International ice battle

An icy showdown began Oct. 26 on the ice at the WFCU Centre, but instead of pucks and pads skaters came equipped with costumes and smiles.

Thousands of people attended the 2012 Skate Canada International figure skating competition from Oct. 26 to 28, after purchasing tickets to view the skaters’ practices and main events. The competition began at 2 p.m. the first day, opening with the ladies’ short program followed by pairs, men’s and ice dance programs. The second day of competition saw the free programs of the ladies, pairs, ice dancers and men, in that order.

The audience in the WFCU was made up of local spectators as well as guests from out of town and country. Japanese skaters in the competition had a fan section with several home-made banners hanging off the balcony in front of their seats.

Robin Unruh lives in Phoenix during the winter but is originally from Winnipeg. Unruh, a 57-year-old retiree, travelled from her summer home to meet a group of seven friends to watch the competition together in Windsor.

“We came in with some preconceptions like expecting Patrick (Chan) to pull off gold and we never expected Kaetlyn (Osmond) to pull gold, didn’t expect it at all,” said Unruh. “It was extraordinarily exciting. We got to see our flag raised four times.”

The home country flags of the medal winners were raised during the awards ceremony and the national anthem of the first place contestant was played.

The final standings for the men’s category saw Javier Fernandez taking gold home to Spain and Chan taking silver for Canada. Bronze was awarded to Japanese skater Nobunari Oda.

In the ladies’ category Osmond took gold for Canada while Japanese skaters Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami took silver and bronze respectively.

In the pairs category Canadian teammates Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford took silver and Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took gold in the ice dance.

The third and final day for events featured an exhibition gala where skaters could perform with no restrictions of required elements. Canadian figure skater Eladj Balde, 21, placed seventh in the men’s category during competition then ignited the crowd with an exciting performance on the last day where he back-flipped, moon walked and strutted. Balde could be seen mouthing the words to several of the King of Pop’s songs while he performed to them and said Michael Jackson is a huge inspiration to him.

“The number one thing I’m trying to do is entertain people and make sure people enjoy what they see. That’s what Michael Jackson was about, making sure that every single person in the room enjoyed it as much as the person in the front, in back or on the side,” said Balde.

After the exhibition Unruh commented on Balde’s performance saying it was fun and that “the back-flip always pleases.”

Unruh and her group of friends have been attending skating events like SCI and the World Figure Skating Championships together since 1996. She also said the hotel rooms for next year’s SCI event will be booked this week and that she enjoyed her time in Windsor.

“Everybody was extraordinarily friendly. I’d recommend the city and I’d recommend the event,” she said.

General manager of events Jason Toner said his main goal has always been good customer service.

“We had very few if any issues. The staff has been great,” said Toner. “The patrons have been complimenting on the different ways we presented the event. We had custom menus at our concessions and new restaurant items to accommodate a crowd who’s going to be camp out here for 12 hours a day.”

Toner said the event is great for Windsor and an opportunity to see some world class athletes.

“On top of tourism dollars, you have people flying in from all across the world to be here for this event,” said Toner. “Above that it puts a spotlight on Windsor nationally, specifically with the television broadcast and media coverage that they wouldn’t necessarily see from other events hosted here.”

While he isn’t normally a figure skating fan, Toner said he learned a lot over the last four days but found the scoring especially confusing. According to the International Skating Union’s website, judging is based on elements, or the technical aspect of the different moves and the over-all quality of the performance. Some examples of elements are spins, step-work and jumps. There is also a technical panel of experts who have access to slow-motion replays and aid in the identification of performed elements.

“This was a great opportunity to see world class skaters and Olympic gold medalists,” said Toner. “You don’t have a lot of opportunity to see that in your back yard.”