Indepth with Canadian Meagan Duhamel
Part I
by Helga Dobor
&
Mireille Geurts
Photos © Meagan
Duhamel & Lisa Prenty
 |
Meagan had the day off from skating and took some time to sit down with us to answer a few questions. Unfortunately we had to break up her cookie-bake session for this. She was preparing sugar cookies with sprinkles and icing and chocolate chips cookies, for her uncle because he always wants snacks. "So when he gets home from work he can have some of those". This session got a bit out of hand, took a long time. So sorry Meagans uncle, if there aren't any cookies, it is totally our fault! |
You began skating at the age of 3. That is very young,
do you remember the first time you put your skates on?
I remember mostly skating on the outdoor rinks as a young
child. I do not remember the very first time I skated but
I can remember going out with my family in the winter time
every year and trying to keep up with all the big kids at
the rinks!!
How were you as a kid on the ice?
Oh, I fell alot!! I remember attending summer camps with my
sister for skating and the coaches would call me a human zamboni!!
I just liked to go fast and try all the difficult things that
I saw my sister doing and this usually caused quite a few
falls.
Yes your sister, Heather, was also
a skater. How much influence had she on you that you started
skating?
I followed Heather around everywhere. From her friends
houses to following her to the arena. It was easy for my parents
because they were already there anyways for my sister. When
she qualified for the Nationals and my family went to watch
and it really opened our eyes to the great skating in Canada.
Coming from such a small town we never experienced seeing
so many great skaters. From that point on I knew I one day
wanted to compete at that level just like my sister had. She
was a huge inspiration to me.
Ah great, but was she next to an inspiration
never a rival?
At first I only looked up to her! Then, I wanted to compete
a short and long program like she had been doing and suddenly
I found myself competing against her. I am a very competitive
person and I always wanted to be the best but it never got
out of hand.
So it was healthy competition?
Yes! We were the only competitive skaters at our
arena so we used our competition to motivate us.
How old is she?
She is 21 now and attending university. She wants
to be a pharmacist. She is very smart and works really hard
Does she still skate?
She coaches skating now. She quit shortly after qualifying
for the nationals. That was her all time goal and once she
achieved it she wanted to focus on school
And does she help you too?
Well, she mostly coaches the younger skaters near
our home. I don't think she wants a career out of it she just
does it for fun. She doesn't usually help me much because
I don't live at home and I don't see her very often.
 |
Ok, now lets get back to you. |
And was this jump the most memorable
jump from your first landed jumps? Or other jumps?
I think that landing my single axel was a highlight for me
because almost instantly I learned all my doubles. They just
came so easily after the axel!! I also remember landing my
first double axel!! That was huge for me because no one in
my skating club or any club close to it was landing this jump
except my sister.
Is there a jump you dislike?
I love all the jumps!! The double axel is not my
favourite but people tell me that I have a good one so I guess
it's not as bad as it feels....
What is the jump/combination of your
dreams, you wanna execute at least once?
A quad jump!! I would love to begin work on this jump this
spring.
I also enjoy working on 3\3 combinations. i have completed
many in practices, including loop\loop, sal\loop, toe\toe
and lutz\loop.
That is great! And which one will you
be training for the quad?
Quad loop!! Because the triple loop is my favourite
jump and also my easiest jump!
Do you like the other elements in skating
as much as the jumps?
I love everything about skating!! But I know I must
work hard on my non-jump elements for the new system. I have
put alot of work towards them this year and I will continue
to in the future.
What is your opinion about the new system?
I think this new system is great!! It has forced
so many skaters to work on elements that have been neglected
in the past. It also gives credit for what skaters do and
not for what they have done in the past.
Does CoP have a great influence on how
you train/put a program together?
It has completely changed the way I train!! I now devote more
time towards my spins, footwork and basic skating then I ever
did in the past...
You said before you don't live at home. Is that because
you moved to Barrie?
I moved away from home when I was 14 to come to Mariposa School
of Skating to train. I lived with another family for years
and now I live with my uncle.
It is great living with my uncle. I feel more comfortable
then I did when I was living with other families whom I didn't
know very well.
How was your life like there in the
first days/weeks/months?
