January 12, 2004
Here's my review of Shae-Lynn and Victor's Homecoming Celebration held December 5, 2003 at the John Labatt Centre in London, Ontario.
I decided to stay overnight in London on Friday just in case the weather was bad. I arrived at the B&B and was shown to my room. It was called The "VICTORia" room. In the ensuite bathroom was a poster called "High Society" It was a picture of a goose (not quite a duck). The owner of the B&B...a woman named Peggy. Talk about Karma LOL Thanks Peggy and Tom for taking such good care of me. I threatened them that I was going to come back sometime with my crazy skating friends. They actually said that would be great!
As I was getting ready to head down to the John Labatt Centre, I developed a minor case of the shakes. I was excited and nervous. Had a hard time getting my boots on. Anyway, I made it to the JLC with time to spare. Found the gate I was supposed to go in and the guy at the door told me the aisle to use to get to the on-ice seats. I knew my seat was on the ice, on one side but I didn't know exactly where. When I arrived at floor lever, the usher there said to me "your seat is down this side, JUST PAST CENTRE". ACK!!!! How on earth did I manage that? Sure enough my seat was 4 seats away from Centre ice.
Finally the show started. It opened with a video showing highlights of Shae and Victor's career and included comments from Tracy Wilson, Debbi Wilkes, Bernie Ford and Gayle McClelland (Nation Team Director for Skate Canada). There were major segments on 2003 Worlds and 2003 Canadians. The Canadians segment included Shae and Vic in the K&C after the FD and you can see Shae holding the Coffee Crisp bar that LMM threw on the ice. Even had the part where Shae bends down to pick it up after standing up when the 6.0's came up on the scoreboard. (Lynn, you were there in more than spirit!)
Also in the video were a very young Shae (16-17ish) saying that she wanted to win worlds or Olympics some day and have her mom there so she could come off the ice and thank her mom for being so supportive of her. Another comment on the video was how all she wanted was to have a great partner and dance.
The video ended with career highlights set to the Chantal Kreviaziuk (sp) song "Feels Like Home". Next thing we know, 2 figures skate onto the dark ice surface. Lights come up and it's Shae and Victor wearing yellow/orange/red costumes (from a SOI group number in 2000) and they skate to "Feels like Home" Perfect song for the occaision.
After that they rest of the cast came out in the sunset costumes and skated to a piece of music that I can't remember or didn't recognize at the time. Cast includes Brian Orser, Josee Chouinard, Putnam and Wirtz, Chantal Lefevbre& Arseni Markov, Jayson Denomee, young dance team Viirtue and Moir and Shae's brother Chris Bourne. Brian introduced the skaters (his mic wasn't loud enough so it was hard to hear in the intros over the music) and said there were more to come as they were "holding back".
First up were the dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. They are from the London area and were also at Shae Day in Chatham. They skated their OD. She wore a black halter dress with white polka dots and blue trim. He was in a blue shit and black pants. I was impressed with their polish and look forward to seeing them in the future.
Jayson D was next and skated to a slow song by Corey Hart. I missed his name during the intros and I didn't recognize him with short, darker hair. Because I didn't know who it was, I had nothing to compare the performance with. He kept my attention so it couldn't have been that bad.
Now we get to see Chantal and Arseniy...they are in one shouldered black velvet costumes with chiffon "wings". There are suns beaded on their costumes. My thoughts are that they are a very well matced team. Still need to work on the speed in places and the synchronization but they haven't been together all that long. Canadians will be interesting.
Brian Orser is skating to "Beyond the Sea" He's wearing a beige jacket and cargo pants and a white shirt. There is such an effortless quality to his skating. Such flow too. I'd describe this number as Classic Brian.
Onto Josee in a yellowy - lime green dress. I hate lime green. She skated her technical number from World Team Challenge. It's a ballad called "Like a Lover". I understand she doesn't skate that much now.
Here's the skater they were holding back from the opening. Elvis! Apparently this was a surprise for Shae and Victor. He skated a fairly typical Elvis show number to "In The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World. I thought it actually had more content in it than his other show numbers. And it does amaze me how he can skate, sing along to the song and interact with the audience at the same time. He flirted with the girl 2 seats down from me and she was thrilled.
