“The high note is not the only thing,” said Placido Domingo who ought to know. I only mention this because the final performance of the final event at the ISU Four Continents Championships was a thrill. I am talking about Skate Ontario’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier who walked off with their first Four Continents title to add to the number of Four Continents medals they already have.

Their free dance is to Wuthering Heights, which takes you on a journey mirroring the characters in the book. It is masterful and in the post-competition interview, Piper mentioned that it was the best that they had ever skated it.

Who won? Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier – CAN (Skate Ontario!) One word: Victory!

Photo credit: Skate Canada

Why is ending on a high note not the only thing? As we have seen over the course of the last few days, there are other stories to tell aside from the results and the Skate Ontario skaters have been up to the challenge of presenting the best version of themselves.

It is clear to me that people have taken notice because in addition to the medallists and champions like Piper and Paul, Skate Ontario skaters Madeline Schizas and Roman Sadovsky have been invited to skate in the Exhibition Gala. Let’s put that into context. At the start of the week there were 27 men, 26 women, 12 pairs and 16 ice dance teams competing. So, getting plucked out of the larger group and not have a medal is pretty special. I hope they are as #SkateOntarioProud of themselves as we are of them!

In many ways, Shanghai is just a warm-up for the skaters who will attend the ISU World Figure Skating Championships in March in Montreal where we will have Skate Ontario athletes ready to compete.

In the meantime – stay tuned for more great skating stories here!

As always – send your messages of support using the hashtag #SkateOntarioProud to our athletes, follow Skate Ontario on all our social media and if you want to check out what everyone has been saying use the hashtag #4ContsFigure.