This week marks my return back to London, Ontario for the Canadian Championships. It was there that I won my very first Senior Canadian title, in 2005.

For me, coming back to London is significant. I hold wonderful memories of the city and it seems like things are coming full circle. I had planned my career up until 2010 and I don’t know exactly what the future has in store for me.

I hope to win my sixth consecutive title. This number is significant: Jennifer Robinson, who dominated the category in the late 90’s and early 2000s, won the title five times.

When you are the reigning world silver medalist, to win a national title may not exactly be consider an important goal. Not so for me. Ever since my first title, it remains a major goal of mine each season. I enjoy challenging myself with this competition.

Despite all my previous titles, I do not take things lightly. I know the other girls are strong and will not go out without a fight. I am in a setting that allows me to see my competition. I train in Saint-Leonard with Amélie Lacoste, third last year, as well as Myriane Samson. I also saw Cynthia Phaneuf, the 2004 Canadian Champion, during a show in Quebec City right before Christmas. All the girls are well trained and prepared… and I included myself in that list.

These Canadian Championships also serve as the final qualification for the Vancouver Olympics. Two spots are up for grabs. Unlike in 2006, the competition is not the be all and end all of the decision. Our results since the beginning of the season will also be taken into consideration by Skate Canada. My participation in the Grand Prix Final will therefore be an advantage for me. The Japanese have the same system. So even though Miki Ando finished fourth at her nationals, she will be headed to Vancouver for the Olympics.

That being said, I have the intention of delivering to the best of my abilities in London. With all the training I have done in the last month, I will arrive in London feeling confident in myself and my ability to perform.

Like I previously mention in an earlier entry, I have modified how I practiced. Instead of practicing each element five or six times before completing a full run through, I now limit myself to only one or two repetitions. This change in routine gives me more energy, which allows me to better deliver my program from start to finish. I think I finally found a rhythm that suits me, and everything seems to be gelling and falling into place.

This new found ease into training can also find its source in some minor modifications that we have made to my long program. We worked with my choreographer Lori Nichol during a visit to Toronto last week.

The most important change we made was to my spiral sequence, which had been a major annoyance since the beginning of the season. I never felt like I was synchronized to the music, which became frustrating and would bother me throughout the rest of the program. We therefore took out one transition to shorten the sequence a bit. I think we were able to put our finger on the problem and its created very interesting aspect of surprise.

With only a month left before the Olympics, the Canadian Championships represent an extremely important competition, especially as I have not skated to the best of my abilities since the beginning of the season. I want to use this competition to skate well before a Canadian crowd to give me more confidence on my way to Vancouver.

The Olympic pressure is intense. And yes, it is also very stressful. Given that random people on the street come up to you saying “Go For the Gold,” it is not easy to ignore this pressure. We are only human after all. We must always remember all the people who support us and wish for us to succeed in whatever we do.

I am therefore extremely confident and I am exactly where I wanted to be before the Olympics. Thank you for all your encouraging words and I hope to bring you back some good news very soon.