Oh...now it's time for Shae and Victor...they're in the green and burgundy costumes for their Arabian Dances number. Shae is a snake who charms snake charmer Victor. That's how I'd describe it. Has a similar feel to last year's FD and the "Sadeness" show number.
20 minute intermission now and I decide to make some notes. Have a bit of a hard time as my hands are shaking again.
Ok, back to the show...2nd half opens with a small group number to "Fare Thee Well" by the Rankin Family. Group consists of Brian, Chris B, Josee, Liz Putnam and Chantal and Arseni. They're all in white. The guys could have used white boot covers though.
The video monitor comes to life now and in keeping with the celtic theme, we get to see a montage of all the competitive performances of Riverdance. The video ends and there are 2 skaters out on the dark ice surface now...and OH MY...they're wearing emerald green and you know what that means...the crowd goes wild when they realize what they're about to see. I guess Victor must have dredged Lake Ontario while he was at Skate Canada. In Saskatoon he said that Riverdance was at the bottom of Lake Ontario...
Now here's a treat, the next skater is Chris Bourne, Shae's older brother. He's wearing black pants and a sheer blue shirt. Music is "Bailamos" by Enrique Iglesias. Skating talent obviously runs in the family and little sis even taught him how to hydroblade! He seemed to have a bit of trouble with a spin at the end but it was neat to see him skate.
Jayson's back next and I don't remember anything about his program.
Chantal and Arseniy do their OD for their second number. She's one of the few people I know who can actually wear bright orange and look good in it. They have the most hair per capita than any other ice dance team I can think of. Chantal has great expression. I start to wonder what would have happened if Chantal had teamed up with Arseniy a few years ago instead of Justin Lanning. hmmm....
Josee comes out now in black pants, top, tie and hat. She sits on the lap of a guy in the front row for a bit, places the hat on his head and then skates. The music sounds like something from Cabaret - some people have said Chicago but I think it's from Cabaret. Again, costume does nothing for me. Guess it does go with the music though.
Liz Putnam and Sean Wirtz do their number to Josh Groban's "To Where You Are" wearing the blue costumes. Great to see them in a show like this.
Now Brian is back in dark pants and a shirt with red and purple stripes. He skates to centre ice and the music starts. Wow, he's doing his signature piece "Story of My Life." I smiled at this point and acutally made eye contact with Brian before he started to skate. Got a nice smile back. I thought it was a great tribute to Shae and Victor that he would skate to this song at their show. Brian was also the choreographer for the show.
Shae and Victor are back now with Shae in her pale pink dress and Victor in dark grey pants and vest, white shirt and black and white striped tie. It's time to "Sway" along with Michael Buble!! I love this number. Shae and Victor should have done more comedy in their show numbers. They did the little move where Shae has Victor in a dip and then drops him on the ice right in front of me. Hope the picture turns out. At the end of the number they stood and waved at the crowd for an extra long time before going off.
Rest of the cast comes out now for the closing numbers. Guys in grey shirts and black pants and girls in pink dresses. They then lined up along the sides and Shae and Victor come out (dressed in grey and pink) and do a straight line footwork sequence down the centre of the ice. Ending pose of group number was the cast in a circle with Victor in the centre with Shae on his shoulder. They did their bows and then skated to the far end where Shae spoke.
She thanked Brian for choreographing the show, all the skaters for coming, thanked her brother Chris and said she'd never done a show this big with him before. Paid tribute to the younger members of the cast and told us to "watch out for them" Thanked everyone for coming out and supporting them through the years. Victor didn't speak.
The show was over and I made my way back to the B&B. Do you want to know how sweet the owners are?? Usually they get the National Post in the morning for their guests but knowing that I had been at the show and was such a big fan..they bought the London Free Press just for me that morning as they figured if any paper would have pictures, it would be the Free Press. It was a nice surprise to find that with my morning tea.
December 2, 2003
Now, where were we in the update on Shae-Lynn and Victor?? That's right it's March 28, 2003 and they have just been crowned World Champions. They would then put an end to their elligible career (unofficially at least). During the spring and summer, Shae and Victor would tour with Champions On Ice in the US as well as take some much deserved vacation time. Poor Victor even found himself stranded in London, England due to an airport strike. They would also spend this time figuring out what to do with the rest of their lives. Shae would start coaching alongside Nikolai Morozov, Victor started planning his June 2004 wedding to Maikki Uotila.
Both the city of Chatham and the town of Qualicum Beach would hold celebrations in honour of Shae-Lynn and Victor. Chatham declared May 2nd, 2003 Shae Day. Qualicum Beach/Parksville named part of their new twin pad arena the Victor Kraatz Arena.
In the fall of 2003, Shae-Lynn and Victor made appearances in Canada at "The Stars Come out to Shine" where they were the special guest stars at a benefit held for the Canadian National Team. In October, they were featured performers at Kurt Browning's Gotta Skate 3. The show's concept this year was a dance club setting. The club was known as "Chez Shae" and was owned by "the hottest dancers in town". Shae and Victor had two great numbers in the show, a new one to "Sway" performed by Michael Buble and revived their "Mack the Knife" program which fit in well with the show's concept. Those in attendance left the show thinking that Shae and Victor were fitting in well with the pro skating world and would have a great pro career.
This brings us to October 21, 2003...the day of the biggest heartbreak in Blader history. The story was broken by Steve Milton in the "Hamilton Spectator". The cover of the sports section that day said it all. A full page picture of Shae-Lynn and Victor from the "Cell Block Tango" OD with the headline "IT'S OVER". The article inside stated that Shae and Victor would fullfill their skating obligations for the remainder of the year and would then part ways. Victor was disillusioned with the pro-skating world and had told Shae that he wanted to stop skating in the spring of 2004. Shae told him that she wasn't ready to hang up her skates just yet.
Other than Shae's coaching with Nikolai, I don't have any information on their future plans at this time. Recently they performed with Stars on Ice Belgium and will skate in their Homecoming Celebration in London, Ontario on Friday December 15. Tickets are still available though ticketmaster. Their final performances will be as part of the Celebration on Ice tour December 18-21.
November 30, 2003
Oh dear... to paraphrase John Lennon, "Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" or suddenly find yourself running a website. It's been almost three years since the last update and well, I guess I could give you a synopsis...
The fall of 2002 saw the debut of Shae-Lynn and Victor's final Olympic Programs. The OD was to "Cell Block Tango" from the movie/musical Chicago and the FD was a Michael Jackson Medley. These programs would bring Shae and Victor their 9th Canadian Title (3rd in the Hamilton's Copps Colisseum) 2nd Grand Prix Final title and a Silver at the World Championships in Nagano, Japan.
The 2002 Canadian Figure Skating Championships were the site of the largest Blader gathering in the history of the group. The "Blader Gurls" converged on Hamilton and the Hotel VGL, to cheer Shae and Victor on to their 9th Canadian title. Weren't all those 6.0's in the OD great? A great time was had by Karyn, Beth, Andrea, Denise, Kim, Lynn, Colleen, Melanie, Michelle, Janice, Deb and our VERY special guest, Elli, who came all the way from Germany to see Shae and Victor.
The biggest heartbreak in Blader history (to that point anyway) would come at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Shae and Victor were 4th going into the FreeDance and skated after the Italians who had had some stumbles. They skated the Michael Jackson program flawlessly till the final lift...Victor lifted Shae around behind his back and BOOM down they went. The gasp from the Bladers was heard around the world. For the second time in three trips to the Olympics, Shae-Lynn and Victor would finish fourth.
The big question at the end of the 2001/2002 Season...will our Dynamic Duo stick around one more year???? Well, luckily for us (and Shae & Vic too) they decided to grace the skating world for one more season. Victor was on board right from the start but Shae needed some more time to decide. Once the official announcement was made, and the Canadian Stars on Ice and US Champions on Ice tours were finished, Shae and Victor started to prepare for their final season as elligible skaters. They would give themselves one more chance at that ellusive world title.
The 2002/3 season got off to a slow start for Shae and Victor. Shae had an injuries to her achillies tendon and was off the ice for some time. They were forced to withdraw from the Grand Prix series. During this time, their coaching team of Tatiana Tarasova and Nikolai Morozov decided to part ways. Tatiana would move to Simsbury while Shae and Victor would stay in Newington with Nikolai.
