A lot of pain, but in the end plenty of gain.
Tim Pomares pushed through an injury through qualifiers for the Canadian Tire National Figure skating championships, but when he got to the big show he turned in one of the best performances of his young career.
“I made a lot of personal improvements this year that I was really proud of,” said Pomares, a Grade 11 student at Foothills Composite High School. “There were some things, I could have done better — and should have done better — but I am proud of what I did.”
Pomares finished eighth overall in the Novice Men’s division at the championships in St. John, NB on Jan. 15. However, he squeaked into the finals by taking the lower rungs of the qualifying spots at both the Alberta/NWT sectionals and Western Canadians due to a hip injury.
“Tim had to skate through that injury and we had to dumb down what he is capable of in order for him to get through to nationals,” said Okotoks Figure Skating coach Kerri Roberts. “He just kept working through it… but the last month of training he turned it around.”
Pomares drew plenty of attention in St. John.
“When you go there you practice, practice, practice,” Roberts said. “At those practices there’s judges, tech specialists, everyone is there from Skate Canada and Tim was turning heads everywhere… He had a huge improvement from last year.”
Pomares parlayed that practice into one of his strongest skates of his life in the 2-½ minute short performance.
“Tim finished fifth in the short program with a fairly big mistake in one of his jumps,” Roberts said. “He turned a triple loop into a tender loop. With that triple loop in the program he would have finished in the top three.
“He has made leaps and gains in his performance, technical and confidence. He won’t quit.”
He had another good skate in the 3-½ minute freeskate performance. He had added a Triple Lutz to this year’s performance.
“Almost,” Pomares said with a smile when asked if he nailed it at nationals.
He slightly turned out of the Triple Lutz, but far from a disaster, Roberts said.
His strong showing led to Skate Canada asking him to compete in the United States in the future. Pomares also garnered attention from an associate of the late former Canadian champion and bronze medallist Toller Cranston, an ultimate showman and athlete on skates.
“Toller Cranston’s best friend told Tim ‘You have something very special,’” Roberts said. “Him being spotted and cited by some of the top wigs in Skate Canada is something he should be incredibly proud of.”
Ironically, Pomares had received the Toller Cranston Memorial Fund Award in 2018. He shares some of Cranston’s showmanship.
“One thing l love to do is showoff to people,” Roberts said. “The audience doesn’t make me nervous.”
You don’t showoff if you aren’t ready.
Pomares said he skates virtually every day, on the ice for 15 hours a week. That does not include training off the ice. He skates under the tutelage of Roberts and Greg Berezowski, who team coach Pomares.
The skater is now taking a well-deserved break.
“I don’t want to push too far,” Pomares said. “I love skating and I want to be able to maintain the passion I have for skating, rather than over-training.”
