Approximately 250 figure skaters from across the country will converge on Ottawa Jan. 10 to 15 for the Canadian Tire Skate Canada national championships. Twenty-nine of those skaters will be wearing the colors of the BC/Yukon section.
The championships, celebrating its 100th anniversary, will determine the 11-member team that will represent Canada at the upcoming Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. They will also determine the Canadian team that will represent the country at the ISU world championships, ISU four continents and world juniors.
Canada will have the largest skating team at Sochi, consisting of three men, three pairs and ice dancers, and two women. It is Canada’s largest Olympic team since the Calgary Games in 1998.
Aiming for a spot on the Olympic team is Coquitlam’s Kevin Reynolds, last year’s national silver medalist. Also given a good chance of making the team is Burnaby’s Jeremy Ten, two-time Canadian bronze medalist. Also reaching for a spot is 2012 national junior men’s champ Mitchell Gordon, sixth at last year’s senior nationals.
With three spots open in ice dancing, Burnaby Centre of Excellence’s Nicole Orford of Burnaby and Thomas Williams will be looking to at least keep their positions as last year’s bronze medalists and earn the trip to their first Olympics.
Heading to the national championships as well is a strong team of B.C. junior and novice skaters.
In a reversal from former years, senior competition will lead off the championships on Jan. 10 and 11, followed by the junior and novice events from Jan. 13 to 15.
