Saskatoon, Here We Come

The friendly young lad at the Westjet counter at the Ottawa airport didn't hear the word quite right. But given winter's severe bite in the air, I had to agree his response sure made a heck of lot more sense.
"Where are you headed?" he asked.
Your friendly blog correspondent's answer came across as muffled, given the fact he's been nursing a rather nasty cold for a few days now.
"Cancun?" he asked.
"I wish," came the caustic reply, no doubt brought about by the bitter winds that all but froze my face on the walk into the terminal.
Nope, Saskatoon is hardly Cancun. But that's where we find ourselves headed today. And you know what, nothing against the warmth in that favourite holiday hotspot, but we're quite happy to say we'll be in Saskatchewan in a few short hours.
The 2009 BMO Canadian figure skating championships await us and, if you're familiar with the yarns spun here in the past couple of years, you know this is one of our favourite weeks of any year. Granted, we could do without the minus-27 temperatures (the bitter winds no doubt making it much worse) that will greet us, but this is an event that does a lot of warm the heart each and every year.
Want to see a cross-section of where this sport stands in Canada as we sit a year out from what will be the biggest Olympic party our fair land has ever seen? Cast your eyes toward the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon, where you'll see the stars of today and tomorrow. And we are happy to report there are plenty of both.
Birthday girl Joannie Rochette (happy 23rd!) is gunning for a Canadian fifth straight senior women's crown. Patrick Chan has to be favoured to make it back-to-back senior men's titles. And finally, after an autumn wiped out by injury, ice dance phenoms Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are ready to put on the grandest of shows again, starting with the senior compulsory dance later on tonight.
Sadly, the surprising pairs champs from Vancouver 2008 won't be with us. Anabelle Langlois' ailing ankle hasn't healed quite enough, so she and partner Cody Hay will have to take a pass this week. But look no further than reigning world bronze medallists Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison for some star power in that event.
The junior ice dancers are on the ice right now, with the men, pairs and women to follow. If you're looking for the next wave of Canadian talent, there's no better place to start.
We'll be here all week to chronicle it all, as we have been since the blog made a rather auspicious debut in Halifax in 2007. Mostly, it'll be about the skaters, but we'll try to give you a bit of Prairie flavour as well. Read us often and post your thoughts about anything you read here. We'd love to hear your thoughts. Most of all, enjoy what you see on the ice. It's more than reason enough to say you'd really rather be in Saskatoon.