The debut of the new programs would finally come at a skating show in Newmarket, Ontario in December of 2002. The word was that these were the programs that would FINALLY get Shae and Victor that world title they had been aiming for. Colleen and Lynn frantically arranged a trip to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to see Shae and Vic win their 10th Canadian title. Arriving at Saskatoon Place at 7am for the first dance practice, they were greated at the door by Sharna who had come all the way from Australia for the event. These Bladers endured temperatures in the minus 30's (that's Celcius btw) but seeing Shae and Victor made it all worthwhile. Especially that string of 6.0's for the Free Dance.
Well, the end of March drew near and the eyes of the skating world were watching Washington, DC, the site of the 2003 World Figure Skating Championships. This was Shae and Victor's final shot at the Gold. They were 2nd in the Compulsories to Russians Lobacheva and Averbukh. In the Original Dance, Victor stumbled on a twizzle sequence but they stayed in 2nd place behind the Russians. The draw for the Free Dance is held. Shae and Victor have been fortunate in FD draws in the past and have been able to skate last many times, this time however, they would skate first in the final group. The Russians would skate right after them. I remember waking up the morning of Friday March 28th, 2003 being convinced that Belbin and Agosto of the US would become the first World Ice Dance Champions from North America someday. I think I needed to make myself think that way to make it through the day. The stress would have been too much to take. Finally the hour drew near...Shae and Victor skated their final free dance performance in elligible competition...the marks came up and they moved to first place overall but were the marks enough to give them the title??? There was still room for the Russians...ohhhhh...there's that stress again...the Russians are finished (personally, I didn't care for their program but that's just me) waiting for the marks...OH MY this is close...it will all come down to the new "interim judging" system and which judges marks are being used....and then finally at 10:40PM Eastern time on March 28th 2003... Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz of Canada became World Champions.
March 29, 2001
Congratulations to Shae-Lynn and Victor on skating wonderfully at the World Championships in Vancouver last week. They finished in fourth place overall.
They are now off to join the Skate the Nation tour, which will travel around Ontario, later on they will be joining the cross Canada tour of Stars on Ice. Check the schedule to see when it travels near you.
- Two of the Grand Prix events have now been completed. Shae-Lynn & Victor have already skated at Skate America and won the bronze medal. Their next event is The Nations Cup in Germany.
Shae-Lynn & Victor skated in the gala at Skate Canada this past weekend. They skated their Original Dance. Shae ditched the dress she wore at Skate America, instead she was wearing the red sparkly dress she wore for Mack The Knife. The crowd was very happy to see them skate, and gave them a huge ovation.
We've had a couple of press releases sent to us by IMG regarding some upcoming appearances. I will post them below.
Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz reveal new dance routine at Sears Figure Skating Open in Hamilton TORONTO, October 30, 2000 – Fan favorites Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz have chosen the Sears Figure Skating Open, taking place November 30 and December 1, 2000 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, to exhibit their newest dance routine.
The four-time World bronze medallists and seven-time Canadian Dance Champions have just returned from Skate America in Colorado, a competition in which Bourne and Kraatz earned a bronze medal. This summer the famous ice dancers were given Meritorious Service Decorations by Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, in honour of the achievements that have brought them international recognition as Canada’s skating ambassadors to the world.
The duo’s Riverdance routine brought them international recognition and was voted the Performance of the Year by the People’s Choice Awards in 1998.
“The new routine is pretty exciting,” the two enthuse. “After almost a decade dancing together we still inspire new ideas in each other, still push each other’s limits, and above all, we still love to skate. We hope the fans will see that.”
Three-time World Champion Michelle Kwan, four-time World Champion, Kurt Browning, three-time World Champion, Elvis Stojko, two-time Olympic Silver Medalist and World Champion, Brian Orser and Canadian Pair Champions, Jamie Salé & David Pelletier will also compete for over $440,000 in prize money at the Sears Figure Skating Open.
The Canadian men will have to fend off challenges from three-time World champion Alexei Yagudin, 1996 World Champion, and defending champion of the Sears Figure Skating Open Todd Eldredge and nine-time British Champion, Steven Cousins.
Canadians Jennifer Robinson and Josée Chouinard and Americans Sarah Hughes and Nicole Bobek round out the talented line-up.
