Canada's 2006 Figure Skating Championship

I know figure skating isn't for everyone. So for those of you who don't enjoy it, move on. Those of you who do, I hope you enjoy the read!

This year's 2006 Canadian Figure Skating Championship was in Ottawa. Since my friend Meghan was going to be in town to watch her brother skate, I knew this would be my only time to see her because her and her family would be soo busy.

I managed to get a seat in the section next to her family's. Perfect, we could signal to each other when we were going to take a break. I was quite happy with that idea. I arrived and spotted Meghan's mom and grandmother almost right away outside. The excitement began. I hadn't seen Mr & Mrs. Buttle in many years. And I think the last time I saw Meghan was about 5 yrs ago. We keep in touch through email and it never fails that if there's a skating competition near by I'm there. I'd never miss out on what I enjoyed watching as a pre-teen & young teenager. It just so happened that Meghan's parents had an extra ticket and invited me to sit with them. Just like old time's sake. I had only bought a ticket for one day, but after all the excitement on friday I needed to buy a ticket for Saturday. My plan was to go home and get on the phone to buy a ticket for Saturday. Well, Meghan's parents, the nicest people ever, had an extra ticket for the entire day on saturday and gave me that also. That was after they bought me dinner!

My time at the Ottawa Civic Center this weekend was, to say the least, a great experience. It had been so long since I've seen Jeff compete that I seemed to have forgotten what the atmosphere of the rink brings: crowds cheering, smell of cantine food, nervousness of family members, beer, endless sound of music and my favorite of all, the sound of the blades on the ice.

Canada's Top Men's Figure Skater for 2 consecutive years! Way to go Jeffrey!!

Jeff was first after the qualifying round going into his short program on friday.

This is moments after Jeff scored 1st after the short program.

Keep smiling Jeff....you make the rest of the world want to smile back!



Saturday was a little more stressful. I don't know how families go through this all the time. I was nervous, anxious, excited all while my heart rate started to increase the closer it was time for Jeff to skate his long program. Thank goodness I was sitting near Jeff & Meghan's Nana who made me laugh on more than one occasion. She, was a pack of nerves and was priceless the closer it got to the final 3 skaters, one of them being, Emmanuel Sandhu. He's definitely not one of my favorite skaters only because he's cocky and that's one quality I hate, in anyone. There's a difference between cocky and confident. A person with confidence knows what they're good at but doesn't need to let others know exactly what those talents are. Cockyness makes you say things which later on will bite you in the ass, as Mr. Sandhu found out this weekend. It's called Kharma my friend and you got a taste of it as you so deserved.

So, Meghan and family I want to say a great big thanks for a fun weekend. I had many laughs, reminisced about old times and met some new people. Thank you so much for letting me be a part of this major event in your life. I wish you good health, lots of love, many laughs and memories that will last a lifetime! Here we are during one of our bathroom breaks. The lineups were crazy but it was a chance for Little Miss Popularity Meghan to meet up with old friends. Jeezuz the skating families ALL know each other. It's crazy. Meghan and I are in the center and her boyfriend Josh is behind us. The rest are friends of Meghan's which I forget their names! Some people were walking around asking us if we wanted a free picture taken. The first time he asked us Megs thought he was loonie and said no. I then explained that they give us a card with a pin and we get the picture online in a few days. Then she was all up for it!

Jeff, I wish you the best of luck in Turin. Stay strong, laugh a lot and don't ever lose your sense of humour (I just about pissed myself when your Mom showed me the article about the summers in the tent! You're crazy kid!!).

Enjoy every minute of this experience you're about to have.

Best of luck to you and be sure to kick butt!!