enrique Iglesias. But I forgave him. I've never met him, though, and he's one of the people in skating that I would most like to meet. I'm not sure what I would say, so I'd also hope that I'd have time to prepare something.

Coincidentally, I'm wearing a Harvard sweatshirt right now. Most of the reason why I've spent most of my life fascinated with Harvard is because P-Dub went there.

4: Ryan Bradley

A sentimental favourite. No, I don't think he generally belongs on the same level as Lambiel, Browning, and Wylie. But he is really, really entertaining, and I fell in love with him when I was 15 and he skated to the "William Tell Overture" in a ridiculous get-up. He's my age, or at least really close to it, so it seemed like a natural thing to do to fall in love with the boy with the adorable smile who was on a team with Michelle Kwan at some cheesefest that I happened to catch on TV. Unfortunately, it took him a long time after that to have a breakthrough in skating, and he gave me a heart attack when he quit for a little while in there, but him winning the silver medal at Nationals in 2007 was such a moment for me. For him too, I'm sure. I was heartbroken for him last year at Nationals, when his best still wasn't quite enough to make the Olympic team, so I am beyond thrilled that he's planning on skating at Nationals this year, and I'm really happy for him, that he's been doing so well on the show circuit. From what I hear, he's also turned into a really classy guy.

5: Jeremy Abbott

I was down to Jabbott or PChid for this one, and I went with Jabbott because on their best days, I think a clean Jabbott is better than a clean PChid. (On a less-than-perfect day, though, I'll take PChid.) The Abbott that won his second national title last year made me believe he was more than capable of being on the Olympic podium. Frankly, I hope that still happens, because when he's on, he has something that so few male skaters have. And I can watch last year's short ("A Day in the Life"), like, 85 times in a row without getting sick of it, even just the part when he hits that last spin to the music.

why i love challenge

30 Days of Skating

Day 10: What was the last competition/show that you attended?

I'm doing this challenge at a lovely time for this question, because my most recent event was one of my annual favourites. Every year, during the first week of December, I drive to Mississauga, Ontario, for the Skate Canada Challenges. They're the nationals qualifier for senior, junior, and novice levels, and the national championship for the pre-novice level. And since it's so chock-full of ice dance, I hardly have time to watch anything else, which I really don't mind. I love seeing almost all the dancers in Canada at once, especially approaching the end of the season for most of the teams.

This year, I missed the first day, so I didn't get to see the novice compulsory dances, and I was exhausted from my marathon drive in a broken car to get there, so perhaps it was a little more subdued than usual. But I loved the chance to catch up with people I only see a few times a year, see everyone compete, and take tens of thousands of photos. It has the scope of nationals, but even though more teams compete at Challenge (and a whole extra level), it's far less stressful for me. I don't have to dress up, since I'm just about the only media person that attends, and since I shoot from the stands, I have more time to catch up with athletes and their families than I do at any other event.

Only a few places in Canada have the logistics to hold the event, and I'm so glad they've stuck with Mississauga since 2007, because I wouldn't be able to afford to fly to both Challenge and Nationals just 6 weeks apart! Plus, it means I get quality time with the girls since I stay at Christina's. This year, Jules drove up on Friday and met me at the rink in time for junior & senior free dances, and then Jen met us later that night for a late dinner. After I was done on Saturday, I drove back into Toronto and met Jules and C for Christmas shopping and dinner downtown, and then on Sunday, all four of us went back out to the 'sauga for linner with Megan & Aaron.

The lighting in the little rinks is absolutely awful and editing takes some extra TLC, but I always manage to get great shots at Challenge, like this one:

Desiree Bortolussi & Graeme Gordon, pre-novice Keats Foxtrot in the super dark rink, after a little Photoshop TLC

oh the code o' points

I took a bit of a break from blogging for Christmas...not really intentionally, but it was tough to stay focused on anything when I was distracted by my family and my favourite time of the year! I hope everyone had as nice of a Christmas as I did! My family is Christian, so celebrating Jesus' birth is a big part of who we are, and I am so grateful for the years when we get to celebrate Christmas together. I spent my first 16 Christmases in Oklahoma every year, with my grandparents, and I miss them all the time, but most of all at Christmas. Now, every other year, we get to spend the holiday with my aunt & uncle & cousins, and even though I was still missing my grandparents, it's hard not to be full of joy when it's Christmas and I'm surrounded by the world's three greatest kids! Anyway, back to my skating blog challenge.

30 Days of Skating

Day 9: What do you think about the Code of Points?

