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evgeniamedvedeva4u · 7 years ago

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Brian Orser: everything will be similar for Medvedeva, it is just myself who will be standing near the board from now

May 10th, 2018 - Elena Vaytsekhovskaya

The new coach of a 2-time World Champion Evgenia Medvedeva Brian Orser, who has won the Olympic Silver two times as she has, gave in interview to a special correspondent of RIA Novosti Elena Vaytsekhovskaya, where he told her why he did not hesitate to accept the Russian athlete to his group, where he compared Medvedeva and Yuna Kim and confessed that he was happy that Evgenia’s mom would be coming to Canada with her.

It was relatively fast to arrange an interview. The only thing that the coach asked when responding to my text message was to call him at a very specific time early in the morning so that we had enough time for the conversation. That’s exactly what I did.

- I assume that a call from Russia is now the first one that you are receiving

Orser: It is the second one. I have just spoken with Tatiana Tarasova and I have got a sense that she is internally supporting Medvedeva’s decision even if she has not said that directly. I really hope that it is true though. I would like to have an opportunity to ask Tarasova for a piece of advice sometimes. She is an absolutely incredible and a very wise specialist.

- I was reading about how extremely surprised you were from Medvedeva’s request to accept her into your group. How long did it take you to say “yes”?

Orser: At the beginning of April, when I received a text message from Zhenya with her request to arrange a meeting in Korea, where she was performing in the show, I responded that there was such an opportunity but I needed some time in order to give her the final answer. That time was needed so that I could speak to Tracy Wilson as we work together in the same team, and then with the rest of the team members including the choreographer David Wilson. We needed to understand how realistic it was for us to incorporate her into the team. We needed to look at the holistic picture and to figure out who was staying, who was leaving, how busy each specialist was, whether I would be able to allocate your athlete a sufficient amount of time that she needed, etc. When we realized that the problem was feasible, we made a decision.

- Can you explain in details how the work in your club is organized? Let’s say, how many hours are allocated for a top figure skater to train on the ice, how long does each day of training last?

Orser: Our club is unique in a certain way - in the fact that each skater adheres to an individual training program designed specifically for him/her. In general, it involves approximately three hours purely on the ice, plus the rest of the work. Of course, it will take us a certain amount of time to figure out how to train Medvedeva and what aspects we should be mainly focusing on. Those probably will not be the jumps but some other things like the gliding work, which always takes much more time to work on relative to the jumping technique. More specifically, we need to wait until Zhenya comes to Canada, comes to the rink, and I see her on the ice. In the next stage, the most important thing is to prepare her body. That involves a lot of specific versatile work off the ice, which will be done in order to remedy the consequences of those injuries that she has right now as well as her back problems. An athlete has to be really strong in order to move forward.

- Have you had to deal with the consequences of exercise fractures?

Orser: Of course, but I wouldn't say that such fractures are a common thing. When Yuna Kim first came to my group, she had lots of different kinds of injuries. Mostly, they were related to joints and intervertebral discs. The problems with ankles and the top portion of feet were less severe. For a prolonged period of time, we were dealing with those problems exclusively. Yuna was attending treatment sessions, a specific individual exercise complex was built for her, which helped her to recover so well that she was not feeling any pain while skating. Over the last two years of her career she did not have any serious injuries at all, but if you recall the first two years, Yuna was a walking injury - this is the extent to which Yuna was bothered by pain in the back, legs and hip joints. Therefore, I will not be surprised or scared of anything nowadays. It is just the fact that for a certain period of time we all will have to be very patient. Thankfully, we have enough specialists at our disposal that are able to help skaters to overcome problems of any kind of difficulty.

- Medvedeva has won World Championships two years in a row. What do you think can make her stronger and give her an ability to make one more step forward?

