OSMOND TALKS ABOUT PUPPY LOVE ... AND SKATING
Kaetlyn Osmond, a silver medallist at the 2017 World Figure Skating Championships, was in Regina on Monday to promote Skate Canada International, which will take place Oct. 26-29 at the Brandt Centre. The three-time Canadian champion chatted with Rob Vans
Sometimes your brain tries to play tricks on you and makes you feel you’re not as comfortable as you actually are.
Q What does it feel like when you’re about to start your program and it’s just you on the ice and everyone in the arena is watching you?
A It’s really hard to put into words. When I was younger, I always wanted to be the centre of attention, so I think that’s part of the reason I got into skating and enjoyed the shows and competitions — because I finally got to be in the centre of the ice and everyone was watching me. For me, that was really exciting. Now it’s a little bit harder. I really love to compete and I love doing shows and I love telling a story and showing that I’ve trained and worked as hard as I can. My biggest fear going into competitions is if I can do what I was doing in practice. But the feeling itself, it’s hard to describe because you are so focused. Half the time, I don’t even notice that I’m in the middle of a rink, surrounded by people. I get an adrenalin boost. I can feel the crowd’s energy. But for the most part, the minute my music starts, it’s just like I’ve been transported back to my own rink.
Q How do you calm your nerves?
A When I was younger, I just loved to compete so much that nerves never fazed me. I never dreamed of going to the Olympics or worlds or something — that was far beyond my reach in my head. I just never thought it was possible, so I loved going to competitions and enjoying what I could do in that moment. That kept the nerves away from me. After I took a year off (due to a broken leg), I had a hard time coming back and competing again. For the first time, at 19 years old, I felt nerves and I didn’t know how to deal with them. I worked really hard with a sports psychologist to help control that and to use the nerves to my advantage. One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that if I’m nervous, I just have to admit that I am, because there’s nothing you can do to change it. If you feel nervous, you just deal with it and move on.
Q A football team can throw five interceptions and fumble three times and still win.
A There isn’t that luxury in figure skating (laughs). We have a two-minute, 50-second short program and a four-minute, 10-second long program and if you make one fumble, it can make a big difference.
Q I can’t think of many sports where the margin for error is that minute.
A It is very minute. It can be really anything to separate first and second, or even first and fifth or 10th, depending on one fall or whether you skate a clean program one day. I’ve been first after the short program and dropped out of placements before. You’ve just got to do what you can on that day and hope for the best.
Q What is it like waiting for the marks?
A It is probably the most nerveracking part of the competition, because you’re done and there’s nothing else you can do at that point. You know how you skated. Sometimes it’s more nerve-racking when you know you actually didn’t skate your best, because you’re not sure how the judges are going to react to it. Definitely, the most nerve-racking part for me is waiting to see if I actually skated the way I thought I did.
Q Do you generally have a pretty good idea of what the marks will be, or is it a mystery sometimes?
A For the most part, I know about where it’s going to be. In my head, I always have a game going to guess what score it is. But the minute you make a mistake or two, it starts getting confusing on how much it’s going to make your marks go worse.
Or, the first time you do a clean program in the season, you’re wondering where your program actually is going to be at.
Q How many people ever have to deal with that? I’m glad I don’t have people holding up scores as soon as I file a column.
A You have three minutes. The time between when you finish your long program until you hear your scores is about three minutes. You have three minutes to see how much the judges actually liked you.
Q It’s three minutes on the clock. How long does it seem in actuality — an hour?
A It feels really long, because you get up from your ending position, you go to centre ice, you do your curtsy, you skate all the way to the end of the boards, you sit in the kiss-and-cry, and it still feels like you’re waiting there forever. At least they have the screen so you can watch what you did in the program. Sometimes it’s completely not what you feel on the ice.
Q Why is there sometimes that disconnect?
A That’s a good question. For me, I know that I’m really hard on myself and wanting to make everything feel perfect. If something doesn’t feel perfect, it makes it feel even worse than it was. So I’ve gone into a jump thinking that I was completely upside down in the air and still landed on one foot, and in my brain, it’s like, ‘OK, cool. I landed it, but I don’t know how I did.’ But then I saw the video and it looked perfectly fine. Sometimes your brain tries to play tricks on you and makes you feel you’re not as comfortable as you actually are. It gets to a point where skating is muscle memory, and the more you practise it at home, the easier it’s going to be at competition.
Q Aside from family members, who is your favourite Osmond?
A Marie messaged me during the Olympics, so I’m going to say her. In Sochi, there was a lot of talk, but it was the first time that I was really mentioned a lot. There were a lot of comments asking if I was related to Donny and Marie. Obviously, I’m not, but it got mentioned so many times that she tweeted me and said, “We’re not related, but I wish you good luck.” It was pretty cool.
Q I understand you have a fourlegged creature in your life.
A She’s a cockapoo. Her name is Rasquette, because she’s a rascal. Because she’s a girl, I called her a lady Rasquette. I actually bought her on my way to worlds this year. I had it in my brain that I needed a dog and I couldn’t think of anything else, so on my way to worlds, I thought I needed to have a dog or I wouldn’t be able to focus on the competition. In reality, I don’t think it would have been that bad, but I bought her the night before I left. She was actually too young when I was leaving, so it actually worked out perfectly because she had to stay with her mom and the other pups. My dad actually picked her up on the way to the airport to pick me up from worlds, so it was really good. Her first day home was my first day home.
Q There is not a better non-figure skater than Connor McDavid. You live in Edmonton, do you watch him technically and marvel at what he does?
A I do appreciate it. I definitely watch hockey, especially the Oilers. On TV, it’s hard to see it as much. It’s the same thing in figure skating. If you watch it on TV, you’re never going to completely respect what we’re doing. I heard a lot of talk about McDavid and his speed, but on TV I never saw it very much. When I went to my first game, it was amazing just watching how fast people can move and how they can manoeuvre, because I can’t manoeuvre around people at all. I’m alone on the ice for a reason.