Well, regardless of what I think about it, I think it's obvious that it's here to stay. So like with any system, of course it has good and bad points. Its worst offense, on the bad side, is what it has done to pairs skating. Code of Points took my favourite discipline, ripped apart the beauty of it, and turned long programs into really, really cringetastic long programs. I would give just about anything to see well-executed side-by-side spins, in unison, or a smooth death spiral with a pure position, entry, and exit, but all the features that the athletes have to add to make them "difficult" make them just about impossible. And then, even though the elements are poorly done and totally ugly, teams get positive GOE for them if they have a good reputation and land their jumps. I don't even enjoy watching most pairs anymore. I'm not good at photographing pairs either, which is my own problem of course, but the combination of the two factors have made me dread attending what used to be my favourite discipline. So sad.

In the other disciplines, of course the "difficult" positions get repetitive, but I think that the changes made this year have helped, at least a bit, and I think it's something that I'm getting used to, whether that's a good thing or not.

From the beginning, I was attracted to the idea of Code of Points because I'm a nerd and I like numbers. I think this is its biggest strength. It's easy to see quantified, immediate results, which is useful to both the athletes and the audience. The general audience is slow to get used to it, of course, but they're finally learning. I blame a lot of the delay in the general audience adapting to Code of Points on the commentators, at least in the States. I'm not sure Scott Hamilton is ever going to understand how it works, but at least the public gets a good primer on points when we get to borrow Tracy Wilson. Anyway, I think that the protocol sheets are excellent feedback, and it really helps the athletes focus on what they need to improve. At the lower levels, especially, I think that there's such a great opportunity for a trajectory of improvement over the season, if the skaters and coaches take a practical approach to the system. For the teams that do, this is awesome to see!

Of course, there's still objectivity and there's still corruption and back-room deals and manipulation. The new system only disguises that and makes the manipulation a bit more indirect. But you can't fix a system without getting rid of the corrupt people and overhauling everything, and it's obvious that the ISU wasn't willing to do that in 2002. And even if you get rid of the corrupt people in play, who's to say that the replacements won't be just as corrupt?

But I didn't mean to go all Debbie Downer. I've met some wonderful judges in skating who really care about the athletes and want them to do their best. I hope that, in the future, they'll be the officials running the sport. In the end, I think this judging system was the right direction for skating and it's going to keep improving as it gets tweaked from year to year.

a canadian in paris

30 Days of Skating

Day 8: What is your favourite ladies program?

This is another one with a fairly easy answer, which is good, because I've been a little sick and I don't feel like writing an exposition tonight!

Ever since I was a little girl, I've been captivated by Josée Chouinard's American in Paris free skate. I remember seeing Josée for the first time on the coverage of the 1992 World Championships, which aired when I was visiting my grandparents in Oklahoma for spring break. My grandma taped some of it for me while I was playing at my cousin's house, and I had the tape for years. So by the time the next Olympic year came around two seasons later, I was already a big Josée Chouinard fan. And she wore a pink turtleneck and gloves for AIP, the best program ever, at least in my nine-year-old eyes. She was the best skater in 1994 with the best programs, not Oksana or Nancy—but unfortunately, she wasn't the best competitor.

I may have loved it for the charm and the pink when I was 9, but looking back, it's still my favourite because it's actually a really awesome program. I love the sequence at the first music transition, featuring the best flying sit spin ever, and then the posey choreo break. Then the whole middle section and that gorgeous Ina, ooooh. And while the Olympic and Worlds performances of this program still break my heart, I'm so glad she kept it as a pro and got to perform it much more freely a few times. I can't find the best performance of it on Youtube, but this one from the '94 Canadian Pros (at the COPPS!!) is a lovely skate, even if she doubles a couple of jumps. She just shone. Gosh, those were the glory days of pro skating.

Honourable Mentions!

Joannie Rochette's 2004-2005 "Firebird" free - absolutely my second favourite ladies program, ever. In case you missed it, I wrote about seeing it at Canadians in 2005 a few posts ago.

Josée Chouinard's "Comme Ci Comme Ça" short in 1995-1996 - any Jos fan has to have such mixed feelings about this comeback year. Along with the GPF medal, the existence of this short is one of the main reasons why I'm thrilled she came back

Kristi Yamaguchi's 1991-92 "Malaguena" free - the only Mal program I really like, and an iconic moment of my childhood

Michelle Kwan's 1997-98 free to "Lyra Angelica" - another iconic moment from my childhood, and really, I think that the performance of this at Nationals was one of skating's greatest moments. I don't want to talk about Nagano.

Yu-Na Kim's 2008-2009 "Danse Macabre" short - It wasn't until I saw this program live that I really believed she belonged in the same sentence as skating's greats.

Angela Nikodinov's "Just for You" short - She had this program for like 4 years, or at least it seemed like it, but I never got sick of it.

Jenny Kirk's Chicago short - Just yes. And it seemed like the only program she ever skated consistently well. It just fit her so perfectly.

What about you? What are your favourites?

better than bolero

30 Days of Skating

Day 7: What is your favourite dance program?

Just to clarify, for these "favourite program" questions, I'm only including competitive programs. I'll get to show and professional programs later. And I was going to pick an original dance and a free dance to highlight in this post, but it was too hard to pick between my two favourite free dances, so I just went with those. Coincidentally, they're both from 2006, the season that I really fell in love with ice dance as a whole, instead of just liking specific teams.