Orser: Foremost, it is her body. The body is the primary tool for any athlete. It needs to be strong and fit. Do you know what is important? The fact that Zhenya is a very young athlete, she is only 18 years old. This is the age when an athlete must have a right to his own opinion, when he/she needs to understand that he/she is a full member of the team, to the same extent as any of the coaches working with him/her. I am well aware of Medvedeva’s goal - it is to win the next Olympic Games. There will be three World Championships on our way to those Games. I don’t have a crystal ball so I don’t know whether she is going to win them. The only thing I know is that Medvedeva is at the crossroads right now and our team will make everything possible in order to help her to successfully overcome this period.

She has been taught a lot of things wonderfully, especially considering her jumps. She has a good head, and in a sense, you can say that she is thick-skinned psychologically. Plus Zhenya knows how to compete and loves it. Such competitor is not a present for anyone. In this regard, Medvedeva reminds me of Yuna Kim a lot.

At the same time, I see a lot of room for improving some aspects of Zhenya’s skating and making them stronger. Yes, it requires time, strength, and intelligence, but I am happy that Zhenya is internally ready herself for this journey. She has a desire and, as you understand, it is the most important thing for an athlete.

- Tatiana Tarasova, who you have mentioned earlier, during the years of her active work once said that she never took an athlete without understanding the reason why he/she left the previous coach. Have you asked Medvedeva questions regarding this topic?

Orser: No. Zhenya was talking about her previous coaching team with a great respect and she made it clear right away that she was not going to assess her previous work in a negative way. I feel it is a logical decision. If a skater has been winning consecutively for two years, his preparation, globally speaking, must have been proper, correct? I don’t think I will be mistaken by saying that every single coach in the world wants to understand how Eteri Tutberidze keeps producing new female athletes of such a high level. How does she manage to do that? What is that special thing that she is doing at her training sessions?

- Nevertheless, you did not sound very optimistic in your statement about the current World Junior Champion Alexandra Trusova by calling her (and that is with two quadruple jumps!) a short-term project.

Orser: Not quite. That conversation was about the potential increase of the age limit in ladies’ skating. I was saying that girls and adult ladies like Carolina Kostner and Yuna Kim are two absolutely different categories of female skaters. I don’t have anything against 13-year-old skaters who are doing quads. Remember how at Worlds in Milan you asked me whether I would like the International Skating Union (ISU) to raise the age limit and I responded “No”? I can repeat the same thing. In my group, I have a 13-year old boy who is jumping quadruple jumps, all of them. The longevity in sports is always a highly individualistic question for every athlete. Some athletes mature and develop later than the others, and some - earlier. Personally, I prefer an adult skating but I am not saying that quadruple jumps at the age of 13 or 14, no matter whether we are talking about boys or girls, are a bad thing. Another question is that we, as coaches, must be careful with the body of an athlete when he/she is growing up and his/her joints are still developing.

- The question has another point: do you consider quadruple jumps to be a possibility in adult ladies’ skating? Does it make any sense to strive for them?

Orser: I don’t have an answer to this question. And as I have said, I don’t have a crystal ball. And it is probably for the best. So we will have to wait and see how ladies’ figure skating will be further developing and whether it will copy the trends that we are observing in men’s skating today. The only thing I can say with confidence is that the female body is significantly different from the male one. That's why the increase in difficulty is happening at a much slower pace. Whether we are aiming for it - I also cannot answer this unequivocally. I see my coaching goal, first of all, in the development of ladies’ skating. In this regard, I believe that Kaetlyn Osmond, Gabby Daleman, Carolina Kostner, Yuna Kim represent the best examples of that. These are the names that make history.

- Does Medvedeva’s transition to you mean that all her programs will be choreographed by David Wilson from now on?

Orser: In Toronto, we are unspeakably fortunate to have several quite outstanding directors in range who all work in different styles. I am sure that there other professionals of this level and class in Japan, in Europe, and in Russia, where it is not always easy to come from Canada. But we don’t need that: we have Wilson, we have Shae-Lynn Bourne, we have Lori Nichol, we have Jeffrey Buttle. Yuzuru (Hanyu) mostly works with Shae-Lynn and Jeffrey, Javi (Javier Fernández) - with David only, exactly as Yuna Kim did before. At this stage, I would like to try using similar choreographic practices with Medvedeva that were successfully tried out on Kim.

