By Sandra Lewrey
In the high-pressure world of competitive sports, there is an unspoken belief that athletes who haven’t “made it” by the time they’re 20 years old won’t make it at all.
Derek Schmidt, 24, hopes to lay that theory to rest.
Schmidt, an Ottawa resident, has been figure skating for 15 years and competing at the senior level for three. In a sport typically reserved for teenagers, it’s rare to find skaters like Schmidt who have not fared well at the amateur level still competing past their 20s.
Although Schmidt has never won any major competitions, he hoped for a breakthrough performance at the Canadian figure skating championships, held at the Civic Centre Jan. 27 – 31.
He finished the competition in ninth place.
“In the skating world, I’m definitely getting up there,” says Schmidt. “But I feel strong and as long as I keep working hard, this is what I’ll do.”
Schmidt is no stranger to hard work. At the Minto Skating Club where he trains, he is often referred to as a “work horse.”
In preparation for the Canadian championships, he trained six days a week, including two hours of skating a day, plus stretching, aerobics and weight-lifting.
At the Ottawa Athletic Club where Schmidt trains off the ice, sport therapist Jennifer Millar calls him a “focused athlete who knows what he is up against, but continues to push for his best.”
In an attempt to impress both the public and the judges, Schmidt added a quadruple toe loop jump to his program.
It’s one of the hardest jumps a skater can perform.
Donald Jackson, executive director of skating at the Minto Skating Club, says Schmidt is willing to take risks like the quadruple jump, and taking risks are what make a champion.
Jackson ought to know. In 1962, he won the world championships for Canada after landing the first triple lutz jump in competition.
He credits his win to the fact he took a risk that could have “made or ruined” his career.
As Jackson notes, taking risks are especially important for an older skater like Schmidt looking to get noticed.
“He just has to get out there and give it his all,” says Jackson. “At this point in the game, he really has nothing to lose, and if it happens to pay off, he’ll be a much better skater for it.”
Unfortunately, not all risks lead to victory.
Last year, Schmidt failed to advance past the qualifying round for the Canadian championships, citing a “bad skating day” as the reason he was held back.
For any skater, this kind of set back can often be devastating, but Schmidt hasn’t given up.
In his quest for a top five finish at this year’s Canadian championships, Schmidt has taken a number of calculated risks.
In addition to unveiling two new programs and adding the quadruple jump, Schmidt is trying to prove he has what it takes to be a top-class skater.
Schmidt Update:
Schmidt fell on the quadruple jump in his short program at the Canadian figure skating championships. Despite a well-skated long program, he finished ninth overall.