FIGURE SKATING
City teen rises in rankings
Figure skating was tailor-made for Tristan Taylor.
The 15-year-old Reginan played hockey and figure skated until he was nine. That’s when he stepped away from hockey because it conflicted with figure skating.
“As opposed to a team, I don’t have to focus on other people,’’ Taylor says. “I can do what I can do and I don’t have to focus on what my teammates are doing. It’s also a lot of fun getting new elements and doing new things.’’
That independent streak is evident off the ice where Taylor looks after many of the activities that are involved with being an elite athlete with Skate Regina. That’s an aspect that has impressed David Schultz who, along with his wife Vicki, coaches Taylor.
“Tristan is a fully committed athlete and he gets himself to the rink every single day,’’ says David Schultz, who is also Skate Canada Saskatchewan’s high-performance director.
“He can’t drive, so he bikes or takes the bus or his sister will occasionally drive him to the rink. He’ll also ask for rides from some of his peers out here. He has made arrangements to get himself wherever he needs to be because he comes from a busy family.’’
Taylor, the youngest of four siblings, is in Grade 10 at Regina Christian School. He practises on ice for approximately 2½ hours a day. To accommodate his skating, he attends school in the morning and takes a wellness course outside of class.
“I like that because I get to be by myself and I don’t have to sit in a classroom all day,’’ Taylor says.
Taylor recently took part in his first Canadian figure skating championship, even though it initially appeared he wouldn’t have that opportunity.
In December, Taylor missed qualifying for the national championship after struggling at the Skate Canada Challenge. He was ranked 19th after the challenge and the top 18 novice men’s skaters in the country qualified for the Vancouver-based nationals.
“I didn’t skate at the level that I’m capable of at the challenge and it wasn’t enough to make it to the Canadians,’’ Taylor says.
That’s when some luck kicked in. A skater withdrew and cleared an opening for Taylor. He made the most of the opportunity by finishing fifth in the novice men’s division.
“David and I knew that I could skate at this level,’’ Taylor says. “I just hadn’t done it in competition at this high level.’’
Leaping from 19th spot to being ranked fifth in Canada was quite the accomplishment for Taylor, who was seventh in pre-novice last year.
“I was happy about it, but my confidence was high going into it,’’ he says. “I knew that I was 19th, but I knew that I could only go up. I didn’t have anything to lose at this point.’’
That freedom was reflected on the ice. Taylor scored 40.06 points in the short program after completing two triple toe jumps. In the long program, he earned a 76.27 for a routine that included four clean triple jumps and two double Axels. He finished with a total score of 116.33.
“He is the fifth-best skater in Canada and he put his best foot forward when it mattered the most,’’ David Schultz says.
“He went from one triple jump in December of 2016 to all five triple jumps and triple-triple combos. He has became one of the few guys from Saskatchewan to ever complete a triple-triple and we’ve already begun to work on a triple Axel.’’
Taylor was one of four members of Skate Regina at the Canadian championships. Emi Swanson and Raine Eberl were seventh in novice pairs. Koen Kucher was 11th among junior men.
Skate Regina doubled its number of skaters at the national championships from the previous year. Schultz is justifiably proud of the skaters’ accomplishments.
“We’re competing against some of the big centres in our country,’’ he says. “B.C. and, if you go with Quebec, Montreal is a major player. Brian Orser runs the club in Toronto. Our section brings in some of these high-level coaches and choreographers to work with our coaches to produce these type of athletes.’’
He has became one of the few guys from Saskatchewan to ever complete a triple-triple and we’ve already begun to work on a triple Axel.