- How does that look like - do you usually provide certain recommendations to an athlete or do you wait for a skater to decide which choreographer he/she wants to be working with?

Orser: It depends on the situation for each individual case. When we were only starting our work with Hanyu, David was the one responsible for all his staging. It took Yuzuru some time to realize that he wanted to try something new in terms of choreography. That is how Shae-Lynn came about and it worked - there was an instant creativity chemistry between them. And Javi has an excellent chemistry with David Wilson - they have always been able to discover some truly amazing things together. At the same time, I always take part in the process: I help them out with the music choice, costume design, I work with the choreographers taking care of steps and transitions and explaining the specifics of jump entries. You can’t build a program without understanding what kind of entry allows you to better incorporate an axel or a lutz into the program.

- I would like to apologize whether the question sounds indecorous but could you explain how the financial side of partnership works - does a skater pay for the entire range of services, or for the work of each specialist individually?

Orser: At our club, it is customary to charge per hour of work. This is not a Canadian but rather a North American style adopted in the USA. I have my own rate, Tracy has her own, similarly to David Wilson. Conditionally speaking, everyone is well aware of how much short and free program staging costs. Likewise, Lori (Nichol) and Jeffrey (Buttle) have their own rates. At the same time, the use of ice is unlimited in our club - if needed, a skater can use it for eight hours per day. It is important because a lot of kids attend school and need to vary their training time - some of them prefer to skate early in the morning, some - in the afternoon, some - in the evening.

- Who designs costumes for your athletes’ programmes?

Orser: It is a great question. I don’t know. I know that David knows people so when he stages programmes, he can explain to a master by himself how he portrays a character. Some skaters have contracts with their own designers, and not necessarily with the Canadian ones. The main aspect is that it should be convenient for everyone, and especially for an athlete.

- Have you thought about with competitions you would like to see Medvedeva on?

Orser: I wouldn't say that my ideas are substantially different from the generally accepted ones. Firstly, we have to see how out summer goes and based on that we will be making our decisions. I would like to see Zhenya performing on one of the series B tournaments in early fall - it might be Autumn Classic, Finlandia Open, or something else. After that, we are planning two Grand Prix series and, of course, the Russian Championships. In other words, everything that Medvedeva used to compete at in previous years. The only difference will be me standing near the board.

- Are you planning on travelling to Russia with Medvedeva?

Orser: Of course. I understand that we are not living in the ideal world, I have other skaters and their competitions might overlap. In that case, me, Tracy, and David will have to plan our travelling. But ideally, of course, I would like to personally be taking Medvedeva out on the ice.

- I forgot to ask - is Zhenya’s mom planning on coming to Canada?

Orser: I am counting on that, honestly speaking. It is quite important for me. As far as I could understand, Zhenya is very close to her mom, I don’t think anyone knows her better than Zhanna. As we say, she is a mother number one. It is a great assistance for a coach. I think we can do it.

Source: https://rsport.ria.ru/interview/20180510/1136673188.html

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fivecentimeterspersecond · 7 years ago

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under the cut: a feelings-dump over figure skating at the 2018 olympics, a week later!

these olympics have been such an emotional roller coaster honestly if not for my heart rate tracker i would not have known just how deeply i was invested into this entire event. i have anticipated this all year and yet i still have no idea how i made it through (shout out to my friends who watched with me as my emotional support either in person or via video chat). although not every event went exactly as i wanted, overall compared to the mess that was the sochi olympics, i’m pretty satisfied. but while the events are still relatively fresh in my head, i just wanted to get down a bunch of my final thoughts on each of the events.

