GRACE AND POWER:.
Huntsville figure skater Jacob Cryderman places 10th in the Novice Men’s skating division at Jack Bionda Arena.
Ontario Winter Games
A tough road for Jacob Cryderman was not made easier this past weekend.
Competing at home in front of friends and family was to be a highlight in the young figure skater’s career. But the 2010 Ontario Winter Games was not a good experience for Cryderman, as he came in 10th in the novice division, during the figure skating competition at the Jack Bionda Arena.
“Overall I was not very pleased with my programs,” he said after Sunday’s competition had concluded.
“Coming up to the games, my training was going very well, but while doing my programs, the jumps did not come together. Overall I was not happy with either of my programs. I was training them much differently at home in Barrie.”
This was the second time at the Ontario Winter Games for Cryderman. He competed at the event in 2004 when it was hosted in London.
He didn’t win the gold medal but he was determined to compete at the games again.
Cryderman got that chance to return to the games this past fall when he won the Northern Ontario Sectionals, held in Huntsville on the Oct. 28-29 weekend.
He placed first in the men’s novice category, which qualified him to represent the region at the Ontario Winter Games.
Following that win at the sectionals, the 17-year-old Huntsville native faced a string of bad breaks. Cryderman suffered an ankle injury while training at the prestigious Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie that forced him to take all of December off and he only managed to get back on the ice in early January.
However, after only a few days back on the ice, he developed a really bad case of strep throat that kept him off skates up until early February.
“It was definitely tough to get through this season because every time I would get sick or an injury would pop up, it felt like I had to restart my training all over again,” he said.
Still, he upped his training regime to prepare for the Ontario Winter Games and both he and his coach Janice Morgan were confident that the games would be a successful time in Cryderman’s young skating career.
“I felt very confident coming into the games,” he said.
“The level of energy at the arena was indescribable. Even though I was not happy with my skates, I still enjoyed the experience.”
Despite not winning a medal, Cryderman still found lots to be positive about competing at the winter games.
“The highlight of my weekend would be the excitement at the arena and getting to see new and old faces,” he said.