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Brunet 1st on to new dance floor
And lucky Michel Brunet and Chantal Lefebvre, they get to be among the initial group jumping behind the wheel in this much-anticipated exercise.
Whether it's an exercise in futility ... well, Brunet says the proceedings at Skate America, which starts today in the Motor City, should give a quick indication about whether things are headed along the right track.
"We're anxious to see what (the judges) are going to do with all the new rule changes," said Brunet, 27, of Gatineau. "This is the first competition of the Grand Prix (formerly Champions Series), and it's the one that's going to show whether the attitude has really changed toward ice dance. We're hoping it does."
Lefebvre and Brunet's Canadian compatriots, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, were at the centre of an ice dance judging controversy that erupted at both the Nagano Winter Olympics and the April world championships in Minneapolis. Bourne and Kraatz were kept off the medal podium in Japan, and had to settle for their third world bronze medal in Minneapolis.
There were accusations of bloc judging in both cases, which led the International Skating Union to revamp its judging criteria for ice dance during its spring congress. Judges now have a more standardized list of elements to mark, and mandatory deductions for things such as falls or missed elements. The changes supposedly will help eliminate charges that ice dance is riddled with back-room dealings that override what transpires on the ice.
"If they follow that, we will see changes," said Brunet, who believes the ISU is dead serious about seeing the new rules through. "But if they don't, we're going to be stuck in the same situation. Why put in new rules if you're not going to use them?"
Lefebvre, 21, of LaSalle, Que., and Brunet, who train at the Minto Skating Club, placed 20th at both the Olympics and worlds last season. The three-time Canadian silver medallists are hoping a strong finish this weekend and at the Cup of Russia in late-November in Moscow will help propel them to a step up the ladder at the 1999 worlds in Helsinki, Finland.
The field in Detroit includes Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat of France -- who won Olympic bronze and world silver medals to push Bourne and Kraatz back one spot at each event -- and two other teams ranked in the world's top 10.
"We're going to Skate America saying we want to be fourth there ... we'll be unhappy if we come home sixth or seventh (in a field of nine)," said Brunet.
"If we skate well, our talent should bring us what we deserve. All we're saying is, give us credit if we skate well."
The ice dance competition begins today with the compulsory dance.
Also competing in Detroit are Elvis Stojko and Jean-Francois Hebert in the men's event, Jennifer Robinson in ladies and Kristy Sargeant and Kris Wirtz in the pairs.