As an ice dance fan, I sometimes feel obligated to think that Torvill & Dean's "Bolero" is the greatest free dance ever. It's kind of an accepted fact in the skating world. However, while I'm a big fan of "Bolero" and recognize that it was a fantastic program and the advances that it brought to dance in 1984, I don't think it was the best program ever. I think that Marie-France Dubreuil & Patrice Lauzon's "Somewhere in Time" was the best dance program ever, and it's also one of my favourites.

I love this program. It's probably the skating program I re-watch most often, usually when I've had a bad day, accompanied by a pint of expensive ice cream. And it always makes me cry. Sometimes it gets me right at the beginning on the totem lift, but more often than not, I'll make it through most of the program, thinking that I'm going to hold it in this time, and then those gorgeous moments right before the dance spin towards the end set me off. I just find it to be so exquisite, so genuine, so moving.

It's funny—I saw this program live at Canadians, but barely remember it. My mind was on something else that day, I guess. But the Worlds performance, though watched from Jules' living room and not from the arena in Calgary, is something I remember down to the second. In ESPN's finest hour, they showed 3 entire groups of the free dance live, and I drove over to Jules' for the big event. Her parents watched it with us, and we were so nervous. When MF&P skated, we were clinging to each other, crying the whole time, and when it cut to commercial between the end of their skate and the marks, I just kept saying, "That had it be enough, it had to be, they did it, they had to."

In the end, of course, they were just shy of gold, but you can't possibly convince me that they didn't deserve the title. It was the perfect competitive performance, to me, and years from now, I think I'll look back on it and still say the same.

My other favourite program is a tango, and I love a good tango. While I wouldn't go so far as to say that Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe's "Story of the Tango" is the best tango program ever, it's my favourite, and I think I explained why just a few posts ago.

I love their investment in this choreography, and the way it fits them so well and comes so naturally—the above performance isn't their best skate of this dance (that came at the Olympics, which isn't on Youtube), but it was incredible because the dance was only something like 6 weeks old. The whole thing is fantastic, but the last minute...just wow. So fierce.

I like almost every program they ever did, and I probably even love over half of their programs, but this one surpassed all the rest the first time that I saw it. Jules, Jen, and I skipped over half of the men's short program so we could go to the practice rink, because we wanted to see this dance before the competition. Even just in practice, we knew it was the perfect choice for them.

Honourable mentions, free dances:

Punsalan & Swallow's 97-98 FD to "Oblivion" - probably the most undermarked program ever

Rahkamo & Kokko's 93-94 FD to La Strada - my very first favourite dance team and for most of my life, I loved their Beatles FD more, but upon rewatching recently, I think I'm going to go with La Strada. Also, it's the only Fellini program that doesn't make me want to hurl.

Wilson & McCall's 87-88 "Elite Syncopations" FD - also undermarked, but at least they won an Olympic medal with this!

Bourne & Kraatz's 96-97 "High Society" FD - best program they ever did, and there are a ton of their programs that I loved.

Davis & White's 08-09 FD to Samson et Dalila - best thing they have ever done. Even better than Bollywood.

Virtue & Moir's Umbrellas of Cherbourg FD in 07-08 - I go back and forth with whether I love this one or "Valse Triste" more, but today, it's Umbrellas. I was standing at the boards for its debut, and that's a moment I'll never forget.

Péchalat & Bourzat's Circus FD in 08-09 - Love it a little more every time I watch it.

Harvey & Gagnon's Chaplin FD from 09-10 - their performance at Canadians of this is my favourite non-Olympic moment of last season, just because I wasn't expecting the crowd to react as strongly as they did, so it's a sentimental favourite. Here's a link if you missed it last year.

Botsford & Botsford's 07-08 FD to "Ramalama (Bang Bang)" - yep, I just picked a pre-novice free dance. Seriously, it blew my mind when I saw it the first time!

Crone & Poirier's 10-11 FD to "Eleanor Rigby" - favourite free dance of the year, at least so far. Totally brilliant. Thank you, Christopher Dean.

Honourable mentions, original dances:

Dubreuil & Lauzon's "Payadora" tango OD in 06-07 - probably my favourite OD ever. Definitely the best tango OD ever.

Torvill & Dean's Paso Doble OSP in 83-84 - I usually just call this "THE Paso."

Bourne & Kraatz's 00-01 OD to "Jumpin' Jack" and "Hey Big Spender" - yes. Just yes. Especially the "Jumpin' Jack" parts. Probably the best pre-CoP midline ever.

Girard & Pelletier's 09-10 Bollywood OD - This is the best Bollywood of the season last year! Just...not enough people paid attention to them for it to get the notice it deserved. So watch the performance from Canadians now, although they skated it better at Challenge, I think.

