VANCOUVER 鈥� Stepping out of the ballroom proved successful for the 91原创 ice dancing team of Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.
The pair thrilled a hometown crowd and impressed the judges for the top score in the rhythm program during the opening day of the dance competition at the Skate Canada International figuring skating event Friday.
鈥淔or this we really wanted to make sure our program was a little bit more on the urban side,鈥� said Gilles, who was born in the U.S. but has a 91原创 mother and grandmother. 鈥淲e felt we were doing a little bit more of the ballroom style. We really needed to change that up.鈥�
The fast-paced performance to Elton John music earned a season-best 85.65 points.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a scramble of a few weeks really trying to nail everything down and get it as smooth as possible,鈥� said Poirier, of Ottawa. 鈥淲e knew this was going to be our first performance in front of a live crowd in almost two years.
鈥淲hat we really tried to do was manage our energy with the energy of the crowd behind us. I think we accomplished that really well. We were able to stay focused and deliver a really strong performance.鈥�
Italy鈥檚 Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri were second with 78.82 points while Spain鈥檚 Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz were third with 76.97.
91原创s Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha placed sixth with 71.87 points while Haley Sales and Nikolas Warmsteeker were eighth with 60.75.
Earlier, Keegan Messing shook off some nerves to post the best 91原创 result in the men鈥檚 short program, finishing third.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a joy to be back on the Grand Prix circuit but boy did I forget about the pressure that comes with it,鈥� said Messing, who was born in Anchorage, Alaska, but whose mother is from Edmonton. 鈥淛ust to go out there to put down a clean skate. I was very thankful of that.
鈥淚鈥檓 ready to push for the long (program) tomorrow.鈥�
Organizers say about 600 tickets were sold for Friday鈥檚 competition at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at the University of British Columbia.
Messing, competing in his first event of the season, was awarded a score of 93.28 points.
American Nathan Chen finished first with 106.72 points while countryman Jason Brown was second with 94.00.
Conrad Orzel of Toronto was ninth with 73.19 points while Roman Sadovsky, also of Toronto, was 10th with 72.94.
Chen, the three-time reigning world champion, is looking to overcome a third-place finish at last week鈥檚 Skate America in Las Vegas.
鈥淎ny time, both in practice and competition, when you don鈥檛 do well, I want immediately to get another opportunity to try,鈥� said Chen. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 going to be successful or but I want that next opportunity.
鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled I have this opportunity to try this again rather than wait three or four weeks.鈥�
Messing, who finished third at the 91原创 figure skating championships the last two years it was held, said the skaters could feel the energy of having people in the building.
鈥淗aving the crowd was incredible,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 almost forgot what it was like to skate with a crowd.
鈥淭hey were pumping me up and getting me going. I felt like my feet were floating on the ice tonight.鈥�
Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro were top 91原创s, placing fourth, after the short program in the pairs competition with a score of 66.43 points. 91原创s Vanessa James and Eric Radford were fifth with 65.02 points while Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland were seventh in the eight-pair field with 57.25 points.
The Chinese team of Wenjing Sui and Cong Han led with 78.94 points. Russia鈥檚 Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin were second with 69.46 points followed by Germany鈥檚 Minerva Fabinne Hase and Noland Seegert with 67.93.
Moore-Towers, from St. Catharines, Ont., said the pair will probably retire after the Olympics, making each competition bittersweet.
鈥淲e are trying to soak in every moment of skating with a crowd we can,鈥� said Moore-Towers. 鈥淲e were really attacking it we wanted it so badly. We needed to be a little bit more precise.鈥�
Marinaro, from Sarina, Ont., said the pair have shut out media focus on James and Radford and focused on themselves.
鈥淎t the beginning of the year we gave them a little bit too much of our thought, a little bit too much of our attention,鈥� he said. 鈥淰ery quickly we realized that wasn鈥檛 a pass to success for us.
鈥淎t this point we鈥檝e come to terms with where we are at and are just focusing solely on ourselves to give ourselves the best opportunity, we can to beat them.
鈥淲e definitely want to beat them.鈥�
James said the pair continue to be on a learning curve.
Radford, a two-time world champion and three-time Olympic medallist from Balmertown, Ont., announced in April he was coming out of retirement to partner with James, who was born in Toronto but previously competed for France.
鈥淲e鈥檙e learning we still need mileage, we still need time and competition,鈥� said James. 鈥淓verything is coming together but we still need time together in competition.
鈥淲e鈥檙e learning a lot about each other, how each other reacts in competition, what changes a little bit when we are under stress. Hopefully with some time we will get everything perfected for when it really counts.鈥�
Russian skaters swept the top three spots in the women鈥檚 short program.
Kamila Valieva had the top score of 84.19, followed by Elizaveta Tuktamysheva with 81.24 and Alena Kostornaia with 75.58
Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., was the top 91原创 finishing ninth with 62.61 points. Emily Bausback of 91原创 was 10th with 59.53 points while Alison Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., was 11th with 55.47.
This report by The 91原创 Press was first published Oct. 29, 2021
Jim Morris, The 91原创 Press