The pair’s competition will prove to be equally exciting as Wirtz & Wirtz (Canada), Sato & Dungjen, and Ina & Zimmerman (U.S.) and Kazakova and Dmitriev (Russia) vie for the Championship title.
The event will be divided into two sessions starting with the Technical Programs on Thursday and the Interpretative Programs on Friday. The competition begins at 7:00 p.m. both evenings.
This is Sears’ third year as a sponsor, and it is the 7th year of the event, the only “Open” figure skating competition held in Canada.
Tickets are on sale now, at Copps Coliseum box office (905) 527-7666 or charge by phone (416) 870-5000. Ticket prices range from $25 to $45. Two day packages and Sears Value Paks are also available.
SHAE-LYNN BOURNE AND VICTOR KRAATZ JOIN CAST OF OLYMPIC AND WORLD CHAMPIONS AT HOLIDAY FESTIVAL ON ICE Sarnia, Ontario (October 30, 2000) - Four-time World bronze medallists and seven-time Canadian Dance Champions, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, will celebrate the holidays with a stellar cast of Olympic and World champions December 6, 2000 at Holiday Festival On Ice at the Sarnia Sports and Entertainment Centre .
Bourne and Kraatz have just returned from Skate America in Colorado, where they earned a bronze medal in their first competition since Shae-Lynn knee surgery this past spring. This summer the famous ice dancers were given Meritorious Service Decorations by Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, in honour of the achievements that have brought them international recognition as Canada’s skating ambassadors to the world.
Just 6 days before the annual holiday show, Bourne and Kraatz will reveal their newest dance routine at the Sears Figure Skating Open in Hamilton. The duo’s Riverdance routine brought them international recognition and was voted the Performance of the Year by the People’s Choice Awards in 1998.
“After almost a decade dancing together we still inspire new ideas in each other, still push each other’s limits, and above all, we still love to skate” the two enthused.
Three-time Canadian champion, Josee Chouinard, has also confirmed her participation in the event. Chouinard’s warm personality and love of skating shines through in every performance and she’s become the sweetheart of figure skating fans worldwide.
Four-time World champion Kurt Browning, three-time World champion Alexei Yagudin, World champion and five-time US National champion Todd Eldredge, and World champion and two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser are also part of the exciting line-up. Rounding out the cast are Lu Chen, Caryn Kadavy, Steven Cousins, Angela Nikodinov and Jennifer Kirk. Get in the holiday spirit with some of the world’s best skaters, and feel the magic of the season!
For tickets to Holiday Festival on Ice, call or visit the Sarnia Sports & Entertainment Centre box office (519/541-1717). Tickets are on sale now at $60 for on-ice seating and $45.00 for arena seating.
- August 4th, Shae and Victor skated in the annual Mariposa Gala. They skated to Mack The Knife and did a gorgeous Shae crusher as an encore.
Shortly after this performance it was announced that Shae-Lynn and Victor have moved back to CT, this time to train full time with Tatiana Tarasova.
Had an e-mail this week from Lisa Herdman of the magazine Spotlight on Skating letting us know that Shae-Lynn and Victor are going to be on the cover of the newest issue, due out in September. Below is a copy of the cover. If you'd like more information on subscriptions, etc.. please go to their website
June 23, 2000
- Shae-Lynn and Victor announced this week that they have had an amicable split with Natalia Dubova and that they will be training in Ottawa at the Minto Skating School this year with Marina Zoueva. They will also be travelling to New Jersey to train with Tatiana Tarasova periodically. Below are two photos that were scanned in from The Ottawa Citizen of Shae & Victor practicing at Minto this week.
Also, not too long ago the Grand Priz Assignments were announced. Shae-Lynn and Victor are scheduled to do Skate America and Nations Cup this year. They will face stiff competition in both events as both the silver and bronze medallists from the World Championships in Nice will skating in Colorado Springs, and in Germany.
February 12, 2000
- It was announced this past week that Shae-Lynn and Victor have had to withdraw from the World Championships in Nice, France at the end of March. Shae-Lynn has injured her right knee and will have to undergo surgery. The article in the newspaper stated that they hoped to be back on the ice in time for the Stars on Ice tour across Canada in late April. The Bladers wish Shae-Lynn all the best and hope for a speedy recovery for her.