Wing & Lowe's 02-03 Strauss OD - my favourite OD of theirs. So pretty and floaty in the waltz, and then I love the footwork in the march. And the gold dress just tops it off. One of the best dance dresses ever.

Virtue & Moir's "Assassination Tango" OD in 06-07 - what a way to burst on the senior scene! This was gorgeous.

Gilles & Donohue's Swing OD in 08-09 - random, I know, but the way they skated this at their first competition together in Lake Placid made me think they were going to be national champions someday. That didn't exactly work out, but I still love this dance.

I feel like I'm forgetting something huge, so please alert me if I did. If not, then, until tomorrow!

watch out for these kids

30 Days of Skating

Apparently, I totally skipped a day, then I messed with the order...whoops. Oh well.

Day 6: Which up-and-coming skaters are you most excited for?

While this question may have been originally phrased for younger senior skaters that haven't yet had a major breakthrough, I spend a lot of time following ice dance in Canada & the U.S. at all levels, so that's what came to mind first for me! I have such respect for kids training at all the levels up to senior, no matter their abilities. I love to see them climbing the ladder, reaching for better scores and higher levels and testing up. It's so fun to see, especially in Canada, when I get to see quite a few of the teams 4 or 5 times during the season. Less fun when they don't skate well, because my heart breaks a little more for the ones that I know, so I've always got my toes crossed when they zip by me at the boards.

Anyway, this question is hard, because I don't like picking favourites among so many teams that I know and respect. When I write previews and reports for ice-dance.com, I work really hard to set preferences aside and stick to the facts—what each team has done, what they are likely to do based on past results, where their strengths and weaknesses are and how those may come into play with the judges, etc. So, with that in mind, I think it's safe to say that Madeline Edwards & Zhao Kai Pang are definitely a team to watch.

Madeline Edwards & Zhao Kai Pang

They won the Canadian juvenile title in 2009 and the pre-novice title in 2010. So far, they are the strongest team on the novice level, heading into 2011 Canadian Junior Nationals next month. Strong and consistent technique has been one of their greatest assets over their career so far, but they are also musical performers and they have a ton of charisma. And they're pretty fabulous kids, too. Well, I guess I haven't spoken much to Zhao Kai, but I've heard complimentary things. Maddie, though...we go way back. And she's definitely fabulous.

Another factor in their success is certainly their training environment—their teammates are some of their stiffest competition. Noa Bruser & Timothy Lum and Caelen Dalmer & Shane Firus both train with them, and the three teams push each other all year long. Even better, they're all friends at the end of the day.

Noa Bruser & Timothy Lum

Caelen Dalmer & Shane Firus

Okay, well if I let myself write anymore, I'd probably never stop, and I have to be up at 5.30. So tomorrow, I'll try to get back on track with the scheduled questions and pick some more favourite programs of all time.

on the post-olympic season

30 Days of Skating

Day 5: Who are you expecting great things from this season?

The question for today was originally worded to predict medalists at 2011 Worlds, but it's a little hard to do that when countries haven't picked their teams yet. I don't want to jinx anyone into a broken leg, or anything.

Ladies

Probably the hardest discipline to predict lately, and the one I'm least invested in this year. I love, love, love Alissa Czisny's free program this year, and it was fantastic to see her skate so well at the Grand Prix Final. I really hope it translates to Nationals and she has another opportunity after that to compete again this year, but with her, you really never know.

Being at Canadians this year without Jo is going to be bizarre. She's been at every major competition I have ever attended. The task of taking over for Jo is likely going to fall to Cynthia Phaneuf, and I do like watching her (when she skates well), my favourite Canadian lady is totally Myriane Samson, so I'd love to see her skate well and grab another podium finish this year. It was great to see her put together a pair of successful skates at Skate Canada this year.

I'm a little out of the loop, and I'm not sure if Yu-Na Kim is really going to come back this spring or not, but if she does, I expect she'll be in the medal hunt at Worlds, even without competing this fall. Mao Asada has had a rough outing this year so far as she's been reworking the technique on her jumps, but if she puts it together at Nationals, I know better than to count her out completely. My favourite Japanese lady to watch is probably Akiko Suzuki, but the buzz this year is all about the youngster Kanako Murakami, so I just hope that if Suzuki skates well enough to earn a place on the World team at Nationals, she won't be replaced by younger talent.

I also have to mention Kiira Korpi's short program this year, choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne—one of my favourite programs of the year.

Men

I'm totally on team Chan. I can't help it. I spent the years from 2005 to 2007 waiting for Patrick Chan to really break out in senior, and then I was covering my first Canadians in '08 when he did. Even though his inability to have two new programs in a single year drives me crazy, I still love to watch this kid. Especially his short program this year.

