Wesley Chiu is taking his promising skating career to the national stage for the very first time.
The Connaught Skating Club member and Grade 6 student at Richmond Christian will be representing his province at the upcoming Skate Canada Challenge in Montreal. Chiu earned his ticket east by winning the Pre-Novice Division at the 2017 B.C./Yukon Sectional Championships in Kelowna.
“I was able to skate with more speed and my jumps were cleaner,” smiled Chiu who was cheered on by his proud parents and sister. “I made sure I rotated my triples to get bonus points.
“The lower levels don’t get a chance to go to Challenge so it’s pretty exciting.”
Chiu opened up a sizeable lead after his short program and also put together a strong free skate. What sets him apart from his opponents is his technical ability. He landed three of his six scheduled jumps in his free skate and that was more than enough for a comfortable win.
“Five of Wesley’s six jump passes in the long are of high level difficulty and get a full bonus point just for being attempted,” explained his coach Keegan Murphy, Connaught’s Director of Programs. “Even if there is error on the element, a strong amount of points are rewarded due to its difficulty in relation to the competitive level. Compared to his competitors, his program has a 10 point gain in start value.”
Chiu headed to Kelowna with momentum, having won at a competition in Kamloops a couple of weeks earlier. However, the outcome was by no means a certainty.
“He has been the underdog all season. The other boys are doing simpler programs with less risk,” added Murphy.
“He will be up against the best boys at his level from all over Canada in (Motnreal). Some are as old as 15 or 16. Wesley is extremely young for his technical development. If he is at this best, he could challenge for top five. That would be a huge statement for his first year at this level of competition.”
