HUNTSVILLE – Local figure skating fans will have more than a passing interest in the 2010 Winter Olympics. Now word has surfaced that this area will be represented at the upcoming international sports event.
Skate Canada officials have confirmed that Bryce Davison, the defending national pairs skating champion with partner Jessica Dubé, has listed Huntsville as his hometown.
Born in Walnut Creek, California, the 23-year-old skating star has been cottaging with his family in north Muskoka since he was a young boy.
“His parents have moved to the cottage as their home now, and Bryce has requested that as of the start of this season, Huntsville be known as his hometown,” said Emma Bowie, public relations co-ordinator for Skate Canada.
Davison and Dubé are three-time (2007, 2009, 2010) Canadian national champions, the 2008 world bronze medallists and the 2009 Four Continents silver medallists.
The duo placed 10th at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and seventh at the world championships in 2006.
They won their first national crown in Nova Scotia at the 2007 Canadian championships.
Davison currently resides and trains with Dubé in Drummondville, Quebec, but his thoughts are not far away from his family and his new-found home.
“I am from Huntsville… It is a great place to go back and unwind and spend some time away from training,” he said in a press kit from Skate Canada.
He and Dubé are currently on a media break, according to Bowie, and won’t be available for interviews until just before the start of the Olympics on Feb. 12.
Davison, who spent most of his life in the Cambridge, Ontario area, said he started skating at age three because his brother and sister were skaters and he would end up spending most of his free time at the rink.
So he decided becoming a skater was just a logical step for him.
“I knew I wanted to pursue figure skating more intensely after I was the juvenile champion in both single and pair skating at age 11 and 12.
“ Also I moved away from home for the first time at age 14 and this is when I knew I should really start to take it seriously,” he said.
Like many athletes, Davison has the burning desire to be the finest at what he does, and he and his partner will try to accomplish that in less than one month with the Olympics open in his native land. “I would like to one day, hopefully very soon, be able to say I was the best in the world.
“As for life, I just want to lead a happy fulfilling life whatever that may mean after skating is over,” he said.