L.A. Means The World

A world of possibilities await Canada's finest skaters in Los Angeles.
And we're not just talking about the 2009 world figure skating championships, which are set for March 23-29 at the Staples Center. Let's just say the ramifications of that event will be felt all the way to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
It's those results in La-La Land, you see, that determine the size of team Canada can enter to defend its home turf in Vancouver in a year's time. And being that it's right in its backyard, Skate Canada wants its squad to be as close to the max (three entries per discipline) as possible.
With that thought in mind, Skate Canada will break from the norm and hold off naming its full Los Angeles team until after the Four Continents Championship, to be held Feb. 2-8 in Vancouver. That also happens to be the Olympic test event for Pacific Coliseum, which will be the Games venue for figure skating in 2010.
"We intend to name some members of that (2009 world) team here in Saskatoon, but the majority of that team will not be named until after Four Continents," said Skate Canada technical director Mike Slipchuk. "We're going to get a good overview of the season and how our athletes are doing. This event (in Saskatoon) goes a long way in deciding those thoughts but these world championships are very key for us and will determine our Olympic team size."
Canada can send one of its largest contingents in recent memory to the Los Angeles worlds: Three men, three pair teams, two women and two ice dance couples. While a lot of the credit for that rests with the three medals Canadian skaters earned at the 2008 worlds in Sweden, Slipchuk rightly pointed out it took more than that.
"The key spots that will decide those (Olympic) entries are the second and third spots in each discipline," he said.
For example, while Jeffrey Buttle won the world men's title in Gothenburg, it was Patrick Chan's ninth-place finish that secured the third men's spot for L.A. It was the same drill in pairs: Bronze medallists Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison teamed up with Meagan Duhamel and Craig Buntin (sixth in Gothenburg) to secure the third ticket.
The Four Continents team, meanwhile, will be named on Sunday at the conclusion of the event, but Slipchuk said allowances will be made "for skaters who may have been injured (read: Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay) or may not have been able to compete fully this season."
In other words, expect the drama to last well beyond the final bows on Sunday here at the Credit Union Centre.
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The first medallists have been declared at these championships.
Take a bow, Karen Routhier and Eric Saucke-Lacelle, who claimed the junior ice dance gold medals this morning. The Quebec couple won all three phases of the competition, including today's free dance final at the Credit Union Centre.
Routhier, 17, of Stoneham, Que., and Saucke-Lacelle, 19, of Sherbrooke, Que., settled for the silver medals at year ago in Vancouver. With the 2008 champs, Kharis Ralph and Asher Hill, now skating senior, the stage was clearly set for the Quebecers to take the next step.
Rounding out the podium were Vancouver-based Tarrah Harvey and Keith Gagnon (silver, 156.75), and Alexandra Paul and Jason Cheperdak of Barrie, Ont.(bronze, 150.26).
Harvey and Gagnon, by the way, are coached by a pair of familiar names — 10-time Canadian medallists Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe.