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I am sitting in my family room watching the US Ladies which I recorded earlier. US Nationals is one of the few competitions that I get to watch without the interruptions that working the event would normally interject.

From time to time I forget just how difficult figure skating can be and that goes double in an Olympic year. Yikes. Unbelievable pressure. Hats off to all of the skaters out there working towards making the, or, their own version of an Olympic team.

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Like life, it doesn’t matter how well prepared you are, what counts is what you are able to do ‘in the moment’. I got the chance to sit down and record a podcast this week with World Ice Dance champion and three-time Olympian, Shae-Lynn Bourne, whose career has been defined by ‘in the moment’.

‘In the moment’ is what is going to be required of the skaters headed to this week’s National Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver. I am looking forward to being there and watching the competition unfold. I am sure it feels like all or nothing for the skaters. I am also sure that regardless of result, there is experience to be gained and lessons to be learned. It can’t be easy.

I am looking forward to seeing all my skating friends. Good luck to all the skaters – I hope you are as proud of yourself as we all are of you making it to the National Championships! Impressive.

Look for me on Twitter and Instagram and find me on Facebook on my author page Pj Kwong.

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