The 2010  Figure Skating "Worlds" has been one of the most memorable ones for me for a number of reasons, not the least of which has been the skating so far.  (There is still the ladies free program on the slate for tomorrow and the Gala on Sunday)

It has been thrilling to see that good skating prevails and that noone is going to give you a Gold medal just for showing up - you have to earn it.

In ice dance today, Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir had me on the edge of my seat waiting for their free dance marks to be called.  They had the lead through the compulsory and original dance (where they had broken the world record) and then skated well but I wondered if it was going to be well enough, what with Scott's one wobbly twizzle and taking a bit longer to set up the "Goose" and all. Rivals from the US, Meryl Davis and Charlie White were brilliant and narrowly beat them in the free but not by enough to overtake them. A squeaker to be sure for Virtue and Moir who are first time world champions.

The women took the ice today and by the end of it, the Olympic and defending World champion from Korea, Yu-Na Kim is in 7th place after the short program.  It reminded me of a friend telling me that if you are a newsperson and about to interview someone in a hurry you may already have a direction in mind for your questions.  When the answers aren't what you expect, then you have to re-frame your approach entirely. That's how the women's event felt.  Japan's Mao Asada is in second place and American Mirai Nagasu skated the roof off the place in a season's best performance and took the lead.  All bets are off for what is going to happen tomorrow.  Can't wait!

Daisuke Takahashi of Japan, the Olympic bronze medallist took the men's title and in fact "owned" the event. I didn't know he had it in him.  What a thrill to see him step up and lay down two solid programs and include a solid quad flip attempt in the free; the very first.  Then to have silver medallist  Patrick Chan of Canada and  bronze medallist Brian Joubert of France earn their medals through solid competition was an energizing experience to say the least.

Anxiety creates its' own kind of energy which gets compounded by limitations imposed by the clock and then pushing those limits just to see if it can be done.  Will the guest make it on time to the building for the interview? Will the assigned escort be there to take them to make-up?  Will I make it down 2 floors in the amount of time we allowed for some replay programming? Will the equipment work? Did I do enough research? Will the tapes be the right ones? Will I remember to have my "cheat notes" with me? Will I remember to say thank you? Will I make it back up two floors and down the hall and into the booth and  have my headset on in time before the end of the commercial? Will there be enough time to answer Dan's call through my headphones?  "Cue".

"Welcome to Championship Figure Skating on CBC; presented by Artistry"

I did - twice - and today it was only with about 10 seconds to spare.

It was worth it though as I got answers to some new questions.

I'll admit it: I am breathless. 

The kind of feeling where you don't know whether to laugh or cry as you alternate between terror and euphoria on the craziest roller coaster ride ever.

Hi everyone -Turin here we come! Just for fun, I thought I would post my IAsk questions  for Artistry that I will be asking during theCBC broadcasts this week.  I have used www.fsuniverse.net,  Twitter (@skatingpj) & the shows to start conversations. The response has been GREAT and some really interesting points have been made all season long which makes me hopeful that you will weigh in here too! 

Either leave your comment making sure to use the question# in your response or email me at pjkwong@pjkwong.com and you just might make the IAsk answer segment on TV! I think it's going to be a great competition. I can't wait to get started @7am ET on Tuesday morning! Thanks to all! Cheers, Pj

The skating has just ended in Jeonju, Korea and what springs to mind is all that has happened over the last 4 days.  Not only on the ice, but the stuff that goes on behind the scenes.  I went to Jeonju for the 4 Continents Championship in 2002 and have a very clear picture in my head of the rink and the surrounding area.  I remember well that it was an area known for paper products and that there is in fact a paper museum. I also remember getting into a cab with three Canadian men and I won't mention names exactly but one rhymes with  "dead fart on".  In any event, we wanted to go to the paper district (turns out it was behind the hotel) and in their desire to please; everyone from the doorman on down kept saying "yes" to all of our questions leading us to believe that there was a level of understanding that didn't exist.  It took $10 and a half hour cab ride across the (beautiful) countryside to get dropped back at our hotel and to have an English speaking person direct us around the corner for what we wanted. 

The Four Continents Championships never ceases to provide me with moments of pure skating bliss from skaters I hadn't previously really known.  I saw Zhang and Zhang for the first time at a 4Cs.  Jeff Buttle won his title in Jeonju and I can still recall his La Strada program and the squealing Korean girls who all developed crushes on him based on his warmth and easy smile.   Yu-Na Kim I first saw in exhibition as a very young girl either the first or second time I came here and the writing was on the wall even then.

These 4Cs will be forever locked in my brain on a couple of different fronts:  the look of joy on Kevin Reynolds' face after the short program and the look on Adam Rippon's after the free - both men amazing competitors and worthy champions.   I love seeing the new talent and wondering what the future will hold for them.

The other memory for me is from the contact I am getting to have with skating fans (like me).  When I first started doing "live feed commentary" it was just about the skaters with nothing going on in the floods or during the warm ups.  It was a necessity but certainly not anything that anyone thought had potential.  Or so I thought.  Over this last season, the coolest thing yet is that TV now goes both ways and I love it.  The interactivity that is now possible thanks to technology means that we are truly sharing the experience as opposed to just being told about it.  For me, the chat, the email, the twittering and the online forum experience has added a new and exciting dimension to my job and I am grateful for it.  I get to hear from parents, skaters, fans, colleagues DURING the event.  How cool is that? Almost as good as sitting in the stands watching skating with friends.

Lots of emails to answer this time and I am looking forward to getting to all of them!

Saturday at the BMO Canadian Figure Skating Championships was memorable to say the least and it started me thinking.

Canadians watched the podium story unfold in such a way that not only were titles defended in the  pairs, women and dance but  that the skaters in each dominated their event to the degree that not only did they become the gold medallists they earned the right to be called Champions.

In my mind, winners aren't always "champions" and it takes a special kind of performance to really earn the moniker. 

Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison were more than memorable in their free program to The Way We Were.  On the surface the program was always lovely to watch with a romantic quality that was able to draw the spectator in.  What was different in their winning free program was that beyond that "soft" quality, they showed that they have the "technical goods" to compete and the gritty determination it takes to deliver.

Ice Dance is being re-defined by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir whose free dance is among the fastest 4 minutes in skating.  You blink and the program is over. Scott's Uncle Paul, who won't be at the Olympics, told me that the service clubs like the Lions Club in Ilderton have helped in booking a hall and renting big screen TVs in Ilderton for Scott's hometown to be able to watch their Olympic performances and if they skate like they did here, there will be lots to see.

My favourite had to be the women's free:  Joannie Rochette connected with the complex Delilah in her free program and skated with a vengeance.  It was like watching someone on a mission.  She skated with passion and fire and every step of the way seemed to be daring the viewers to doubt her. Her skating said "bring it on." 

As I said: not all winners are "champions"  but all champions are definitely winners in one way or another.