My favourite program this year, however, is Jeremy Abbott's free program to Life is Beautiful. So, so gorgeous, and it made me love the new footwork requirements. His second footwork sequence, when he's not cramming as many turns in as possible to get a higher level, is just exquisite, and so musical. I really hope I get a chance to shoot this program this year, though the odds aren't looking good. Stateside, I also really like Adam Rippon.

It was fun seeing the Japanese trifecta of Oda, Takahashi, and Kozuka have such a great Grand Prix season, and I think they'll continue to skate well this season as they push each other through Nationals this month. Of the three, I like Oda best, but I like him best when he's not so serious, like in his exhibition program to "I Could Have Danced All Night."

Final thought: I'm really, really excited to hear that Ryan Bradley is planning to compete at Nationals. It was heartbreaking last year for him to have such a fantastic free skate at Nationals, yet have it still not be enough to make the Olympic team. I'm not expecting perfect skates, but I'm expecting to be entertained!

Pairs

I haven't been too excited about pairs since both of my favourite CoP-era pairs retired and split in 2007. So I suppose Savchenko & Szolkowy and Pang & Tong will be at the top of the leaderboard, and maybe some other Chinese or Russian teams will challenge them, but none of them really excited me.

I do think that Iliushechkina & Maisuradze are really cute, but I don't expect them to be Russia #1. I hope they'll continue to improve.

Since I go to Canadians, I'm interested in what will happen there, as new champions will be crowned. I think it will be between Moore-Towers & Moscovitch and Duhamel & Radford. Duhamel & Radford have the content to win it if they hit, but if they have mistakes, the door will be open for MT&M. I also think that Paige Lawrence & Rudi Swiegers have great programs, so if they skate well, they could be right in the thick of things, too.

Dance

Whee, saved my favourite discipline for last. There's a lot I could say about dance, at all levels, but I'll try to just stick to the major contenders in senior.

I think this season is Meryl Davis & Charlie White's to lose. Even if Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir make it back, I think Davis & White will still have a clear edge, as long as they skate clean. I'm delighted with how well Nathalie Péchalat & Fabian Bourzat are skating, but I'm still not sure they're going to challenge Davis & White if both teams compete well.

In terms of programs, though, I think Péchalat & Bourzat's are better. Their short dance to Doctor Zhivago is one of my favourites this season, though it's garnered some mixed reviews. I really like P&B's free dance, a Chaplin theme, much better than Davis & White's tango free dance, but I'm having a hard time loving it because I loved Tarrah Harvey & Keith Gagnon's Chaplin free last year so much.

Last year's bronze medalists, Federica Faiella & Massimo Scali, are kind of a question mark right now, since their first Grand Prix didn't go that well, and they withdrew from their second due to an injury to Scali's back.

I think I'm most excited about Vanessa Crone & Paul Poirier's success so far this season. I've been following their progress since they were novices, so it meant a lot to be in the arena when they won their first Grand Prix gold this year. I really like their short dance to "Fallin'," even though the music is a bad cover, and I really, really love their free dance to "Eleanor Rigby." The movement is unpredictable, but still elegant, and they keep improving every year. I'd love to see them in the top 5 at Worlds if they skate well.

men's programs that make me swoon

30 Days of Skating

Day 4: What is your favourite men’s program?

Okay, I admit that I switched the questions around. Today was supposed to be my favourite dance program, but I don’t have that kind of time tonight, so I’m putting it off for a few days. Men’s is a bit easier, though I’m still going to pick two programs—one short and one free. We’ll go in chronological order.

For as long as I've watched figure skating, there's not a single men's free skate that I love more than Paul Wylie's "Henry V," specifically, the performance from the 1992 Olympics. Honestly, the opening commentary always gets me. Good ol' Verne Lundquist lays it down: "Paul Wylie has competed in 11 U.S. National Championships and never won. He's been to 4 Worlds with 9th his best finish. He made this year's Olympic team by one tenth of one point. And tonight, he can take home an Olympic medal." Talk about foreshadowing from the tape delay, Verne. But it still gets me, even almost 19 years later. And if I'm not teary-eyed by the time the music starts, I definitely am when he hits his triple Axel, the second jump in.

I love how he just stands there at the beginning, waits for the right moment in the music to begin. He looks so peaceful, like he's not about to start the skate that's going to change his life. And then he skates his pants off. I think that most swordfighting-on-ice sequences after this have been pretty lame, because nothing is going to top that leap he does. The spins are incredible, the Russian splits at the end, and oh my stars, what a spread eagle. Seriously, his lines and his passion and his controlled energy...it wasn't a perfect skate, but it was a perfect Olympic moment. I knew that, even when I was 7.

Sidebar, but I finally saw Paul Wylie skate in 2004, when he guest-starred on Stars on Ice. He's one of the few skaters that I've never met that I would really, really like to meet sometime. I'm not sure what I would even say, but I'd like to shake his hand and tell him that he's always inspired me.

