Love Story: Canadian Style
                                      By: Crystal Jardine

     They stood long before the music had ended; all 12, 244 of them, each wiping away the tears that had formed in their eyes over the last four-and-a-half, magical minutes. As the familiar music from the 1970's movie "Love Story" faded eerily into the cool arena air, the clapping began - louder, longer, and more enthusiastically than memory can recall. What could have possibly stirred such emotion in the large Albertan crowd? Did a long time Canadian champion just skate to victory once again? No, actually the pair that stood wrapped in each other's arms, not far past center ice, had just finished only their second Nationals competition; but despite their newfound pair status, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier had conquered a goal usually only set for teams with many more years of experience under their belts: they had won.
     The Senior Canadian National Championships had commenced only two days before when one of Canada's newest pair forces had dazzled the audience with their fun and flirtatious tango routine. Already the undeniable favourites, Jamie and David presented such realistic characters (she a vivacious Spanish beauty, he a young suitor) that the judges had had no choice but to award the pair a complete board of 5.9's for presentation.
      On the night of the free skate, the Olympic Saddledome was buzzing with both excitement and anxiety. Would the dynamic young team (Sale is 22, Pelletier is 25) actually beat out the reigning champions, Kristy and Kris Wirtz? All throughout the season, the world was talking: Canada's new team was good, and their "Love Story" program -choreographed by the incomparable Lori Nichol - was even better. Now, the moment of truth was upon them. The Wirtzes were out first in the final group; it was evident why Kristy and Kris had the title of "champions" attatched to them. A haunting performance to Debussy's "Claire De Lune" left the audience standing by the end. As the champs took their bows, Jamie and David stepped onto the ice. Their subtle grey and black costumes were not unfamiliar to the audience that became one giant whisper as the announcer finally presented the next team.
     Emotionally, physically, and meritoriously, "Love Story" could not be beat. The expressions drew the audience in and held their anxious stares as Jamie and David performed spectacular moves to near perfection. The music faded away as clearly as it had begun and the crowd rose as one, completely aware that they had just witnessed a piece of magic rarely seen in the sport of pairs skating where the main focus is on the technical elements. To reinforce the power that the program had on the watchers, the CTV cameras scanned the crowd and found Barb Underhill -a Canadian and World champion with Paul Martini- crying her eyes out.
        "I wasn't crying," Barb said later, "I was sobbing"
       The marks didn't even have to be read for everyone to know the result: Jamie and David had won, and they had done it by a landslide. The technical marks were in the high 5.8-5.9 range, reflecting an error made by Jamie on a side-by-side jump. It was David who saw the presentation marks first; he jumped up off the bench as if his hockey team had just scored the tie breaker in overtime at the Stanley Cup Finals. Jamie looked intently at the screen as the presentation marks came up: two 5.9's and five 6.0's! The marks only strengthened the fact that Sale and Pelletier were as close to perfection as any Canadian team had ever come. Jamie quickly joined her partner in cheering, as did the rest of the crowd. With tears of happiness streaming down her face, Jamie yelled "Thank you, Lori!" over the deafning noise in the Saddledome.
     The future for pair skating in Canada has never looked so bright, but Canada's wonder team isn't looking far into it. They both agree that a medal at the Worlds in Nice, France would be nice, but remind their fans that this is their World debut as a team. No matter what happens during the rest of the season and beyond, the "Love Story" and the pair that brought the music to life will go down as perhaps the greatest moment in Canadian pairs history






copyright Crystal Jardine 2000