Ajax ice dancers in first place going into tonights Free Dance finals in Oshawa
Published January 11, 2023 at 11:23 am
Step one in the quest for a national championship is done for Ajax ice dancers Nadiia Bashynska and Peter Beaumont, who are in first place after skating a clean and near flawless Rhythm Dance program Tuesday night at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa.
Bashynska and Beaumont scored 73.02 points to take a big lead over Sandrine Gauthier and Quentin Thierien of Quebec in the Junior Ice Dance competition ahead of tonight’s Free Dance finals.
CBC analyst Kaitlyn Weaver, a three-time national champion and world medalist in ice dance, called the two the “class of the field,” adding they were “mature and in-synch, down to their fingertips.”
Bashynska and Beamont, skating to Espana Waltz and Tango Grande, scored 40.91 in the elements portion and 32.11 for composition, far outdistancing the 37.1 and 27.94 scores for Gauthier and Thierien.
“It felt good, but it might take five business days to figure out how to feel,” Bashynska joked in the ‘Kiss ‘n Cry’ after their performance, with Beamont saying how important it was to skate a clean program in front of friends and family.
“It’s another step to the World Championships.”
Videos
Bashynska and Beamont, who are unbeaten in all competitions this year, including the Junior Grand Prix championship, earned bronze at the 2022 Junior World Figure Skating Championships held in Tallin, Estonia. This year’s competition will be in Calgary.
Tickets are still available for Free Skate finals in Junior Ice Dance tonight, with Synchronized Skating taking over the Tribute Centre Thursday and the senior portion of the event getting underway Friday.
