Nationals will whittle big three to elite two
Only a pair of women will be skating for Canada at world championships
Michael Daleman was supposed to concentrate on the road as he drove to Ottawa on Wednesday, but it probably wasn’t easy with daughter Gabrielle screaming from the passenger seat.
Fortunately, there was no immediate danger on the highways of eastern Ontario, but there was tension as Daleman listened to his daughter attempt to provide commentary of younger brother Zachary’s live-streamed free skate from the junior men’s portion of the national championships at TD Place arena.
“He was saying, ‘You’re supposed to be telling me what’s going on,’” Gabrielle said Thursday, “and I was like, ‘I can’t. Just breathe, just breathe.’ And he said, ‘Is Zach not breathing?’ And I was like, ‘No, I’m talking to myself.’ ”
She’s familiar with pressure. Now the question is whether Daleman and her counterparts can deal with it as they head into the senior women’s section of the 2017 nationals. Not only is there a Canadian title at stake, but there are only two available berths in the world championships in Helsinki this spring — one less than this country has in senior men’s, ice dance and pairs.
Headlining the 18-woman field and expected to be leading contenders for the tickets to Finland are the three winners of the past four national championships: Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont. (2016), Daleman from Newmarket, Ont. (2015), and Kaetlyn Osmond (2013-14), the Newfoundland and Labrador native now living in Edmonton.
“It’s really tough. I wish we had three spots because there’s three really, really good skaters who can contend in the worlds,” Chartrand said after Thursday’s practice session.
“We’ve proven ourselves, all of us, at different times. But it has been this same way, the three of us coming up, for quite a few years. I really do wish that we could all go and maybe next year we’ll have three spots for the Olympics, depending on how we do at worlds.
“I really do just have to focus on myself. If I do my job, my best, then I can get that spot.”
Osmond was on the outside last year in Halifax, where, in her first nationals after recovering from a broken leg, she finished third behind Chartrand and Daleman. Missing the cut for the subsequent world championships in Boston didn’t feel good, and the goal this week is to do whatever she can to avoid that situation again.
“Even if I come third, but skate the way I want to skate, I’ll have to suck it up and deal with it,” Osmond said. “But, definitely, I’m going to put in everything that I can do and skate my best.
“I’ve been practising really well. I’ve been competing really well this season. I just want to keep on with that.”
Each of the three represented Canada on the international circuit in the fall portion of the season, with Osmond producing the best results: second in Skate Canada International in Mississauga, Ont., and the Audi Cup of Beijing, then fourth in the Grand Prix finals in Marseille, France.
Daleman placed fourth in both Skate America at Chicago and the Trophee de France at Paris, while Chartrand was fifth at Skate Canada and 10th in the NHK Trophy event at Sapporo, Japan, leading to a mid-season change back to the Pina short program that was part of her national championshipwinning package in 2015-16.
On the plus side, Chartrand practically beamed as she assessed her performances of the short program and free skate during practice before a boisterous group of schoolage spectators on Thursday.
The 20-year-old athlete, who splits her training between Prescott, Ottawa and Toronto, can expect another sizable delegation of supporters when she strides onto the ice as the final skater in the short program on Friday. The free skate is set for Saturday.
“Once you have that kind of nationals that I had last year, people expect it from you all the time,” she said. “It’s not exactly that easy, but, for me, once I have done it, I know I can do that, so I feel confident and it’s exciting to be at home.”
Skate Canada will announce its teams for the world senior and junior championships, scheduled for mid-March in Taipei, Taiwan, on Sunday.