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Mel's Editorial#22: February 10, 2006Canadians: Surprises from the Up-and-Comers "That's called a QUAD, folks!" I'll never forget how Jessica Miller's grandfather sounded when he turned around and declared his excitement about the throw quadruple salchow that Jessica & her partner, Ian Moram had just completed. They weren't favourites in the 2006 Canadian National Championships, in fact, far from it. But that didn't stop them from trying something that has been deemed nearly impossible by most teams. It was "only" a practice session, but given how rare it is for a team to even attempt a quad, it was still very impressive to see them execute it so well, even on practice ice. Though Jessica and Ian did not land the throw quad salchow in their long program, the attempt still gave them 6.00 points, even more than the beautiful throw triple loop that they completed later in the program, which scored at 5.64. It was a shame that there were only about twelve people in the stands to see the successful throw. It was at the practice arena, in the evening, and five of the spectators were comprised of Jessica's grandparents, two of my friends, and me. No one from the media was present to report on it, no one was around to catch it on video. I did see it, though, and I can still picture it perfectly in my mind, a memory I'll always have. So much of Miller & Moram's skating is beautiful, and I feel that they are consistently slipping under the radar. Though their free had its faults, I felt that seventh place was too harsh, and I would have probably had them in fifth. But placements aside, they definitely made an impact on me and they were one of the highlights of the pairs event. Easily the greatest story of the up-and-comers, it was Jessica Dubé & Bryce Davison that enchanted us with their classical approach to a free skate that was nearly flawless. Though it was the first time that they'd skated in both programs at the Nationals (they withdrew after the short in 2005), they handled the pressure beautifully, coming back with a vengeance after they had to abort a lift early in the program. Scoring only four one-hundredths of a point below the champions, Dubé & Davison's free definitely left more of a mark than that of Marcoux & Buntin. It was Dubé & Davison's beautiful free, set to the music of Ravel's seventh piano concerto, that clinched their berth on the Olympic team. No other team came close, and less than three years after their partnership began, Jessica and Bryce found themselves on the Olympic team. The best part was that they deserved it, completely. The Canadian Olympic Commitee made no secret of the fact that it wanted to see young faces on this year's team, priming talent for Vancouver 2010. Yet no one dared insinuate that Jessica and Bryce were gifted with a spot to comply with the COC's wishes. After fighting back from injury and both competing in the singles event as well, Jess and Bryce had earned their ticket to Torino. It's like something out of a fairy tale, and it's just another story from an Olympic year's Nationals. There were other stories, too. Valérie Marcoux and Craig Buntin proved once again why they're Canada's champions and won their third straight title, despite a free skate that was marred by a few errors. However, a spectacular short program and high quality non-jump elements in their free gave them the advantage over the young team of Dubé & Davison. Liz Putnam & Sean Wirtz gave one of the most entertaining performances during the short program, but mistakes on both jump elements cost them and they found themselves in seventh place going into the free. I think that only made them fight harder, though, and they did fight back heartily, giving a very good third-place performance in the free that moved them up to fifth place and a spot on the national team. But it was the pairs with names that might have been less familiar to the casual skating fan that were the true stories of these nationals. For Jessica Miller & Ian Moram, the sky is the limit, and they proved that with their daring quad attempt that came so close. And for Jessica Dubé & Bryce Davison, a little bit of faith paid off in a big way. It's refreshing to see that sometimes, the ones who work the hardest really do get the biggest reward. Valérie & Craig and Jessica & Bryce will skate tomorrow in the short program at the Olympic Games. Best of luck to both pairs! Archives -- Contact -- Features -- Guestbook -- Links -- Webmistress (c)2004-6 Melanie L. Hoyt All rights reserved. |