pairs:

my beloved sui/han - what more can i say except for the fact that i absolutely ADORE them and i think these olympics have officially boosted them into favorite pairs team of all time (even above shen/zhao). i was (and still am a bit) absolutely devastated that they lost out on the gold medal by less than half a point, i have a lot of respect for the team they lost to (i think i was more sad about how devastated they looked afterward). i still think they were lowballed in PCS in the SP (it really should’ve been a WR), which is honestly my favorite pairs short of the season. but i think if there’s anything that runs true about chinese pairs it’s their longevity and dedication to hard work. if they could come back after such severe injuries to accomplish what they did (becoming world champs in 2017, olympic silver, not finishing below 2nd in any event since their comeback), they will be a force to be reckoned with for the next quadrennial. mark my words, i will be there in 2022 to cheer for them even if i have to swim to beijing.

savchenko/massot - all i can say is that while she was never my favorite coming into any olympics that i’ve followed (2010, 2014, 2018) i so respect her perseverance and she is 100% deserving of the gold medal. this season’s FS is my favorite free skate she’s ever done; it’s a masterpiece. if i had a criticism: i only wish that she was still with her old partner (robin szolkowy) because she and bruno still never look like a cohesive unit when they skate together, and i honestly feel like the judges give PCS based on aljona not bruno.

duhamel/radford - as much as i really dislike meagan’s air positions in her throws and jumps (they make me cringe EVERY TIME) i was really happy for them when they won the bronze. they were so elated and meagan’s sportsmanship is really admirable. i’m so glad they went back to hometown glory instead of their muse FS from earlier in the season, and they also prevented a russian team from making it to the podium so that’s always a +1 in my book.

tarasova/morozov - honestly with that candyman program they were absolutely doomed to fail. i don’t know how and why it happened, but while i still think they were massively overscored in PCS in the short program, their classic russian style still suits them much better. i still remain curious of what a clean FS would have been scored as, had they delivered it here.

men:

YUZURU HANYU - has there ever been a more captivating skater in this generation? he is truly an angel sent from heaven to grace us with his existence. i have been dreading/anticipating the olympics for the past year because of this man and the STRESS he constantly puts me under. despite a nearly career-ending injury, he still managed to put together two solid programs (did he deserve the WR in the short? fuck yeah) and in the process nearly stopped my heart from beating (seriously, my heart rate went up to 188 bpm during his short program). i am just so thrilled that his most iconic programs got their deserved olympic moments. yuzu is the epitome of what it means to be an athlete and an artist - he stops at nothing to reach his goals and yet wears his heart on his sleeve at every moment. his future is uncertain for now (i’m begging you please withdraw from worlds) but as of now i would be more than happy to just watch him do crossovers for the rest of eternity.

shoma uno - i am SO excited for what’s to come with shoma. what he lacks in height he really makes up with his presence on the ice and his skating! once yuzuru retires (cries) he will surely leave the future of japan’s men’s skaters in good hands. i absolutely love his short program this season, but i just really hope he stops making my heart clench when he jumps. thank your knees after every competition, shoma. he’s definitely the most well-rounded member of the sQuad skating-wise and will be a force to be reckoned with in 2022.

javier fernandez - my sentimental fave. in the beginning of the season i was really not feeling the charlie chaplin SP but as the season progressed i felt myself falling for the charm of that program. it’s just so fun and javi has so much personality. i don’t think anyone skates character programs as well as him, and i am so sad that he is retiring but at the same time i understand his sentiments. absolutely thrilled that he got the first figure skating medal for spain!

nathan chen - i truly believed that this olympics was just one cycle to early for nathan. i know a LOT of people said that this was the perfect time for him since his body is in peak form for doing the quads, but i really didn’t think he had the maturity to both handle the pressure of being a top figure skater nor the artistry or skating skills to match the top men yet. but he’s just 18 and it’s only his 2nd year as a senior. although i am really sad that his SP never got an olympic moment (it’s a fantastic vehicle for him when he’s clean, kudos to shae-lynn) i am thrilled that he got his redemptive FS (what a moment!), but i hope that he learns that changing jump layout from competition to competition is probably not the best strategy going into the olympics (or worlds). in four years i’m sure he’ll be the full package - with the artistry and technical capabilities.

