Chartrand rebounds in big way

By Josh Wegman

With Olympic dreams in sight, Alaine Chartrand of the Nepean Skating Club was devastated to fall short of that objective by placing fifth at January’s qualifier in Kanata, a year after winning a bronze medal at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

“That was probably the lowest point in my career,” reflects the 18-year-old. “It’s one thing to miss the Olympics, but when you didn’t put forward your best performance and you don’t make it, that’s tough.”

She bounced back quickly from the disappointment, however, and in a fairly big way. Barely a week later, Chartrand placed seventh at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taiwan, and further built on that with a fifth-place performance at March’s World Junior Championships in Bulgaria, finishing as the top North American.

Chartrand challenged herself by adding another triple axel to her program, which wasn’t included last year when she placed eighth at junior worlds.

“This was a great result for Alaine in a very strong field,” Skate Canada High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk signals.

Family front & centre in success
Chartrand’s main training base is at the Nepean Sportsplex, but she also travels to many other points near and far from her family’s home base near Prescott. She’s taken direction from many different coaches over her 14 years on the ice – including her influential choreographer, Jeffrey Buttle – and credits the variety to her success.

“I believe that working with many people is an advantage because everyone has something unique to offer,” explains the Grade 11 Thousands Islands Secondary School student.

One thing that’s remained consistent throughout her career is family support. Chartrand’s father, John, plays the role of chauffeur, driving her to virtually every competition and practice, while her mother, Heather, takes care of scheduling and directing.

It’s a true team effort from the entire Chartrand family, Alaine notes, and that doesn’t just mean her parents. Her grandfather purchased a full section of seating at the Canadian Tire Centre for nationals to allow friends, family and teammates to come support. Her grandmother makes all her costumes that she wears for each performance.

This tremendous support, Chartrand indicates, is a major reason why she keeps Ottawa as her main training base rather than setting up shop elsewhere, as many advanced local figure skaters do.

“We’ve had a lot of success,” notes the 2018 Olympic hopeful. “It works right now and I don’t think we’d want to change that.”