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Nothing is more thrilling for me than getting the chance to sit in the stands with the rest of you and watch figure skating. Today’s thrill were the short programs at the Skate Canada International in Regina, Saskatchewan. A snapshot of some of my favourites on the ice today:

Ladies -Kaetlyn Osmond – Canada – leader after short program – PB score of 76.06

As I watched Kaetlyn launch herself into the air on her third and final jumping pass, I waited for her to land before I exhaled. From that point on, all I saw was the huge smile that illuminated her face until the end of the program. Kaetlyn has about a seven point lead ahead of Anna Pogorilaya heading into tomorrow’s free skate.

Tie – Ice Dance – Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir – Canada – leader after short dance – WR score of 82.68

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje – Canada – 2nd after short dance – PB score 77.47

These two teams perfectly capture the essence of a relationship through their ice dance short dances. The rhythm is Latin and the expression ‘muy caliente’. Sigh. I LOVE ice dance and was happy to be in the building for this one.

Men:

Shoma Uno – Japan – leader after short program – score of 103.62.

The power, the speed, the quad flip jump. Am in my happy place!

Pair:

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford – Canada 2nd after short program score 73.53

I loved the way this team presented themselves on the ice. It wasn’t their best program to be sure, but they continued to work as a team. For better or worse, you really feel that they are in this together.

More to come tomorrow in the free programs. Follow me on Twitter @skatingpj and heads up – a special Facebook Live on Sunday morning from here in Regina. Details to follow soon. Have I said too much?

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