By: Pj Kwong

Who isn’t frustrated by misplacing something you need – like my keys for example. Can’t go anywhere without them!

For figure skaters, there is a checklist they have for competitions:

• Skates
• Costumes
• Music
• Stretching
• Visualizing
• Warm-up
• SKATE!

Ah yes – that SKATE part is often preceded by last minute words of wisdom from your coach. Alison Purkiss, coach of Skate Ontario Pairs team Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud said that their goal for the Cup of China Grand Prix in Chongqing was for the skaters to ‘find their calm’. In their first Grand Prix in France, Lia and Trennt had skated a strong short program but had been somewhat overwhelmed in their free skate.

Fast forward to the first day of competition and a solid short program performance form Lia and Trennt leaving them in third place as they headed into yesterday’s free skate. Their free program is a beautiful expression of a tango where concept, costumes, and choreography merge into a single beautiful and technically challenging thread.

“I think we found our calm here,” said Lia. “There is still room to progress and we will be focusing on that towards Nationals in a few weeks. After the disappointment that we had in France, we worked hard in practice all week here and were glad how we put the past behind us.”

Find the calm and find your way to the Grand Prix Podium. We are #SkateOntarioProud of Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud and a Bronze medal from the Pairs event at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Cup of China 2024.

Now, if only I could find my keys!

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