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Nationals a stepping stone to world stage
Medal winners at the national championships, which begin today and run through Sunday, will be selected by the Canadian Figure Skating Association for future international meets.
"These kids are the best we have right now and they should all be proud they've made it here," said Doug Leigh, Stojko's coach and head man at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont., as he sat in the Civic Centre watching junior men's practices Tuesday. "They've all had to earn their way here.
"Nobody lucks out and just arrives at the nationals. They have to go through lots of qualifying events, and they've got something to take home with them when they're finished -- either being on the podium or just the experience of participating in this whole process."
Meeran Tremblay, 11, of Candiac, Que., Alyssa Wise, 12, of Ayr, Ont., and Melissa Mazzon, 12, of Vineland, Ont., are among the youngest competitors. They've brought their skates and their homework.
These are Leigh's 23rd nationals, and there have been many changes along the way.
"Skating has become more innovative and more challenging year after year," he said. "Everybody just keeps pushing."
Mariposa has 28 entries in novice, junior and senior events this time. Leigh's skaters have won somewhere between 30 and 40 national titles.
"I haven't added them all up lately, but that includes 12 senior men's titles," Leigh said.
Stojko, 26, the three-time world champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist from Richmond Hill, Ont., is seeking a fifth senior national title as he warms up for the worlds in Helsinki in late March.
"Coming off a severe groin injury certainly handicapped us in the early part of the season," Leigh said. "He's been able to get himself in game shape by competing at Skate America (where he was fourth) and Skate Canada (where he was second) and by touring.
"He's rebounded terrificly. It's been a well-calculated, smart-training season."
Conceding Stojko one of the two men's singles berths available for Helsinki, the battle for the No. 2 spot will be intense. At last winter's nationals, Emanuel Sandhu, 18, of Richmond Hill was second, Jeff Langdon, 23, of Barrie was third, Jean-Francois Hebert, 26, of Warwick, Que., was fourth, and Jayson Denommee, 21, of Asbestos, Que., was fifth.
Denommee might be considered an outsider in the chase, but he is capable of upsetting higher-ranked skaters.
"There's always a dark horse," Leigh said.
The senior women's event will be as unpredictable as ever. There have been five different winners in the last five years, and seven women have claimed the crown in the last 10 years.
Defending champion Angela Derochie, 25, of Carlsbad Springs, Ont., and 1996 winner Jennifer Robinson, 22, of Windsor, Ont., who was third last year, are the favourites.
Keyla Ohs, 20, of North Vancouver was second last year, but mononucleosis has forced her to withdraw.
Tara Ferguson, 20, of Thornhill, Ont., and Brandi-Lee Rousseau, 21, of Wawa, Ont., are longshot possibilities for the one women's singles opening for Helsinki.
The top two pairs and the top two dance teams will go to Helsinki.
Kristy Sargeant, 25, of Alix, Alta., and Kris Wirtz, 29, of Marathon, Ont., are looking for a second straight pairs title.
The most serious challenge is likely to come from Jamie Dale, 21, of Red Deer, Alta., and David Pelletier, 24, of Sayabec, Que., who have impressed in their first season together.
Marie-Claude Savard-Gagnon, 24, and Luc Bradet, 29, the Baie-St-Paul, Que., skaters who won gold at the 1997 nationals, have withdrawn. Bradet has a back injury.
Jodeyne Higgins, 24, of Stratford, Ont., and Sean Rice, 26, of Oakville, Ont., should not be discounted. These are their eighth nationals, and Higgins and Rice are capable of much more than the seventh place they slumped to last winter. Six years ago, they were on the podium with bronze medals.
In ice dance, Shae-Lynn Bourne, 23, of Chatham, Ont., and Victor Kraatz, 27 of Qualicum Beach, B.C., will fail to win a seventh consecutive senior title only if they take a wrong turn driving north from their training base in Lake Placid, N.Y.
The second worlds spot will go to either 1998 runners-up Chantal Lefebvre, 21, of LaSalle, Que., and Michel Brunet of Gatineau, Que., or Megan Wing, 23, and Aaron Lowe, 24, of Vancouver, who were third last winter.