patrick chan - i’ve got complicated feelings about patrick, only because while i felt sorry for him in sochi and i appreciate his beautiful skating skills (seriously, he glides across the ice like a feather) he has a habit of putting his foot into his mouth during a lot of his interviews and they’ve unfortunately soured my impression of him as a skater. i never really bought that his comeback was about skating for himself, i always just thought it was because he still thought he could compete with everyone and win. whether or not that’s true doesn’t really matter in the long run, but i’m happy that he was able to land a 3A in his final performance and got that gold medal he desperately wanted.

boyang jin - i love how emotional he got when he finished his free! while his FS is still a little gimmicky to me, his SP truly shows off how far he’s come in the past 2 seasons wrt his skating. for all that the media likes to bash his lack of transitions, he’s not the only one who lacks them and it makes me so sad that he’s the only one that gets criticized for it. he def still has a lot of work to do but i think that he can definitely make the podium in beijing if he continues to improve. he still has the most hilarious mid-jump faces.

vincent zhou - i was not prepared to cry at his reaction at the end of his free skate! to be honest, i don’t really feel much when he skates to moulin rouge (mostly because i’m so used to tessa and scott’s version, but also because of the lack of transitions) but you could tell after he finished his last jump that he was skating with so much freedom and really enjoying his olympic moment. especially after all the pressure he must have felt after making it on the team over ross miner, he probably wanted to prove that he deserved to be in pyeongchang and he definitely did, landing in 6th place. he really needs to work on the spins and the footwork (and learn to use his arms more effectively) but he’s just 17 and he’s never been to senior worlds yet. give him time. (and please stop hiring new coaches)

ice dance

virtue/moir - i was really worried that they weren’t going to be able to pull it out because of the judging situation but at the end of the day the stars just aligned in all the right ways for them to win. it’s amazing to me that after 2 years of not competing they’re in the best form they’ve ever been (their 13-14 season was pretty awful competitively). but if anything, v/m have always been able to deliver when they need to. truly one of the best and i will miss seeing them compete, assuming that they’re retiring.

papadakis/cizeron - my heart broke for gabby in the SD when i saw her wardrobe malfunction. that being said, i think they were massively overscored in the SD, which is just bad judging. i think that this silver was honestly the best thing that could’ve happened to them, because if they had won over tessa and scott they probably would have to face judging controversies and shit like that. their FD is such a thing of beauty but you could tell that the audience didn’t quite get it, unfortunately. but they’ll be there in 2022 - that OGM is just waiting for them

shibutanis - ARGUABLY THE RESULT I WAS MOST EXCITED FOR IN ICE DANCE. i’m still mad as hell about that lvl2 rhumba but it’s fine because i was so excited for them that they skated 4 clean programs at the olympics since their last two competitions had been a bit of a struggle for them. i was worried that the past mistakes would prevent them from skating free but they really let it go in that final minute of their individual FD. i’m not even a huge fan of their FD but they skated their asses off to it and you could tell that they were super invested in it and they ultimately convinced me in the end. the fact that they got on the podium despite constantly being lowballed for being a sibling duo speaks volumes about what they’ve accomplished here. so so proud of them.

chock/bates - i’m gonna be honest, i was really never into any of chock/bates programs in the past 4 years. but my heart really went out them when they fell and you never wish for that kind of mistake on anyone. not much else to say.

weaver/poje - i fucking love je suis malade and i am so excited they brought it back for the olympics. kaitlyn looked stunning in her SD dress and i’m so sad that they never made it back up in the world rankings in this quad but they really skated their heart out in both programs (even though i held my breath during those twizzles)

bobrova/soloviev - honestly i’m glad that they’re not skating together anymore (i think) bc i have really nothing good to say about them lmao

ladies

alina zagitova - while the judging of this event was completely wild, i want to protect her so much bc with all the new young talent that’s coming up she’s probably going to get passed over soon like all of the russian girls that never make it past puberty. she’s such an angel and while i hate her backloaded programs and i hate that she’s crazily awarded PCS there’s absolutely no denying her technical mastery. don’t think she deserved the gold but PCS was judged wildly this entire event so i absolutely don’t blame alina at all. and the mental fortitude it takes to tack on a 3Lo to her 2nd 3Lz after the first combo attempt was landed poorly is so fucking impressive.

