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Going for a Spin
Skating's new scoring rules could help Jeffrey Buttle carve his way to the podium (Olympic Preview)
| Source: |
Time Canada |
| Date: |
January 30, 2006 |
| Author: |
Mary Jollimore |
Jeffrey Buttle is oblivious to this bewildering bit of sports trivia:
five Canadians have won a total of 10 world titles in men's figure
skating; none have ever won Olympic gold. "Actually, I wasn't aware of
that," says Buttle, No. 1 in the International Skating Union (ISU)
rankings. Winning gold in Torino, he says, "would be really
cool."
And really possible. Born in Smooth Rock Falls, Ont. (pop. 1,830),
Buttle was 15th in his world-championship debut in 2003. Food
poisoning spoiled his bid to qualify in 2004. But at Moscow in 2005,
Buttle "absolutely shocked" himself, winning silver despite two falls
and without a quadruple jump in his long program--considered by some
to be mandatory for gold in Torino. "Personally, I was disappointed at
how I skated, and when someone gives you a medal, it's weird," he
says. "But on that day, I was second best."
Back home, Buttle, 23, joined a 15-city Stars on Ice tour, bonding
with headliner Kurt Browning, 39, a four-time world champion. These
days, Browning isn't the only icon Buttle has on speed dial. Brian
Orser, 44, and three-time world champion Elvis Stojko, 33--with two
Olympic silver medals each--also share wisdom with Buttle. "They
offer different perspectives--how to stay focused and deal with
pressure," says Buttle. "Kurt stresses how important it is to realize
[that] once you're at the competition, you've done the hard
work."
Browning learned that the hard way. He was sixth in 1992 and fifth in
1994 despite being reigning world champion at both those Games. He
says he once had an Olympic "freak-out," prompting his coach to remind
him the competition is the reward, not the punishment. It's a lesson
he passes along to Buttle, a University of Toronto
chemical-engineering student. "I use the analogy," says Browning,
"that at school, when you've studied hard, you know you're prepared
for the test."
That advice came in handy particularly at Skate Canada International
in October, when Buttle won silver despite slicing a knee-to-thigh
tear in his pants and cutting his upper leg with a skate blade during
his long program. "It was drafty. That's how I knew there was a hole,"
he says, chuckling. "I was just hoping to God it wouldn't rip
further."
At the Trophee Bompard in Paris in November, Buttle wobbled on several
jumps and went splat on an attempted quadruple but still won gold over
France's Brian Joubert, the 2004 world silver medalist. At the Grand
Prix final in Tokyo in December, Buttle was frantically fixing a loose
blade with a screwdriver when he was called for the free
skate. Hustling to the ice, his focus unglued, he faltered on two
jumps but won silver behind Swiss world champion Stephane
Lambiel.
In part, Buttle can thank the ISU's new code-of-points (COP) scoring
system. Adopted since the 2002 Olympic judging scandal, the cop awards
each successful element in a program with an assigned value. Whereas
spins and footwork were once filler, Buttle piles up points even
though he hasn't landed a quad--a four-revolution jump--in competition
since 2003. "I wouldn't say the new system is claiming jumps are
overrated," he says. "It just puts more equal emphasis on everything,
so it's not just robots competing. The new system seems to be working
for me."
Browning, the first ever to land a quad in competition (in 1988),
isn't giving Buttle lessons on the elusive maneuver: "The last time I
tried one was three years ago, and I was sore for three days."
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