By Ron Guillet
It was a young partnership, the first international competitions for both skaters, and injury struck at the last moment, but Jeff Hough and Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve threw all obstacles aside and made a big splash in their debut on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, placing seventh and sixth in Estonia and Croatia.
“Until this season, I’ve mostly spent my career competing against the same 20 or so teams within Canada, so having the opportunity to see so many different and talented teams from all around the world was very eye-opening,” recounts Hough, a long-time Minto skater from Russell. “Neither of us really had an issue with nerves. Our main focus was just to enjoy every moment, and try to give the audience performances they would love and remember.”
The Minto Skating Club ice dancers only joined forces this past February and were promptly thrust into uncharted territory with a shorter-than-usual deadline. Last season, they each competed with different partners.
Hough had previously skated with Samantha Glavine (and won a national novice bronze medal in 2012), but she decided to retire following last January’s Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Croteau-Villeneuve also lost her partner, Montreal-based Dominic Barthe, after they mutually agreed to part ways.
When Croteau-Villeneuve came for a tryout with Hough, the chemistry was instantaneous.
“Skating together felt very natural for both of us,” recalls Hough. “We both have a very similar style.”
Croteau-Villeneuve traveled to Ottawa frequently while completing high school in Montreal, staying with a family Minto skating coordinator Darryl VanLuven knows through coaching. The first-year criminology student now lives in residence at the University of Ottawa.
Ankle injury fails to down skater
Accustomed to working towards a peak much later in winter, the new pair instead geared up for their first international assignments from Skate Canada Sept. 24-28 Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, and Oct. 8-12 in Zagreb, Croatia.
They were dealt some additional adversity when Croteau-Villeneuve sustained an ankle injury during practice in Croatia.
“(It was) kind of a challenge to keep the focus and stay confident, but my partner and my coach were there for me, and they knew that in my mind there was no way I was not going to perform that week,” Croteau-Villeneuve underlines. “I really wanted to skate over there, and in working with the doctor, we just made sure that I would be OK for the rest of the season, and he told me I could skate.”
Seeing Croteau-Villeneuve on crutches with the competition looming was a stressful sight, “but luckily she is very mentally strong,” says Hough, who was left with the strange task of skating of his own in the final practice before the event.
“I’d never done it before, and I knew the entire panel of judges would be watching,” adds the Carleton University aerospace engineering student. “I tried to sell it the best I could, and in hindsight, I believe it really helped make me feel comfortable out on the ice once Audrey was there with me.”
The pair made it through the event and came home with scores of 111.75 from Croatia and 122.54 in Estonia – well above the 110.84 and 111.30 totals Croteau-Villeneuve and Hough attained separately in finishing seventh and eighth respectively at last season’s junior nationals in Ottawa, and especially impressive since international judges tend to award points less easily than domestic ones.
The solid results provided a lift for the pair as they strive to become junior Canadian champions later this season.
“It’s definitely going to require a lot of work to get there since Canada has such a deep field of talented competitors, but we like to set our goals high,” indicates Hough.
Looking further down the road, they want to raise the bar even higher.
“We want to reach the Olympics and be on the podium,” signals Croteau-Villeneuve. “I know it seems like a big goal, but I know we can do it and I trust our training.”
Chartrand 7th at Grand Prix
Alaine Chartrand of the Nepean Skating Club placed seventh at the Oct. 30-Nov. 2 Skate Canada International Grand Prix of Figure Skating event in Kelowna, B.C., scoring a total of 156.22 points.
The Eastern Ontario Sectionals – the first qualifying event on the road to the Jan. 19-25 nationals in Kingston – were held Nov. 8-9 in Napanee. Results were not yet made available as of Ottawa Sportspage press time.