My favourite men's short program is a recent one, and since I'm a huge list-making nerd, I really took some time two seasons ago to think about whether or not I really wanted to bump Patrick Chan's "Tango de los Exilados" short program into my #1 spot. So I'm pretty sure that I've never seen a men's short program that I love more than this one.

Every moment of it is beautifully constructed, and I love the lyrical tango look on him. It allows him to be sharp and to attack the program, but it also shows off his amazing skating skills. I'm partial to the 2009 Four Continents performance, which is what I posted above, because I was in the building for that one. In the pre-Olympic test event, the energy in the arena was insane, and PChiddy handled the pressure beautifully. OK, maybe all the hitch kicks are just a bit much, but aside from that, the footwork is fantastic—difficult, but so musical, and when he hits it, he brings the audience out of their seats.

Time for some honourable mentions!

Kurt Browning's 1992-94 LP to Casablanca - a classic

Just about everything Stéphane Lambiel has ever done, but especially his Chocolat program from 2003

Jeremy Abbott's 2009-2010 SP to "A Day in the Life" - another recent program, and an incredible one...that last spin wowed me every time

Emanuel Sandhu's 2003-2004 Tango SP - one of those programs that was totally front-loaded, but by the time he was 2 minutes in, I'd already forgiven him for it

Chris Mabee's 2005-2006 LP to Pearl Harbor - I didn't mention this specifically in my last post, but watching this live is another one of my favourite memories from Canadians in Ottawa

Dylan Moscovitch's 2007-2008 LP to Robin Hood - one of the best humourous competitive programs ever! I saw it live at Challenge and so wished he'd qualified for Canadians with it...that would have been incredible.

And if you haven't seen Dylan's program, here's a treat:

being a fan is good times

30 Days of Skating

Day 3: What is your favourite spectatorship moment?

OK, first of all, this is a really hard question. Second, this is one of my favourite things to write about when it comes to skating. I don't think I've ever been completely successful at telling any of these stories, but I'm working on it. At any rate, I don't think I could possibly pick just one. I think I can pick my top four, though. In no particular order:

The 2010 Olympic Free Dance

We didn't get tickets in the lottery system. They released a few more pockets of tickets prior to the event, but they were all so expensive. We had a few leads from people trying to sell extras, but again, it was all just a bit out of reach for us. My friends and I aren't exactly rolling in the dough, and just going to the Olympics for six days was really stretching our budgets. So we decided to wing it. We'd see if we could get tickets outside the arena, but if we couldn't, we'd suck it up, find somewhere to watch it, and be satisfied that, at least, we were watching it together, in Vancouver. Just being at the Olympics was a dream come true, for all of us.

Then the OD happened. Jen, Jules, and Christina had tickets in the nosebleeds for that one, and Chele and I scored good deals on scalped tickets a few hours before the event. And when we left that night, Tessa and Scott were in the lead. At the Olympics. At the Olympics in Canada. The kids that we'd known since they were practically fetuses were in first place at the Olympics in their home country. Suddenly, missing the free dance wasn't really an option. So the next day, during practice, we planned a course of action, then hiked to the bank and withdrew as much money as we could from our accounts, and went back to the arena. There weren't nearly as many scalpers as there were the night before, so I still don't know how it worked out so well for us. But somehow, we managed to find someone who had 5 tickets in the same row, like 6 rows from the ice, and he was willing to sell them to us for half the face value. I think we knew, right then, that it was going to be the one of the best nights of our lives.

There were 3 people sitting between our two sets of tickets, and they graciously offered to move, probably as soon as they realized that we were going to be talking around them all night! We took a million pictures. I cried before it even started. By the time the final group took the ice, I was shaking. And then I looked down, saw how calm Tessa and Scott were, and I breathed. I was at the free dance at the Olympics, I hadn't had to completely clean out my bank account to get into the building, and at the end of the night, those kids we knew were going to be singing "O Canada" from the top of the podium. I absolutely knew it. It had to be true. We believed.

And we were right.

2004 Four Continents Championships

Many good times were had at the first skating competition I attended. I traveled in a horde of, like, 10 enthusiastic girls. We took over one of the corners in the Copps and garnered the attention of pretty much everyone...athletes, coaches, team leaders, CEOs, etc. We were really, really loud. Sometimes I waved first. Sometimes we figured out the results before the the skaters in the kiss & cry (which was a lot more difficult in the interim 6.0 system) and screeched before anyone else in the arena knew what was going on. We made the most ghetto signs (while sitting the stands) using bingo dabbers, because the Dollarama didn't have markers. We overdosed on bagels from T. Ho's. I experienced Christina's fire alarm scream for the first time for Val & Craig's awesome "Caravan" short program, still dear to my heart (see Day 2). I couldn't have asked for more from my first competition, and the part I still remember most fondly is cheering for Team Mexico.