evgenia medvedeva - my heart absolutely broke for her because this was supposed to be the crowning moment of her amazing 2 last two seasons but it just didn’t happen. the grace she showed after she saw her score and realized she was silver was just awe-inspiring and it makes her even more admirable.

kaetlyn osmond - i personally did not like her fp this season at all but kaetlyn REALLY held it together during the free skate where she usually messes up and for that she has my kudos. her jumping is super impressive but definitely makes me hold my breath because she REALLY LAUNCHES herself into her jumps but they could go either way. luckily for her they went pretty well and the judges were ready to reward her if she skated clean.

satoko miyahara - THE BRONZE MEDALIST OF MY HEART. she is the ONLY skater whose sp and fs i really loved and the fact that she was SO undermarked in PCS is just criminal! the nuances of her arm movements! the depth of her edges and the intricacies in her choreography were so underappreciated and it drives me absolutely wild, and it’s definitely bc her jumps are so small. the fact that she spins in both directions is so impressive and she switches so seamlessly that you can’t even tell she when she does it. i was SO proud that she got full credit on all of her jumps in her FS and she was so close to the podium. i hope she sticks with lori bc she had some real masterpiece programs this season.

kaori sakamoto - she has so much potential and i’m so excited to see how she matures as a skater! her jumps are so powerful and she has a lot of musicality but i just feel like her programs here weren’t a good match for her. i hated the moonlight sonata edit (why do ppl change the key in classical pieces!! drives me insane, as someone with perfect pitch) and the miming choreo in the amelie program was giving me bad eteri-skater flashbacks.

mirai nagasu - i was so proud of her amazing skate in the team event but i definitely feel like she lost steam in the individual event :( yeah some of her comments after her bad performance were a little messy but i mean c’mon everyone makes excuses after bad performances. men say shitty things all the time after they do poorly idk why it’s so important to keep going after mirai

karen chen - SUCH GORGEOUS SPIN POSITIONS but gaaaaahhhh the jumping consistency!!! they’re so powerful and impressive when she hits them but they take the wind out of her when they go wrong. i know she was having boot problems before the free skate but this is not the first time this has happened to her and i really think that should’ve been addressed. nathan had boot problems at worlds last year and he brought like 3 pairs to PC. karen has a lot of musicality but when she botches the jumps i feel like it just takes the wind out of her and she loses that spark in her performance.

bradie tennell - i honestly don’t know what to say about her. she did pretty solid in the team event and placed just about where everyone expected her to even with a clean skate. she just skates with a very juniorish vibe and i admit that she did shock me when she fell but this is only the 2nd major international competition i’ve ever seen her at so i’m like...should i be this surprised??? the SP drives me nuts bc she clearly has never seen the movie where the soundtrack is from and the FS drives me nuts bc i feel like i’m watching disney on ice. i will be curious to see how she fares internationally from here on out, bc i will admit that her technique is really pristine, but i think she needs like a dance coach or a choreographer like lori or shae-lynn to help her mature artistically.

#figure skating #kat watches fs #olympics 2018

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saucylittlesmile · 7 years ago

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In the course of looking up something else, I came across an old copy of an interview with VM that I had saved but is no longer available. It looks like it was done before the Vancouver Olympics, and published afterwards. It was for Trulife magazine, and is a rather odd mix of questions, LOL. Please excuse any typos.

What age did you start skating?

T - I began skating at the age of 6.

S - I started skating at age 3, originally for hockey. I didn't get put into figure skates until age 6.

Who was your role model or personal hero growing up?

T - My mom has always been my role model. To me, she is the epitome of strength, intelligence, poise, competence, dedication and elegance - and she is very funny! What is impressive is that she worked full-time and yet never missed a ballet recital, gymnastics meet, skating competition or any hockey, basketball, soccer or baseball game of any of her four children. She also somehow managed to return to school and graduate with an MBA when I was young. She is a true hero and an inspiration to me.

