Nine members of the Quesnel Figure Skating Club are putting the final touches on their routines in preparation for the 2011 Pacific STARSkate Championships, March 4-6, in Cranbrook.
Certainly the competition at the provincial championships will be a challenge for the local skaters, but there will be other challenges, coach with the QFSC, Rory Allen said.
“Cranbrook is pretty far and is probably the farthest most of our skaters have travelled for a competition,” he said.
“The distance will take it’s toll, the kids will have to make sure they get out and stretch every few hours.”
Another test for the skaters will be skating in a rink they have never seen before.
Given the skaters perform jumps and spins, it is important they can get their bearings on the ice coming out of a jump or a spin, which is usually achieved by being familiar with the layout of the rink.
“It can be disorienting to come out of a spin and not be able to get your bearings,” Allan said.
“Getting there [Cranbrook arena] early and doing some mental imaging is important.”
Another challenge for the QFSC skaters is the size of the ice. The ice surface in Cranbrook is larger than that at Twin Arenas where the QFSC skaters practice.
Making use of the entire ice surface is a key element in figure skating and judges expect skaters to cover the entire surface of the ice during their routines.
“They [skaters] will have to be mindful of where the boards are and still fill it [ice] out,” Allen said.
“Covering the ice is important.”
Fortunately, there are practice times available to help skaters familiarize themselves with the new surroundings and of course to put last minute touches on their routines.
The skaters will also need to deal with the dreaded preperformance jitters which can impact a skater’s performance. The QFSC coaches are fully aware of this and so include activities into the training to help the skates prepare mentally for the competition.
One of those activities is a simulation of the competition itself,
a dress rehearsal where skaters go through their routines as they would on the day of the competition.
Besides dealing with nervousness associated with competition, the dress rehearsal also imparts on the skaters the importance of trusting their training, not to think too much and let muscle memory take over.
One of the skaters headed to Cranbrook is Selena Van Aert.
The dress rehearsal had a few bumps for Van Aert as she missed a few jumps, but she said it wasn’t cause for concern as she knew she could land the jumps.
“I’ve had some on and off days,” she said.
“I think you just have to let it pass by, regroup and think about the next jump.
“It takes a lot of practice, it takes a while to learn how to regroup.
“I just think of how I did the jump successfully.”
Van Aert, 14, who is competing in the junior silver freeskate and junior interpretive skating events, was anxious yet hopeful about the upcoming competition.
“I’m competing against the best in the province,” she said.
“Whatever happens, happens. I just want to be proud of my skate.”
Cassie Greenwood, 12, a skater with a big smile, but few words, went almost clean through her junior bronze freeskate simulation, just missing a double toe jump.
“I don’t know,” Greenwood said when asked why she missed the jump.
Greenwood, who has been skating for 10 years, said she wasn’t nervous about the provincial championships and was looking forward to performing her routine, especially the footwork portion of her routine which is her favourite part because of its difficulty.
Joining Van Aert and Greenwood are Carmen Huang, Olivia Marleau, Madison Nickolet, Marin Paquin, Kayla Flanagan, Megan Swaile and Torrye McKenzie.