It started with Gladys. She was so sassy in practice, and no one was cheering for her, so we decided to fill the void. And once we were cheering for Gladys, we couldn't not cheer for Michele, right? When they skated their shorts, the boys on the team took notice of us (we were sitting one section over from the designated skaters' section, plus the arena wasn't exactly full), and they came over to join forces. Strength in numbers. They taught us their team cheers and we bonded. Gladys sat with us when the boys skated, and like I said, we were loud. The people around us started cheering, too. I don't know, maybe they thought that we knew something about them that they didn't. The guys, especially, really got into it. I think Adrian skated first, then Humberto, then Miguel, all in the 1st and 2nd group of the men's free—not usually when the audience is invested, to say the least. But we were committed, and we cheered like it was the Olympics. We made a sign with our bingo dabbers and stood for each of them. And when we looked around after Miguel skated his pants off, most of the other people in the Copps were standing.

Miguel was looking up at the audience like, "What is going on here?!?!" and we were jumping up and down, cheering, crying. Well, I was crying. Someone across the arena from us threw underwear on the ice. Hopefully not underwear she'd just been wearing. We threw little plush soccer balls from the dollar store. On the flood after the 2nd group, they all came out of the tunnel, running up the stairs towards us. We were all hugging and I was probably crying again and then Humberto exclaimed, "I landed my first triple-triple!!" It was such a moment, full of energy. And then they got mobbed. Packs of girls came down the stairs towards them and clogged up the aisles, asking for photos and autographs.

I don't know, I've always felt proud of that, knowing that we did something to help create that moment for them. I guess standing ovations would lose their meaning if every skater always got one, but in some ways, I think that they all deserve a moment like that sometime.

2005 Canadian Championships

This event came at a really tough time for me. I was already having my worst year yet (and it was only January!) and then 4 days before I left for the event, my ex-fiancé ended things. I didn't even want to go, but I knew that going would take my mind off of everything at home, and I knew that being with my friends would help.

I'm really glad I went, because 2005 Canadians had some of the best skating I've ever seen live. From freaking out for WakaFect's short (and making the broadcast) to the free dances and clapping all the way through "Zorba" even though I couldn't feel my hands anymore, it was 3 solid days of solid skating. The men's free, especially, was an incredible event. Chris Mabee and Jeff Buttle were both unbelievable, and I think Ben Ferreira and Fedor Andreev also had awesome skates, too. I had a seat in the front row in one of the corners and the whole thing was so surreal.

But the #1 moment had to have been Joannie Rochette's "Firebird." We were Jo fans, all of us, from the beginning. It was basically a pre-req for entrance into my group of skating fans. Even when she was missing her Lutz in every single competition, we rooted for her relentlessly. It was just how things went. I met her for the first time in Montréal in 2003, when she came with a group of us to see our friend Lori give a concert, the same week that I met Sarah and Christina (and Lori!) for the first time. From that trip, I was in the group, and Jo was our girl. It's just how it was.

She'd had some pretty awesome performances that season, on the Grand Prix, including her first GP gold. So we had high hopes that she'd have an awesome skate at Nationals, when we were all there to see it. Yeah, you could say that it was an awesome skate.

I still think it's my favourite performance of hers, ever, just because of the context and because I know that I was right there, in the front row, doing every jump right along with her. I remember when she did her second flip, and everyone started cheering, and we were like "NO!" because we knew that it was a sequence, she was going right into a sal, and we didn't want the crowd to break her concentration. But she was in the zone, she was the Firebird, and I don't think anything could have stopped her from giving the skate of her life, up to that point. Chele was holding my hand, and I don't think she was even halfway through before she was banging our hands against her leg, asking, "Can we stand yet? Can we stand??" We managed to hang on until the final spin, but as soon as she went into it, we looked over and we saw Sarah pop up and we were up half a second later.

It was such a defining moment for Jo. That season, she went from being a promising skater to a legit competitor, but at Canadians, she stepped it up even further and became a champion. I think we all knew that she was destined for something incredible.

And look, now she's Canada's sweetheart. Guess we were right about that, too!

2006 Canadian Championships, Free Dance

This was an all-around great event, too, with lots of fun moments, and a lot of excitement and extra pressure because it was an Olympic year. But more than any other event, this whole competition came down to one single moment for me.

Over the past two seasons of going to events, my friends and I had gotten to know Megan Wing & Aaron Lowe. Growing up in the States, they really weren't on my radar until late in their competitive careers, but I caught up quickly once I started tape trading. I loved watching them skate, I loved the way they could skate just about any rhythm, and they made it so easy for us to like them because they always remembered us from event to event, were always up for a chat, and just seemed like really spectacular people. (We were also right about this.)

The free dance was on Sunday, the only competitive event of the day, one of Skate Canada's quirky traditions. It was close. Megan & Aaron were still in 2nd, but they'd been 3rd in the OD, behind Tessa & Scott, the young kids that they trained with (apparently they had potential?). Canada had 2 Olympic spots, but really, there was only 1, since I'm pretty sure MF&P's tickets were already booked. I was so nervous that I don't even remember the first 3/4 of the event. I didn't know most of the dancers in the early flights (oh, how things have changed now), but we watched everyone. In the final flight, Tessa & Scott were up first, Megan & Aaron were up second.