S - My role model was my older brother Danny. He was also an ice dancer and I wanted to do everything he did. He took me under his wing and taught me everything he could and tried to keep me on the straight and narrow path.

What do you feel are your personal strengths?

T - Describing personal strengths is always tough - I am a perfectionist so I tend to be quite critical of myself! However, I will say that I am a very diligent person who is willing to work hard to pursue my goals. I am extremely competitive, which is definitely an asset when it comes to my career as an athlete!

S - Well I hope we have a lot of strengths. I think our ability to work together so well on the ice and really love skating together sets us apart from the competition. We are lucky to be people who love what we do and love working together.

Tessa, in the summer and fall of 2008, you suffered from chronic exertional compartment syndrome (CECS) on both shins and underwent surgery in October, which kept you off the ice until the beginning of December 2008. How was it trying to recover from this both mentally and physically?

T- Dealing with the injury was extremely discouraging, especially knowing that Scott was healthy and able to train - I felt like I was letting him down big time. Physically, recovering from the surgery was an all-consuming, every-day battle for several months. I needed to teach my body how to walk again for starters, and then eventually, get in shape to take the ice. It was so frustrating mentally telling my body to do something that had previously been so easy to accomplish and not have my body respond! I was used to movement coming naturally to me, so it was a real shock to the system when I was so debilitated! It was certainly a challenge and, in hindsight, I am grateful for the learning experiences being sidelined provided. I learned a lot about myself and most importantly, I remembered how much and why I love doing what I do. It made my passion for skating even greater.

Being form the local area, how does it feel to be a local hero watched all over the world?

S - I have travelled all over the world with sating but I always feel best when I am at home in Ilderton. I fell very fortunate to have grown up in this area. I love the community and Tessa and I definitely feel the support from everyone. In a small town everyone knows everyone so I don't think I am much of a hero. Hopefully I have inspired kids to enjoy skating and sports, that makes me happy.

How does it feel to have the chance to represent Canada in the 2010 Olympics?

T - Representing Canada t international events is the beest feeling - when our names are announced with our country as we take the ice, there si such a sense of pride and honour. Having the opportunity to compete at a home Olympic Games is really the ultimate dream for an athlete. The support we received from Canadian audiences is unparalleled, so to know that everyone will be cheering for us is a very comforting and inspiring feeling.

S - I am very excited! It will be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. It has always been a dream for me to represent Canada at an Olympic games but for it to happen in Canada is just perfect. I thank God every day for the opportunity to live out my dream.

What advice can you give to the youth of today, who want to be in your skates?

T - I would tell any young person to find his or her passion and pursue it! If the passion comes from within then you can find joy and fulfillment in what you do! Or, I would tell any young person that it is imperative to maintain a balance in life and not to invest exclusively in any one activity.

S - The advice that I would give to young skaters would be to dream big and follow your dreams. I think so many people are so scared of failure they limit themselves from becoming all they can.

What are your nutrition guidelines prior to big competitions?

T - I always try to maintain a balanced, healthy diet. I love fruits and vegetables so I tend to load up on those! Also, protein is very important so I lie to eat lots of eggs, meat and beans. That said, I am also a HUGE chocolate fan so I do treat myself quite often! WE work out so hard both on and off the ice, so I don't feel so guilty. It's all about balance!

S - Obviously nutrition is important to any athlete. I try to focus on eating proper proteins before and after training in order to help my body recover quickly and be at its best for training. I don't have any crazy nutrition guidelines to follow but I try to eat healthy and stay away from junk food.

What is the difference between ice dancing and figure skating?

T- Ice dancing is, simply put, a discipline of figure skating that doesn't include jumps!

S - Ice dancing is a category of figure skating.

How many years have you both been ice dancing partners? Do you feel this gives you an advantage competing against other dancers?

T - We have skated together for 13 years and have always shared common goals. The longevity of our partnership is a real advantage because even though were young, we've already had a lot of experience competing and training together. We have always been able to work together productively - but for me the fact that Scott and I are so comfortable with each other on the ice is key! We always know what to say to one another, no matter the circumstance!

