Canadian figure skaters are preparing to take part in the 2023 Skate Canada International event. But first, some have university exams to write.
Madeline Schizas is in her third year at McMaster University and has been training alongside her studies.
"It's not something that's easy. I'm writing two midterms in the next week," she said, adding that the exams are for transportation planning and research methods. "I really do rely on my support network … I don't know how I do it."
Schizas, who won her second straight Canadian women's title in January, writes her second exam Tuesday before catching a flight to Vancouver the next day for the event, which runs from Oct. 27 to 29.
Skate Canada International is the second competition in the annual International Skating Union Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.
The top six skaters from each discipline qualify for the finals being held Dec. 7-10 in Beijing.
Schizas said she is looking to build on the solid start to her season. She won bronze at the Nepela Memorial ISU Challenger Cup Series event in Slovakia two weeks ago.
The competition will also feature reigning national champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps.
The pair last competed five weeks ago, but both said they're feeling fresh heading into the event.
"I think Skate Canada is going to have the same feeling as nationals, when you're in front of a home crowd," said Stellato-Dudek. "We're looking forward to getting back into it."
Deschamps said he and his partner have worked to improve their stamina in their programs as well as their Salchows.
The pair formed as a team just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, meaning the first two years of their partnership were hampered.
Stellato-Dudek said the work since then has been on focusing on what they could add to their programs.
"As the evolution of us has continued, we've tried to add more speed and power," she said.
Stellato-Dudek also comes in as the oldest skater in the competition, a fact she said adds complexity to her performance.
"Being the only 40-year-old, the pendulum swings both ways," she said. "I'm celebrated more when I do well and I'm criticized harsher when I don't. The standard for me is higher because of my age."
The next oldest female competitor is in her 20s, Stellato-Dudek added.
"I'm skating the best I've ever skated and I hope we can show that next week," she said.
For Schizas, the goal is to improve her consistency in performances.
She went back and analyzed her earlier performances to pin down where she needed to improve.
The aim became to improve her skating skill work as during her first senior events Schizas looked, in her own words, "shaky and kind of like I didn't know what I was doing."
"I spent a lot of time doing skating skill work. that was the big item over the summer," Schizas said. "It's always been my weakest component and it continues to be, so I've worked on my speed, and flow, and ice coverage and control. I think that's the thing that's improved the most from my first couple of senior events."
Her training has required her to commute between Hamilton and London, Ont., during the week, meaning she stays with an aunt when training before heading back to university.
But her training regimen has allowed her to work with former Olympic gold medallist turned coach Scott Moir.
"Scott really hones in on the details, he's a fun choreographer to work with but also wants you to get it right," Schizas said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2023.
Nick Wells, The Canadian Press
