But for the pairs and ice dance competitors, figure skating can be an awfully lonely place whilst one is performing.

Where hours earlier no less than 12 young hockey enthusiasts zoomed to and fro on a surface typically 180 feet long, with even more bodies than that taking up space for practice sessions, a figure skater completing a solo has the entire plane of the ice to showcase their skills – with all of the good and bad that comes with that.

Words of comfort from a nearby teammate, mid-game, is not a concept figure skaters can relate to.

Which is not to say that these youngsters are without support.

As I meandered into the George Armstrong Arena on Saturday, site of the Nickel Blades Provincial Series #4 competition that attracted some 230 young athletes to Garson, the goal was to identify and interview a skater who had enjoyed a degree of success over the course of the last day and a half.

Busily handling their volunteer administrative duties, Nickel Blades execs and helping hands erupted joyfully at my request. They had just the young woman in mind.

Penelope Tibble had earned gold in the Star 5 Artistic Non-Qualifying bracket, her group one cohort comprised of 11 skaters, with a handful of locals and others who travelled from Mississauga (Canadian Ice Academy), Etobicoke (Silver Blades SC), Sault Ste Marie (Lake Superior SC) and Paisley (Ontario), a 20 minute drive south of Port Elgin and Sauble Beach.

Competing in Star 4 Free Skate, Tibble had added a bronze medal to her haul, not bad at all for a 14 year old who jumped into this stream just last year after being drawn into the sport at the age of seven, her best friend (Kylan Batchelor) then an avid skater.

“I went to a skating competition with her when she was fairly new,” recalled Tibble, a ninth grader at Lockerby Composite who was born in New Brunswick but celebrated her first birthday in Sudbury thanks to a family move. “I saw all of the performers and knew that this was what I wanted to do.”

For as much as the encouragement from the Nickel Blades family is appreciated, Tibble acknowledged to being one of those athletes whose happy place was often synonymous with donning her skates – be it in practice or in competition.

“As I got more and more competitive, I was feeling more at home on the ice,” said the eldest of two children in the family, her younger brother more of a hockey and baseball aficionado. “If I was really stressed out, everything would disappear when I was on the ice.”

On this weekend, there was also plenty of reason to celebrate.

Tibble's artistic rendition of Tick Tick Boom (Sage the Gemini) set the stage as she nailed the song heading exactly when needed. “If I get that first part on point, I feel that the rest is going to be on point,” Tibble stated.

And with the additional comfort that has come with a much better feel for her Lutz, the teen whose free skate accompanies Fever by Peggy Lee (circa 1967 or so) – “I was looking for something with sass and attitude” – was more than ready to strut her stuff.

“That is very new for me to be comfortable with my Lutz,” she said. “Last year, I could never land a Lutz. It was very frustrating. But this year, it’s one of the jumps that I land the most.”

If the Nickel Blades entourage was a given in terms of encouraging their clubmates and such, the three person delegation from the Valley East Skating Club was going to need to stretch the boundaries of where that extra support would come from.

As such, Brigitte Perron could not have been more happy than to have best friend (Alyssa Fleury) on hand as she stepped off the ice following her first competition of the year. “It gives me someone who believes in me and is right by my side,” noted the 14 year-old first year student at Ecole Secondaire Catholique l’Horizon.

“She’s my best friend, so I need her to comfort me so that I am less nervous.”

Truth is that the presence of a close friend will always offer something that is just a little different from the uplifting words of her coach (Maddie Burton) or her parents / family.

Having picked up the sport just three years ago, Perron was more than pleased with her routines, even if podium finishes are not quite the realistic goals in mind, just yet. And like Penelope Tibble, Brigitte Perron was first drawn to skating by one of those happenstance moments in life.

“I was watching The Ice Princess (movie from 2005) and all of a sudden, I wanted to be a figure skater,” said Perron. “It’s just looked so elegant – and I like dancing to music.”

Far more at home in her jumps than her spins, the Valley East native who will now target improvement when she takes to the ice next in Sault Ste Marie for the Provincial Series #8 event in early January was drawn to the work of acclaimed violinist Lindsay Stirling – and in particular, The Eye of the Untold Her (well worth a listen, by the way).

“I chose to do an instrumental because I find I can listen to the music better – and my coach said that song is very powerful, which goes with me,” explained Perron.

The hometown club, which has now hosted a Skate Ontario competition in three consecutive years, had plenty to cheer about as Katelyn Ryan earned a pair of medals (while also posting a new personal best score in artistic), Brooke Monette placed fourth in her first ever artistic competition and Nathan Cameron hit the 40-point plateau for the first time in his free skate.

Throw in marked improvement from the entire contingent of intermediate skaters (Mya Chabot, Aubrey McDonald, Audrey Wicklander, Manon Bédard and Blake Lyle) and one had the makings of a weekend to remember.

For the Sudbury Skating Club, beyond the fact that the local mainstay would ice no less than a 38-skater delegation, highlights came from the likes of Angela Tripodi (1st in Juvenile U14 free skate – 28.32* (PB) and in Star 9 short skate – 25.10), Karina Felhaber (skated a strong program and landed her axel cleanly for first time in competition – Star 4) and Reese Paquet (Star 6 / Star 7), who overcame some recent injuries to finish third in Start 6 (free) and fourth in Star 7 (short).

Overcoming the fear of having been injured in a previous jump, Jenna Eastman (Copper Cliff Skating Club) successfully landed both her axel and axel loop while competing in Star 5 Women's Free Skate.

Also, wishing all the best to SSC veteran Eva Baronette who is competing at the 2026 Skate Ontario Pre-Novice and Novice Sectionals in Wasaga Beach this weekend.