In the same article it was published that the CFSA has announced that Shae-Lynn and Victor plan to stay in the eligible ranks for the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver, British Columbia as well as the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. If you'd like to read the article you can find it here.
January 1, 2000
- This update is a little late in coming, but it gets to be our first of the new millenium.
Shae-Lynn and Victor won their first ever Canadian Open title back on December 4th in Mississauga, Ontario at the Hershey Centre. Congrats to them both.
Shae-Lynn and Victor have qualified for the Grand Prix final to be held in Lyon, France in January. They finished first at Nations Cup and second at Cup of Russia to qualify with a total of 21 points.
Much speculation has been made over the choice of the second freedance that Shae and Victor will use at the Grand Prix Final. There is a poll on our main page asking which program you'd like to see them use again (if in fact they don't create a new one).
About a month ago the Bladers Executive started up a new message board that is now linked from our main page. (It happens to be down today, but with any luck *fingers crossed* it will be back up by tomorrow)
Apart from that, the Bladers Executive would like to wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year. May the year 2000 bring Shae-Lynn and Victor a gold medal at worlds!
November 3, 1999
- There was an article published in the Globe and Mail today that announced Shae-Lynn and Victor's music selections for the upcoming season. If you'd like to read the article (and it's a very interesting one) go here. They will in fact be using two pieces by Harry Connick Jr. for the freedance. It Had to be You and Come By Me. For the original dance they will be skating to The Cup of Life by Ricky Martin and another selection from the movie Dance With Me.
It was also announced today that Skate Canada will be held in Mississauga, Ontario at the Hershey Centre in the year 2000. Tickets go on sale December 6, 1999.
September 26, 1999
- The latest FD rumour is that Shae-Lynn and Victor will be skating to something by Harry Connick Jr. This likely means that they'll be using vocals.
There was a flyer passed out this weekend at the Grand Slam event for the Canadian Open to be held December 4th. Shae-Lynn and Victor are listed as confirmed for this event. Tickets go on sale October 16th. For more information check out the Ticketmaster website.
August 27, 1999
- The ISU announced yesterday that they are moving the 2000 World Championships from Brisbane, Australia to Nice, France.
August 2, 1999
- The Bladers Executive has received an e-mail from Victor. It sounds like Shae-Lynn & Victor are enjoying the new facilities in Stamford. Victor also mentioned that they have been travelling to New York City to work with a latin dance expert on choreography for their Original Dance. He also mentioned that they were getting ideas together for their Free Dance, but hadn't decided yet what music they were going to use. He attached two pictures taken during his move from Lake Placid to Stamford. You can take a peek at them here.
July 1, 1999
- The CFSA has posted a list that contains all the Grand Prix assignments for the upcoming season. Shae-Lynn and Victor are scheduled to skate at Nations Cup in Germany and Cup of Russia in Russia this year. Canadians will miss seeing them at Skate Canada. Victor has said in interviews time and time again that they feel they need more exposure to the European Judges, which just might be the reason for the change this year. To see a list of all the Canadian Assignments visit this site.
April 18, 1999
- Shae-Lynn and Victor are in the middle of the cross-Canada Stars on Ice tour. Their two programs are skated to Hotel California by the Eagles, and a medley by Janet and Michael Jackson. Both programs are incredible!
March 15, 1999
- We've had some news from Victor! He and Shae-Lynn will be leaving for Helsinki on Friday March 19, 1999. Here is an excerpt from his e-mail.
"Well the final stretch of the season has arrived. Five days before we leave for Helsinki. We have undertaken a number of changes in our Free Dance and are incredibly happy with them. Now the program flows better. Both Shae and I are looking forward to this world championship."
Also Victor wrote about a fax he and Shae-Lynn received from the CFSA. Apparently after Skate Canada a group from Germany sent an e-mail to Shae and Victor in care of the CFSA. The organization is called The Love Parade. In Berlin every year they have an event called The Love Parade. There is a website set up by this group and it is very interesting. If you're interested in events in other cultures I'd recommend going to visit this site. The url if you're interested is http://www.loveparade.com. Victor scanned the fax for me and I will post it here for everyone to see because as I've mentioned it really is very interesting.
