Figure skater Bryce Davison’s career in transition

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BY CRAIG SLATER, LEADER-POST DECEMBER 1, 2011 4:07 PM

REGINA — Every journey has a starting point.

For Bryce Davison, the Skate Canada Challenge was one of those stepping stones in his young career before he developed into a two-time Olympian.

This week, Davison is getting a new perspective on the competition taking place at the Co-Operators Centre. At 25, he has retired from competition, but is applying his knowledge of the sport from a coach’s perspective to a handful of skaters. He knows what it’s like to be a teenager competing in a national event.

“Events like these can be the start for many young skaters,” Davison said. “It might not be the start of a career, but perhaps them realizing they can do the things they dream of.”

The Skate Canada Challenge is the only opportunity skaters in novice, junior and senior divisions have to qualify for the Canadian Figure Skating Championships slated for Jan. 16-20 in Moncton, N.B.

Davison needed to succeed at Challenges in order to make the next step in his career. With former partner Jessica Dube, Davison is a three-time Canadian champion and a two-time Olympic competitor (2006, 2010) and a world bronze medallist.

Davison began skating when he was six years old. He said back then he didn’t see himself as a future Olympian, let alone a national champion. He said he “never really thought twice about it.”

But when he reached his teenage years — the majority of the skaters at the Skate Canada Challenge fit that age range — he seriously considered stepping up his game.