Kevin Boczar started figure skating because his parents thought he was too small for hockey.
But Boczar did not let his small stature hold him back. He stuck with skating and proved himself not only as a figure skater, but also as an athlete.
“Being in Deep River, almost every single guy played hockey, and I was the only figure skater,” says Boczar. “But I played pretty much all the high school sports and was better than most of the hockey players at them so they couldn’t nag me too much.”
At the age of seven he began skating in singles. Boczar, now 19, currently focuses solely on ice dance.
Boczar and his partner, Hélène Letourneau, will be competing in the Skate Canada Junior Nationals representing Eastern Ontario. The competition will take place in Ottawa from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2 at the Nepean Sportsplex.
Brenda Gorman is the director of corporate communications at Skate Canada, the national figure skating body. She says Junior Nationals helps young skaters prepare for senior levels of competition.
“For some junior skaters, it will be their first national competitive experience,” wrote Gorman in an e-mail. “It will expose them to competing against skaters from all across the country and provide them with a sense of what is to come as they move up through the different levels of national competition.”
This will be Boczar’s first time competing in the Skate Canada Junior Nationals.
Boczar was born and raised in Deep River, Ont. When he was 16, he moved away from his hometown to further his skating options in Ottawa.
Following the advice of a former coach, he joined Ottawa’s Minto Skating Club, which is one of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious skating clubs.
In order to qualify for Junior Nationals, skaters must compete in a series of competitions called sectionals.
Because Boczar and Letourneau have only been skating together for two years, expectations at sectionals for the pair were low.
“A lot of figure skating judging is based on reputation. Being a new team, we didn’t have a lot of reputation behind us,” says Boczar. “This was a huge stepping stone for us because we’re the sort of new team on the block and suddenly we’re doing really well.”
Ranking high at Junior Nationals can be a huge break for young skaters.
kate Canada employees will be present throughout the competition to evaluate and choose skaters to represent Canada for international assignments or events.
Impressing the judges can also make it easier for skaters to move up to the senior level. Once there, they have the opportunity to be members of the Four Continents Championship team, the World team, or the Olympic team during Olympic years.
More than 250 skaters, 200 coaches and 150 volunteers will flood Ottawa for the competition. Also competing is another ice dance team from Minto that Boczar and Letoureau practice with.
But Boczar says he’s not nervous.
“Maybe I’ll start to feel a bit nervous as it approaches, but right now, between school and practice, there’s barely any time to think about butterflies,” says Boczar.
Darryl VanLuven, Boczar’s coach, supervises the pair’s practices, which take place every weekday morning from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m. He says Boczar and Letourneau are on the right track for success.
“I always say enjoy what you’re doing,” says VanLuven. “You need to go in with a good and open mindset because if you are not enjoying what you’re doing, you’re going to be disappointed with the results.”
Boczar says he enjoys skating. And although he doesn’t intend to make a career out of it, figure skating has been more than just a hobby.
And, he doesn’t begrudge his parents for the decision they made 12 years ago when they put him in figure skating rather than hockey.
“I’m happy with how it worked out,” says Boczar. “And I still have all my front teeth.”