A Kanata skater owned the
podium at the 2010 Trillium Starskate Championship for the senior bronze women’s
freeskate held on March 13 and 14 in Kingston,
ON.
Victoria Suwalska, 12, took home the gold medal after
competing against the top 12 girls from across Ontario.
“At first I didn’t believe it,” said Suwalska, a grade seven student
at All Saints Catholic High School. “I had to pinch myself a couple of times.”
After sprinting to the bulletin board that held the
rankings, her place was confirmed.
“I saw myself on first (place) so I cried and then I ran to
my parents as fast as I could,” she said.
“I think all our mouths were in an O for a minute, just in
shock. We didn’t believe it, we didn’t expect it.”
“You think okay, this is the top three (skaters) from each
region,” said Suwalska’s mother, Danuta. “Basically, you go to enjoy it, you
don’t expect to win. I was happy for her. She’s spent seven years in the
Starskate program. It’s a good reward for all the work she’s done.”
Skating to Hungarian
Dance No. 5, Suwalska, who practiced three to four days a week for the
competition, did a combination of jumps including a double-sow, double-toe,
double-loop, double-lutz and double-flip.
“I have to remember not to freak out before [going into a
jump] because you really want to land it,” said Suwalska. “I just think about
doing a huge single jump and then that helps me do two revolutions instead of
just one. When you land it, it feels good. You feel relieved. You're like ‘Yes,
I nailed it!’ That’s why you skate.”
She didn’t freak out; instead she skated one of her best
skates to date finishing with 26.27 points, only .3 ahead of second place
winner Jenny Liu from Central Ontario.
“A feeling of relief came over me,” said Suwalska once she
finished her program. “I was so relieved that it worked out well. I was really
happy because that was one of my best skates.”
A lot of credit is owed to her coach, Micheline Metcalfe,
said Suwalska.
“I was very nervous but she reminded me that they’re
positive performance nerves,” she said. “If I wasn’t nervous then I’d go off
guard and not skate to my full potential.”
“Micheline Metcalfe, she’s very good,” said Suwalska’s
mother. “She’s excellent, not just as a coach, but for mental preparation, for
calming Victoria
down.”
Skating since she was two, Suwalska started out “taking tiny
little steps in a hoola hoop with my dad,” she said.
Since then, she has progressed steadily. Suwalska is now
working on her double axel and getting to the pre-novice level.
She said that training as an Olympic athlete could be a
possibility sometime in the future.
“(I don’t have) high hopes for the next (Olympics) but
eventually, eventually it can happen,” she said.
jessica.cunha@metroland.com