The talent of two figure skaters has thrown them for a financial loop.
Tim Pomares and Milara Okabe have been busy as they prepare for the 2020 Canadian Tire Figure Skating Championships in Mississauga, Ont. Jan. 13-19.
“We do a lot of our fundraising together,” Okabe said. “We’ve done bake sales, bottle drives...”
Pomares will compete in the men’s novice division while Okabe, and partner Josh Brauner from Calgary, qualified for the novice pairs.
Pomares qualified for the national championships by winning provincials and then finishing sixth in the Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton in late November.
“It was good, I made one mistake but it wasn’t too detrimental because the other things I did kind of made up for it,” Pomares said of his performance in Edmonton. “I was really dedicated to the performance, so I got all of my performance and presentation points.”
(He got high points from students and administration at Foothills Comp, where Pomares is a Grade 12 student. Administration, staff and students surrounded the reception area of a live-stream viewing of Pomares’ skate in Edmonton).
This is Pomares’ fourth trip to the national championships.
“This year going in is different, because I am not panicking, I’m more prepared and more trained and more confident in what I am doing,” Pomares said. “I’m less stressed in the outcome because I am more ready.”
He has also upped his game.
“My technical content is higher than it was last year,” Pomares said. “I am doing more triples than I was last year. I had six last year and now I am doing eight.”
Pomares is performing to the theme of Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Neil Diamond.
Ideal for the hard
working Pomares as the fictional bird was one who dedicated himself to be the one of the fastest birds in the world.
Okabe is a skater who does things somewhat opposite to others in pairs skating – making her a good fit for Brauner.
“There’s not many people who jump my way,” said Okabe, a Grade 11 student at the Comp. “There’s a limited amount of boys that jump my way.”
Okabe jumps clockwise while the majority of
skaters are turning the other way.
The pair met the now traditional way – through the Internet.
“I was thinking about doing pairs so I went on an ice partners search and Josh reached out to me and asked if we wanted to work on some elements and see if I liked pairs,” Okabe said.
“Then we ended up wanting to compete.”
The pair, who has been skating together for eight months, hit it off right away.
“We knew it was going to work, so we thought we would try it for a year,” Okabe said.
She was a successful solo skater in her own right, but decided to give pairs a shot this year.
“I was losing passion for singles skating and doing pairs brought back something to work on and something new,” she said.
Okabe/Brauner qualified for nationals by winning the novice pairs championship at provincials – a gritty performance as Okabe was coming off an injury.
“I tore something in my ankle just a couple weeks before,” Okabe said.
“Our performance wasn’t the best, but it went okay.”
She currently is battling a broken wrist, suffered when the pair did a throw.
“We are just going to do our best at nationals and try and skate clean in Ontario,” Okabe said. “I am nervous, I haven’t been to nationals before like Tim.”
Pomares had some sage advice for Okabe.
“Don’t think too hard and enjoy the experience,” Pomares said. “Because we both worked really hard and are ready to go.”
Pomares and Okabe said they practise about 12 hours a week – two hours per day, six days a week – in preparation for their approximately three-and-a-half minute skates.
Anyone wishing to donate to Pomares and Okabe’s trip to Mississauga can call 403-483-0056 or contact the skating club at Register.osc@gmail com