S - Tessa and I have been skating together since 1997. Though we were very shy in the early years, I fell that being together for so long definitely has an advantage. We know what each other are thinking without saying any words.

How does it feel to be the first Canadian ice dancers to win the ISU World Junior Championships (in 2006)?

T - Canada has produced many great ice dance teams - I'm surprised we were the first t win this title! However, it is such an honour.

S - That was a huge goal for us to be Junior World Champions. We were very excited to have a place in the record books and hope to be among the other great names and role models who have come before us.

When you both competed in Kitchener this past November, you managed to come back with great scores despite a slight slip up. How does it feel to be such a strong team that even if you have a slip up you can still achieve great scores?

T - The original dance in Kitchener, though definitely NOT our best performance, afforded us a great opportunity to learn. Unless Scott and I experience something like what happened, we would never know how we would react. Mentally, it was good practice to learn how to compete as the favourites in front of an 'almost-hometown crowd'. We were able to re-group and re-focus for the free dance and come back strong with a solid skate! at the time, we were disappointed in ourselves (well, mostly me), but in retrospect it was the perfect place to sort through something like that. It's how to grow and get better!

S - I think that is the reason why we train. Things go wrong sometimes, so you have to be able to focus on the elements and not let the points suffer. We love to skate in Canada and it was disappointing to not skate our best in the original Dance. We were very happy to lay down a great skate in the Free [Dance]. It was an experience we learned from and will us later this year.

What do you both prefer, compulsory dance, original dance or free dance? And why?

T - I prefer free dances, as there are fewer restrictions in terms of expressing yourself and they allow for more experimentation. We have always loved trying new styles and coming up with new moves - free dances are the perfect place to really explore!

S - I prefer both the original dance and free dance. I like the way we have those two disciplines right now. Both give us the opportunity to be creative and show our strengths. I think the compulsories can be limiting and are out-dated.

What kinds of off-ice training do you do?

T - Depending on the theme of the program, we bring in various off-ice dance professionals to help with the flavor, authenticity and mood of the dance, be it ballroom, classical or modern. This is especially fun for me, as dance has always been my number one passion!

S - It depends on the year and the theme of the programs. There is an advantage to dancing off the ice. For us it isn't limited to just ballroom but we also do ballet, modern dance, flamenco and others. If we have a program like a waltz, we will bring in a ballroom professional to help us perfect and transfer the movements onto the ice.

Thank you's:

T - My skating career has undoubtedly required many sacrifices from my entire family. I would be nowhere if not for the unwavering support from my parents an siblings - this is as much their journey as it is mine! Something I've learned to rely heavily on is a strong support team. I am lucky to have positive people surrounding me. Mary Brannagan tops that list as my physiotherapist! As you can imagine, I've spent quite a lot of time with her over the past year. She is the reason I am able to train and compete at this level again! But more than just physically getting me in top shape to skate, she has become a confidant, friend and stand-in sport psychologist. I am so fortunate and eternally grateful. Coaches like Carol Moir, Paul MacIntosh and Suzanne Killing, who really gave us our start must be mentioned. Building a solid foundation of fundamental skills is essential 0 we are the skaters we are today because of their knowledge and expertise. The Ilderton Skating Club and Skate Canada have offered Scott and me tremendous support. I mentioned my 'support team' - it is made up of so many selfless, generous people who have never given up on helping me achieve my dreams. This list includes coaches, trainers, rink staff, pilates instructors, dedicated team leaders, mentors, advisors and most importantly, my close friends.

S - First and foremost, my support team that keeps the wheels going in my athletic career. My personal trainer Maria Mountain as well as Brian Gastaldi, Earl Wenk, Dr. Mike Ware, Igor Shpilband, Marina Zoueva Johnny Johns and John Vickers. Also my family who believe in my dreams and have supported me every single step of the way, as well as my friends who have kept me out of trouble and got be into a little.

#article #2010

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