Preparations are underway for an encore performance by the dynamic duo of Lee Royer and Ashlynne Stairs after a successful season dancing on the ice.
Royer, a St. Albert skater, and the Calgary-born Stairs debuted on the junior world stage last month after finishing second at their third nationals as an ice dance team.
“Overall, our confidence really increased this year from the previous years,” said Royer of the winning combination from the Burnaby-based Champs International Skating Centre.
“Right now we’re starting into the new season doing our new programs and getting our new music and new costumes. We’re also working on all of our corrections from worlds and from nationals last season,” Royer added. “If we did have any goals I guess it would be placing first at nationals.”
Another major breakthrough was achieving fifth place in Slovenia and seventh in France by the bronze medallists at the Bavarian Open in the junior category during their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments.
“It helps you really see who you’re competing against and what the rest of the field and the other skaters are bringing to the ice,” Royer said. “We had our Bavarian Open between nationals and worlds and I believe almost every single team at the Bavarian Open was at worlds.
“Worlds had more people there but the people at the Bavarian Open ended up going to worlds so that helped us figure out where we would end up.”
The result was 14th out of 20 teams as the second-highest Skate Canada entry at junior worlds in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei.
“It was our best competition easily, not points-wise but our skates themselves were really clean. They felt awesome. They were beautiful. Everything was in time. We were really well connected all the way through so it was good,” said Royer said.
The 122.54 points total included 12th place in short dance and 15th in free dance.
Technical scores and flow on the ice affected the team’s final standing.
The Montreal-based tandem of Marjorie Lajoie, 16, and Zachary Lagha, 17, placed sixth with 148.26 points.
Last year’s 13th-place finishers were fifth in short dance and seventh in free dance in their return appearance.
They were also silver medallists at the Bavarian Open.
The top team at worlds was Rachel Parsons and Michael Parson of the United States with 164.83 points as the free dance winners and short dance runners-up.
“We went into it knowing that there was no pressure because we had already achieved our goal of making it there and since it was our first junior worlds it was all about experience and we learned a lot by watching teams that were a lot better than us, like the top teams, so it was good,” Stairs said.
The podium finish at nationals was the springboard to worlds as Royer and Stairs improved on their 12th place showing out of 15 teams the previous year.
This year’s score at nationals was 139.63, compared to 153.55 points for Lajoie and Lagha, as Royer and Stairs finished second in both short and free dance.
“It was a lot better. Last year it was a little bit crushing the way we ended off the season. It really didn’t feel great placing where we did so this year was awesome. It was one of the best things we’ve done so it was definitely a big step up and a lift up,” said Royer of the improvement from last year’s 113.93 points total.
“We gained a lot of speed from last season to this season,” Stairs added. “We just performed more and enjoyed it more. We didn’t think as much about the pressure and we kind of went out and did it for fun.”
The first season together in ice dance – “It’s kind of like ballroom dance on ice so it has a lot of the same I guess, ideas and rhythms and timing but you’re doing them on ice with a partner,” Royer said – was as the bronze medallists at the Canada Winter Games for Team British Columbia and fourth-place finishers at nationals in 2015 in novice.
“One of the main things for us is our connection with each other on the ice,” Stairs said.
Both skaters were looking for new partners while in Alberta before joining forces.
“The talent ID lady from Alberta helped put us together and made us a pair so she was really awesome for that,” said Royer, who moved to the West Coast to train with Stairs after attending Grade 10 at Paul Kane High School.
Workouts on and off the ice consist of basically four hours every weekday morning, plus a variety of off-ice training sessions and dance classes.
“We spend a lot of time together on and off the ice but it’s part of ice dance. When you have a partner you have to understand that it’s a huge part of your life and luckily we enjoy each other’s company,” said Stairs, 16, a Grade 11 student who also crams in three workouts a week in track while specializing in the 1,500- and 3,000-metre distances.
The only day off as a team is Saturday.
“It’s a big day,” said Royer, who helps out as a skate coach when time permits. “It’s definitely a grind but if you love it you wouldn’t want to do anything else.”
Royer credits Stairs’ enthusiasm keeping their spirits up
“She is the driving force that gets us to do all the training every single day, always, and she is awesome at it. She is very charismatic and always a lot of fun. She is my best friend on the ice,” said the former St. Albert Skating Centre member.
Stairs is Royer’s biggest fan.
“He’s really good at turning out and that’s one of my weaknesses. He’s also really good at lifts. He’s really strong,” said Stairs, who was introduced to the sport by her mom, a coach, at the age of five and eventually turned to ice dancing.
Royer started focusing on ice dance in Grade 4.
“I like putting on a show. I like the show aspect of it all. Skating is fun and I love that aspect too and the travel as well but I just like entertaining,” said Royer, who graced the ice for the first time on wobbly skates at age two in Fort McMurray.
