For some, it was early confirmation of a solid start to a new season.
One of their coaches hopes they all take it as a kick in the pants towards even better results.
The Champs International Skating Club of B.C.’s team of ice dancers came out in force at the Skate Canada Challenge two weeks ago in Edmonton, eyeing momentum for next month’s national championships.
A pair of teams returned home with silver medals in their bags.
Yuka Orihara and Lee Royer, in junior dance, and Haley Sales and Nikolas Wamsteeker, in senior dance, converted strong off-season work habits into silver medals.
The dance duo of Orihara and Royer, who just came together this year, delivered a polished effort, trailing just Quebec’s Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer by a slim margin, 153.43 points to 156.73.
They put up the third-best score in the free dance, after standing fourth overall after the rhythm dance.
The pair have been making quick work after starting out together last April, with a bronze this past summer at Lake Placid competition, and a gold at the Minto Summer Skate. Orihara relocated from her native Japan to train full-time with Royer.
“They’ve made good progress,” remarked ice dance co-coach Aaron Lowe of the duo. “They’ve got their eyes on representing Canada but they’ve got a few hurdles yet – Yuka needs to clear the waiting period before she can represent Canada, and they need to place at least second at nationals (next month) to be considered. A lot of things still have to go right.”
Placing eighth overall were Miku Makita and Tyler Gunara.
Sales and Wamsteeker, meanwhile, produced second-best marks across the board en route to their medal, placing behind the former Danish international pairing of Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen.
“Everything was great,” said Lowe, who with partner Megan Wing, coaches the Champs’ ice dancing program. “(Sales and Wamsteeker) are getting better each month and each competition is reassuring that they’re on the right path.
“They have things to work on, but each competition is giving them more information on what they need to do and where they stand, and they are gaining more confidence.”
Orihara and Royer continue to show good chemistry and have room for more growth as a duo, said Lowe.
He was also pleased with the performances of pre-novice dance’s Hailey Yu and Brendan Giang, who made their national-level debut, and finished fourth.
“They were first-timers in pre-novice and started low after patterns but were very strong in the free dance,” Lowe said. “When you’re a young team, the nerves and pressures of the competition get to you and even tiny errors can add up.”
He noted the duo had previously scored well in the patterns portion during summer competition.
The novice ice dance team of Kiera Kam and Matthew Carter also posted a fourth-place result.
Now, all but Yu and Giang shift their focus onto nationals, which go Jan. 14 to 20 in St. John, NB.
If they take anything away from their most recent results, he hopes it’s the need to keep up the hard work.
“These results are either a good kick in the pants or motivation,” said Lowe. “They’ll either work harder and get on top of what they need to work on, and keep pushing themselves through the Christmas season, or we’ll push them to do it. But it’s up to (the skaters). Deep down they have to want it, and I think they do.”