February 28, 1999
- The inaugural 4 Continents Championships are now over. Shae-Lynn and Victor captured the Dance title with ease, despite Shae suffering from torn cartilage in her left knee. She suffered the injury a few weeks before Canadians in a "weird fall" during training. We wish her a speedy recovery.
New freedance costumes were debuted in Halifax and I for one am impressed with the new ones. The new ones are a black sparkly dress for Shae with the heart monitor down the front in silver. Victor wears black pants with a shirt the same sparkly material as Shae's dress with the same heart rate monitor down the front. Very elegant but still retaining the athletic look that Shae and Victor wanted for the freedance.
Many Blader members were at 4 Continents, including a group who waved the Bladers banner with pride. (Thanks Lisa, Lori, Catz and friends!) I'm sure they'll be posting on the list about their experiences.
Congratulations as well to the other Canadian dance teams Chantal Lefevbre and Michel Brunet who won the silver medal and Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe who finished fourth (this despite being 7th in the 1st CD!)
The Bladers executive are once again taking orders for Bourne and Kraatz Bladers t-shirts and sweatshirts. T-shirts are $15.00 and sweatshirts are $23.00. If you are interested, print off the order from found in the "t-shirt news" section of the Bladers page.
December 13, 1998 - Another e-mail from Victor. This time he asked me to convey his Best Wishes for the holiday season to all the bladers. So, on behalf of Victor... Merry Christmas everyone!
December 12, 1998
- If you were watching the Canadian Open this past week you may have heard Victor say "hello" to the Bladers while in the Kiss and Cry after Riverdance! If you missed it you can go check out your tape, or it will be shown on TBS some time this week.
November 26, 1998
- The bladers have recieved a second e-mail from Victor. This one includes an update on how Shae-Lynn and Victor felt about their first two competitions of the new skating season. Below is an excerpt from that e-mail.
"When we first skated parts of our free in our fist practice, there was no noise, no one made a sound. Everyone wanted to see what the program was like. At that point I was questioning what was wrong, since we could have heard a pin drop on the ice. Eventually when we stopped and the music stopped everyone applauded. That made me feel better. Then when the competition started, the audience started clapping from the very first beat. This was great, since it made it much easier to skate.
Now to Nations Cup in Germany. Both of us were anticipating competing against the present World Champions. We really wanted to know where we stood comparatively.
Well, I must say we are close. I just want to leave it at that, since time will tell what will happen. The audience in Germany enjoyed our waltz, since it is different than most others. The free was another great hit, since the type of music we skate to is 'techno', and it seems to be the thing 'most' people listen to in Germany, or so everyone tells me.
It is always more difficult to skate in front of European crowds, since they hold back their emotions. But over all we got a good response from them."
Sounds like Shae-Lynn and Victor are encouraged by how the season has gone so far. They are scheduled to compete in the Canadian Open Championships on December 5th, 1998 in Kitchener, Ontario.
October 29, 1998
- The skating season has now officially started. Tonight is the first night of competition at Skate America. Only 7 days to Skate Canada and the unveiling of Shae-Lynn and Victor's new programs for the season. Make sure to check out the projects page to see what we have planned, or if you have any suggestions, then feel free to suggest them to us. There is a new photo for the caption contest, please take a look and submit a caption.
October 01, 1998
- The skating season is getting into gear, and it's now our time to do what we came together to do: support Shae and Victor! Be sure to check the projects page often and if you have an idea (even if you think it's stupid -- submit it anonymously if you want!) PLEASE send it our way! Let's show them how much support they have!
August 24, 1998
- We are thrilled to announce that the Bladers now have their own public room in Figure Skating World! Now, instead of having our weekly chats in private room B&K, our chats will now be in PUBLIC room B&K Bladers! Make sure to come on by and celebrate this Thursday at 10 PM Eastern time, and if you see Adrian in FSW chat, be sure to tell him "thanks!"
August 8, 1998
- If you are reading this, you have probably received your Bladers T-shirt! We hope you like the T-shirt, as well as your new web home for the Bladers! We hope you will check back here often for Bladers news! Please tell us what you think of the new website and what you think of the T-Shirts!
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![[Shae-Lynn and Victor]](bkphoto11.jpg)
**The photo in the title banner was taken by J. Barry Mittan, please visit his site to see more excellent photos by him. Or e-mail him with any questions.** 