Justin Hampole doesn't need to be reminded what's at stake this weekend in the B.C/Yukon section figure skating championships at Kin 1.
He has to finish in the top two in his pre-novice under-16 men's category. Anything less and he can forget about representing B.C. in his hometown at the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
The 13-year-old Hampole has been considered a potential qualifier for the Canada Games ever since he posted a fourth-place finish at the section championships a year ago.
The section meet presents a challenge Hampole has never had to face in his young career -- the chance to perform in a high-level meet in front of a home audience.
"I use that pressure as excitement to pump myself up for the competition," said Hampole. "So if I make it to Canada Games, it will be that same excitement and I think that would be really cool.
"I've made big improvements in my skating skills since June and my spins and my jumps have gotten better too, and I can definitely see that in my scores."
Hampole won B.C. Games last winter and was first among pre-novices at SummerSkate in Burnaby in August . A few weeks ago at the Autumn Leaves meet in Kamloops, he scored 71.18 points to finish third, two-tenths of a point out of second place.
"One thing that's more important than jumps and spins is your program components -- your interpretation to music and your speed and skating skills -- and I think I have the full package," Hampole said. "I think I'm pretty consistent."
Rory Allen, Hampole's coach at the Northern B.C. Centre for Skating, says Hampole is capable of posting scores in the 70-75 point range. In his two programs he has three double-Axels, two in combinations. While at least one of the pre-novice men's competitors is landing triple-Salchows, Allen is convinced it's not worth the risk and it's better for Hampole to stick with his doubles to impress the judges.
"We want him skating clean, especially in front of a home audience -- he's got to do it, because if he gets the audience behind him it will totally work in his favour," said Allen.
"Figure skating is such a complex sport, it's so technical and so precise. I teach hockey players all the time and hockey is not an esthetic sport. You get the puck in the net and your job is done. With figure skating, form and positioning is so important, one little body movement that's not quite lined up with loading his body can throw everything off and that can prove quite costly."
It's also tough to fool the judges, who have video replay to make sure those rotations are completed properly before they give out their scores. Making it even more difficult for Hampole is the fact he's undergoing a growth spurt and it's a continual challenge to adapt to his bigger and taller body. But so far he's handled those physical changes well.
"He is so well-rounded, he has a lot he can rely on in the skill and talent department and that is definitely his strength," said Allen. "He's flexible, he can perform, he can get audience behind him, he can jump and spin -- he's packaged, whereas a lot of athletes are not. They have obvious weaknesses."
Knowing he won't ever get another chance to make the Canada Games cut, Allen and coach Andrea Ludditt and been giving Hampole tough love in their criticisms of his performance on the ice. They want him thinking there's no excuse for settling for anything less than the best and that's helped him develop a new layer of mental toughness they hope will put him over the top at the section meet. His work ethic is unquestionable. He's at the rink at least six days per week, sometimes twice a day.
"I just love skating so much, I don't really think of it as a pastime, I take it really seriously," Hampole, a Grade 8 student at Duchess Park secondary, where he's on the principal's list for all the right reasons. "School is important and skating is not equally as important but pretty close for me."
Seven skaters are entered in the pre-novice under-16 men's category at the section meet. Hampole skates his short program on Friday, beginning at 7:15 p.m. That's followed by his free skate on Saturday starting at 2:20 p.m.
Nine other skaters from Hampole's B.C. Centre for Skating club are entered in the section meet, including Emma Bajestani and Mary Chidiac (pre-novice ladies under-16); Reese Johnson (juvenile men under-14); Jayna Mason, Mynah Milner, Shelby Scott, Olivia Trampuh and Olivia Wankling (juvenile ladies under-14). Trampuh, 13, is coming off a fourth-place finish at Autumn Leaves.
Samara Thew of the Prince George Figure Skating Club is entered in the junior women's competition.
The Canada Games are open only to pre-novice and novice skaters. The top four skaters in all categories at the section meet qualify for the national championships in Montreal in December.
