OAKVILLE, Ont. This weekend Jun-Hwan Cha, he a dreamy child not so long ago, grew into something else. A dreamy-eyed young man with a presence. The 16-year-old South Korean skater has been around, for sure, the dark locks of his bob flying out in all directions on a spin. At first sight of a […]
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Hanyu: Not Perfect. But Calm.
OAKVILLE, Ont. There’s so much to drink in when you watch two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu steam about the ice on well-oiled springs. Perhaps that’s what inspires so many fans to make the long trip from Japan and snap up tickets. Some camped out all night outside the front doors of the Sixteen Mile Sports […]
James and Cipres: Dancing to Cizeron’s Tune
So they’re back. It would be understandable to think Vanessa James and Morgan Cipres of France would want to hang up the skate laces after finally winning their first world medal – a bronze – last season. After all, James is 31 years old, Cipres 27. Pair skating doesn’t get any easier when you get […]
Weaver and Poje: Dancing With their Hearts
For now, we will only get Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje for a whisp of a moment in the competitive world when they set foot at Autumn Classic in Oakville, Ont.. this week. And remember how they always had the power to make you weep with their emotional performances? No different this season. In […]
Moore-Towers, Marinaro: Taking the Next Big Step
Yes, this is the start of the next quadrennial. And it has turned Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro into the senior members of the national pair team heading out to Grand Prix events this season. They had a quick lesson in leading the pair show at the world championships last March in Milan when […]
Walsh and Michaud: Stepping it Up
The next quadrennial of figure skating begins with a young pair team pushing limits. Yes, a raft of top Canadian pair teams has left the scene, but Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud will be carried forward by what the others have left behind. It’s all very highly motivating. Walsh and Michaud will compete at their […]
Keegan Messing: What Now?
Finally, the world knows who Keegan Messing is, now that he’s turned 26. He’s a light-footed dazzler, with a penchant for rotating jumps at the speed of a tornado, and he has a collection of heart-thumping spins, to boot. If he slips and falls on anything, he has a way of skating back into an […]
Nam Nguyen: In The Driver’s Seat
Amble into the Scotiabank Pond arena complex for a mid-August Skate Ontario summer competition, and a voice from a corner rings out greetings. It’s Nam Nguyen, and he’s helping to set up the displays for the Figure Skating Boutique booth. Really? Yes, really. The 20-year-old former Canadian champion (2015) has got a job, working […]
Takahashi, Part Two: Choreography
At first, you could hear only this: pucks banging against the walls. It was Canada, after all, where hockey reigns supreme. But in a corner rink of a Toronto suburban arena complex on a hot, bright summer day, there was world champion Daisuke Takahashi, quietly walking in, skates in hand, clad in a track […]
Daisuke Takahashi: Heartfelt Comeback
Daisuke Takahashi will be the spice that warms your cocoa this season. The mulled wine. The Kobe beef. The autumn leaves kicked up into a new eddy in the sun. The jack of hearts. At 32, he has done the unexpected after a four-year absence, hobbled by a knee injury and an onslaught of competition […]