Behind The Blades with Kaetlyn Osmond: Skate Canada International
My bags were packed, I was ready, and I was off to the airport to begin my short journey to Mississauga for Skate Canada International! Only my short journey became a little bit longer than expected. Two hours delayed leaving Edmonton, a short flight, a quick trip to the hotel, and the registration process complete: I had the perfect amount of time to collapse onto my bed and sleep for my early morning trek to the rink.
Practice Day. This day involves getting the lay of the rink and know where everything is. I scout out where I want to do my warmups, where the dressing rooms are, and where we get on/off the ice. Knowing all these things allows me to feel more relaxed when I am doing what I have to do. It lets me focus on what my job is. The practice day includes two practices. It also includes a few media interviews, and the opening press conference, and of course, the draw for the short program.
Competition days! To be completely honest, I am the most boring person on competition day. My alarm clock goes off at 5:30am. I had to be super quiet not to wake my roommate who was competing later that night. I did my hair. I put my makeup on. Grabbed my skates and my dresses, then left my room to eat and catch the early bus to the rink. At the rink, it is always the same process. Warmup, skate, cool down, and catch the bus back to the hotel. Then it is a much-needed rest up before I compete. There is a nice nap involved, card games, colouring, a little walk outside to freshen up, and then some food to fuel up. The time between practice and competition is really finding ways to distract myself, while still staying relaxed and ready.
About an hour before it is time to head back to the rink, it is time to get ready. Time to redo my hair and makeup, while watching my tv show choice of the competition: this time, it was Supergirl!
When it is all over, I enjoyed the rest of the event as much as I could. I was beyond happy with how well I had done. I was amongst so many other amazing skaters that I love to watch. There were so many friends and fans in the stands that I wanted to be a part of. So, that is exactly what I did. I became a part of the crowd. I watched the remaining events with Elvis Stojko, his wife, Gladys, and my national team member and friend, Michelle Long. The next morning, I got to hang out with the other skaters for the gala and just have fun, enjoying celebrating the event we just finished. The gala is always my favourite part of the event. It is a time to celebrate, skate, and thank every single fan for coming to the competition and continuously supporting the sport.
Then it was just time to head home.
It is amazing how fast the competition week goes. So much anticipation to get there. Then all of a sudden it is time to go home and train for the next event. Though, I will always celebrate with my friends when I get home. This time, it was with a giant bowl of delicious coffee.
We went to do the run through with the feeling of lightness and enjoyment from the beginning to the end of each program. The goal was to make all the elements look like one action with the choreography, transitions and emotions. Training does not compare to the experience you’ll get from competition, considering the adrenaline rush and unexpected change of plans. So we wanted to see how all the patterns, tricks and skating worked under the pressure. Here is a good thing, it didn’t change much. Each program felt like one motion with it’s own character. We were happy about our performance and received a lot of positive feedback about the elements, programs and outfits. Of course there is always more to improve. But this is the beginning of the season, and I’m sure that the next time you will see a better version of ourselves.
