Local skaters are Canadian Champions
Creemore’s Hannah Whitley and Angus’s Elliott Graham, or “Whitley and Graham” as they may one day be called on an Olympic broadcast, were crowned the Pre-Novice Canadian Ice Dance Champions at the 2013 Skate Canada Challenge, held December 5 and 6 in Regina, Saskatchewan.
Pre-Novice is the third of six levels of competitive figure skating, open to girls up to the age of 16 and boys up to the age of 18. Whitley and Graham, now 12 and 14 respectively, finished eighth when they entered the Skate Canada Challenge for the first time last year.
This year, they were on fire, placing first in both of the technical dances, a fox trot and a tango, held on the first day of the competition. On the second day, they finished a very close second on their free dance, a 1920s Charlie Chaplin routine, and their combined score was enough to give them the championship.
“It was really exciting, and really surprising,” said Hannah this week, reflecting on their big win.
The pair, who skate out of the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, will now take some time off and face some big decisions.
“This is what they’ve been working toward for five years, so it’s a good time to think about the future,” said Hannah’s mom Kathy. The next step, if the pair decide to keep skating, would be to move up to the Novice level. Should they win at that level at next year’s Skate Canada Challenge, they would move on to Canadian Figure Skating Championships.
For Hannah, it seems the decision might already be made. “I can’t wait to get back at it,” she said.
Kathy, by the way, wouldn’t let us write this article without sending a thank you to the community for their support – apparently Hannah and Elliott have been flooded with cards and phone calls since their win – as well as to Bev Stableforth for designing the dress that Hannah wore during the competition.
“This is one of those moments that makes you proud to be from a place like Creemore,” she said.
Pictured with Elliott and Hannah above are Mariposa School of Skating director of dance David Islam and their coach, Tyler Myles.