Well.. I spent a summer at Mariposa and decided I
wanted to move here.... It took a lot of convincing to my
parents but I succeeded. *smiles* At first it was so difficult.
I did not know many skaters here and I was not happy where
I was living. I spent alot of time on the phone with my mom
and I remember one night I called home crying at about midnight
or 1 am and when I woke up the next morning my dad was there
with me. He drove all night to stay with me for a few hours
that morning.
I eventually found a better place to live and made tons of
friends and became much happier.
Thats sweet. Your parents seem to support
you a lot?
Yes. I am lucky to have such supportive parents. They have
put their lives on hold for my skating and I am so lucky!!
Both my mother and father work two jobs to support my skating
and without them I would never have made it this far.
How often can you visit each other now?
Usually once a month I go home. I drive now but my parents
don't like me driving the 3 hours (it is 3 hours from my home
in Lively to Barrie where I train) by myself so I usually
have to take the bus home. *smiles*
You are being coached in Barrie by Lee
Barkell. What is your work like with him?
When I began working with Lee it was totally different then
how I was coached before. Lee is very serious and expects
for me to work 110% at all times. I was not used to such a
"business-like" coach but I have become much more
comfortable with that now. When I get hyper or too excited
he can calm me down and bring me to the level I need to be
at to perform my best. He is also extremely positive and patient
with me.
When did he start coaching you?
In the summer of 2000.
When you just moved?
Yes. I had gone to Barrie to do a pairs try-out about a year
prior to that and Lee was the one conducting that tryout.
Since he was the only coach my mother or I were familiar with
at the time we choose to have him as my coach.
Seems like a lot of adjusting, a new
place to life and a coach that works so differently then what
you are used to?
Yes it was so difficult at the beginning. Lee also had to
get used to me as well, and I'm sure that was probably hard
for him also!!
Since you mention the pairs tryout,
you recently teamed up with Ryan Arnold. How did this
happen? Were you still looking for a pairs partner? |
 |
How was it to start training as a pair?
Oh it was a lot harder then I thought!! I never imagined all
the work that had to be done. It was like learning to skate
all over again. Some things came so easily, like the throws
and timing on our side-by-side jumps but the lifts and twist
took lots of time!
How was the very first time you tried a lift?
Oh it was alright. Thankfully Ryan knew what he was doing.
But we did a lot of off-ice lifts before we began trying them
on the ice
How goes a practice? Because you both skate as single
skaters, too...
Yes this summer was the longest 2 months of my life!!!!
haha...
I was only used to skating 2 hours a day when Iwas
just doing singles and now it is 2 hours for pairs and 2 hours
for singles. plus this summer we had stroking classes, off-ice
lift classes, ballet classes and our regular off-ice work
out..... it was LONG days.... and very tiring...
How do you learn to adjust your skating
to each other?
Well... Ryan and I had good timing together from
the beginning. But, of course, we had to adjust some things.
We did a lot of basic stroking exercises to help create unison
between our bodies but we still have alot of work to do with
the whole "skating as one" factor. I think that
only comes with time and we havent had alot of it yet.
Does one of the two play second fiddle?
(pairs or single skating)
Well for Ryan he definitely focuses more on pairs
skating and for me, I try my best to be equal with both. Since
I was competing internationally with both this fall sometimes
one would take over the other. Like when Iwas going to Courchevel,
I focused more on my singles the week before leaving. And
that happened again going to Romania and to Finland for the
final. But now, since Canadians, I have not been training
my singles and just focusing on pairs for junior worlds.
How long will you skate in both categories
and in both junior and senior field?
Junior worlds is my final junior competition because
I turned 19 this past december!!
I plan to compete in both for as long as possible!! I would
love to compete at the Olympics in 2010 as both a pairs skater
and a ladies competitor. I feel that pairs skating helps my
singles and vise versa. There is no reason to pick one over
the other
 |
You don't prefer one over the
other? |
Are there minuses too with skating
in both categories?
Of course there is!! The hours are so long everyday and training
2 short programs and 2 long programs a day gets tiring!! The
risk of an injury is also much higher since I am training
so often. But that is a chance I am willing to take!!
