 Skate
Today has teamed up with Barry Mittan to provide you an insight into
the personalities of the people in this wonderful sport and to give
you a more personal connection when you watch them on television or
see them at an event. Mr. Mittan is the author or editor of several
books and hundreds of figure skating articles. All of Barry's stories
are reviewed by the skaters, and their coaches or others if requested,
before publication to ensure the greatest accuracy.
All current
articles and many previous articles may be read in their entirety by
following the links below. Mr. Mittan retains all copyrights for these
articles and they may not be reproduced without permission. Please visit
www.jbmittan.com for more details.
Archived Articles
2008
January - March 2008
2007
2006
2005
2004 |
November 29, 2009
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Canada's Olivia Nicole Martins and Alvin Chau are skating their last season on the international Junior Grand Prix Circuit as Chau will age out next year. The 2009 Canadian novice dance champions placed sixth at their two ISU JGP events in Dresden, Germany and Budapest, Hungary.
"We were happy just to get two Junior Grand Prixs this year," Martins said. "Now our goal is to make the top five in juniors at Canadians and hopefully make it to Junior Worlds. We want to continue as long as we're doing well."
Chau, 20, was a late starter in skating. His first activity was swimming, which he began when he was four. Then he took piano lessons when he was six and seven. Finally, his mother put him into CanSkate when he was nine.
He competed up to novice men, reaching sixth at Sectionals and landing his double Axel, but never learned any triple jumps. When he was 15, Chau switched to ice dancing. "I was testing my dances and my coach told my mother I should try competing in ice dancing," he said.
|
|
November 22, 2009
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Cambria Little, the 2009 Canadian junior ladies silver medalist, had a rough start to her first junior international season. Little, who placed fourth in novice ladies at Canadians in 2008, placed 26th at her first international competition, the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Dresden, Germany in October.
"I wish I had skated better but it was a really good experience to compete out of the country," Little said. "I need to think of the events as just another competition and not as a huge deal. It helped me to see what I need to improve."
"My goal is to make it to Nationals and finish in the top ten or 15," Little said. "This will be my first year in seniors. I'm also trying to improve on my scores from last season."
Little began skating when she was two. "My mom was a coach and she started me in the sport," Little said. "I started CanSkate when I was two and then private lessons when I was six."
|
|
November 15, 2009
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Andrei Rogozine, the 2009 Canadian junior men's champion, is preparing for his first year in seniors at Canadians.
"My goal is to do well at Nationals and get my name out there," he said. "I've done three years of Junior Grand Prixs now. It's help me to get more experience and confidence. The more competitions you do, the more it helps you to know what to expect and how to prepare. It helps me to develop my programs and train for Nationals."
"I hope to go to the Olympics in 2014, then maybe do some show skating," he said.
Rogozine was the 2007 Canadian novice men's silver medalist and won the Merano Cup in novice men in 2006.
The 16-year-old, who was born in Moscow, Russia, moved with his family to Toronto when he was five and started skating when he was six or seven. |
|
November 08, 2009
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Canada's Taylor Steele and Robert Schultz have high hopes that their partnership will be a good one. Both of the skaters have been skating pairs for over eight years but never found the perfect match.
"I started in pairs when my first coaches paired me up with another boy because I was tiny," Steele stated.
She won bronze medals nationally with Donald Jackson in pre-novice pairs in 2004 and novice pairs in 2005, and then teamed up with Robert Paxton, taking bronze in junior pairs in 2006. She took off the 2006-07 season to concentrate on singles, and then returned to skate with Chris Richardson, placing ninth and eighth in senior pairs in 2008 and 2009.
"I always had partners who were too old or I was always too young," Steele noted. "I wanted a partner who was still age eligible for the Junior Grand Prix circuit and Alison Purkiss recommended Rob. We had tried out together years ago but it wasn't the right time. This time our tryout went really well and I moved to Cambridge in July 2009." |
|
November 01, 2009
Article by J. Barry Mittan
 Amanda Bertsch and Sam Rashba have yet to compete together but have high hopes for the season. They plan to compete first at Pike's Peak in Colorado. After that, Bertsch said, "We're hoping to make it to Nationals and medal."
Yaroslava Nechaeva and Yuri Chesnichenko coach Bertsch and Rashba, who spend about three and a half hours a day on ice five days a week plus another two hours on Sunday.
"We do two ballet sessions and a ballroom session each week," Bertsch added, "plus running etc. for warm up."
"I don't spend too much time in the gym," Rashba explained. "Yuri doesn't want dancers to get too bulky or too stiff because you need a wide range of motion for dance." |
|
|
|
|