It was tough, because we knew Tessa & Scott, too. I wanted good things for them, and it wasn't like I was wishing for them to fall, or anything. I wished that there had been 3 spots, but there weren't. And we knew they'd have another chance, but this was the last shot at the Olympics for Megan & Aaron. They'd already finished one spot away from the team in '98 and in '02. I was so desperately hoping for them to make the team, that I didn't dare hope for anything else in the other disciplines.

The week before, I'd moved out of my parents' house in Chicago and into an apartment on my own in Lansing, Michigan. I'd enrolled in the community college and was toying with the idea of applying to a couple of schools for the fall '06 semester to pursue creative writing or journalism, but I wasn't sure I could do it. I was terrified. For whatever reason, I told myself that if Megan & Aaron made the Olympic team, I'd give writing my all, jump in, see where it led. I don't know why I associated the two in my head, but I did. I think I felt like they must have had to do the same thing—take some big risks, dive headfirst into unknown territory, believe in themselves at all costs. So if it paid off for them, maybe it could someday pay off for me, too.

Of course, they did it. This would be a terrible story for this post if they didn't. They skated a brand new free dance nearly flawlessly and stayed about 3 points ahead of Tessa & Scott to win the silver medal and the chance to finally skate at the Olympics. I can't remember who skated right after them, although I can vividly remember Megan & Aaron's free dance and waiting for the marks. I was already thinking about writing about it.

I haven't written a formal essay that uses this story yet, but I know that I will someday. I'll have to, because that moment made such an impression on me, as did the one about an hour later, when Jules, Jen, and I flew down the concourse at them for ecstatic Olympic team hugs. Seriously, Jen almost knocked Megan on the ground. I know I'll have to write about this someday, to explore it further. Although it's their story, it has really influenced who I am. Because at a time when I needed it most, they reminded me that I have to believe in myself.

my favourite pairs program

30 Days of Skating

Day Two: What is your favourite pairs program?

Pairs was my first love in skating. Well, pairs, and wanting to grow up to Kristi Yamaguchi. I think I was just too young to "get" ice dance, and without an American star team to focus on, the networks didn't show much dance. (Of course, even with American stars now, they still don't show much dance!) So pairs was what really drew me in, because I loved the elements and the connection between the skaters. And there's still something about a perfectly-executed throw jump that gets me.

So in some ways, it's hard to pick just one, but really, it must not be that difficult, because I always come back to the same program when I'm asked this question.

Jamie Salé & David Pelletier's 2000-2001 free program, set to the Prélude & Liebestod from Wagner's Tristan und Isolde is, for me, the greatest pairs program ever. There are plenty of others I could consider, and perhaps others that are more complex or better constructed (though I think that the choreography in T&I is pretty exceptional), but it's the word "favourite" that makes this an easy choice. This was what brought me back into skating. This was where I saw the magic again.

That performance is the one that I saw in March 2001, the one that won them their world title. It's not the cleanest skate of this program (2001 Four Continents was), but it's the one I love most, the one I love to re-watch and cry over. It was the skate with the most heart, the best flow, the support of a huge Canadian crowd, and with the added pressure and excitement of being the home team favourites at Worlds. If I manage to get 2/3 of the way through without losing it, the platter lift always, always gets me. I miss platter lifts. And simple, perfect death spirals.

And while it's easy to pick a #1, there are still a ton of programs I'd love to mention, so how about some honourable mentions?

Mishkutionok & Dmitriev's 91-92 LP to "Liebestraum" - one of the first programs I remember from the night I started watching skating, and still a classic

Gordeeva & Grinkov's 93-94 LP to "Moonlight Sonata" - an obvious choice, probably the most iconic program in pairs skating, and with good reason

Marcoux & Buntin's 03-04 SP to "Caravan" - my favourite pairs short program, specifically the performance at 4CCs, and the beginnings of the Val & Craig fan club, and first in their traditional succession of sassy shorts

Wakamatsu & Fecteau's 06-07 LP to "Last Emperor" - still would give anything to rewind and go to Halifax to have seen this at Canadians...

Meno & Sand's 97-98 LP to "Nessun Dorma" - even though they used this music like 800 times, it was still magic for them

Castile & Okolski's 08-09 SP to Memoirs of a Geisha - my favourite among Brooke & Ben's many excellent programs; I think they had the best choreography of the 2006-2010 quad, and I would also give anything to rewind and let them compete injury-free for those four years

Salé & Pelletier's 01-02 SP to "Jalousie" - a close second favourite program them

I'm sure I could go on, but this is probably a good place to end. Two days in a row, let's see if I can keep this up when I have a bit busier day tomorrow!