Sinead and John Skate Canada- looking good :)

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/other-sports-news/john-and-sinead-kerr-aiming-to-keep-cool-under-pressure-1.1063784

Neil Drysdale

26 Oct 2010
If age is catching up with Sinead and John Kerr, the Scottish sibling duo are doing a remarkable job of maintaining their enthusiasm for the endless practice and physical exercise which lies behind the sparkles-and-sequins on stage.

They may be in their 30s, but later this week, the long-term British No.1 couple will launch themselves into another hectic schedule when they pursue a gold medal at the Skate Canada competition. And while they could be forgiven for wondering when their younger compatriots will pick up the torch, it is clear that the Kerrs have rekindled their love for their sport after a season when they admit pressure affected their form.

“This season, we are very keen that we enjoy what we are doing again. Sinead and I had always thought that the 2010 Olympics would be our last season, but we both feel that there are still things in competitive skating which we would like to achieve before we retire,” said John, who is 30, coming on 21, in terms of setting fresh goals and discussing new music for their routines [Etta James and The Ting Tings, in this case].

“We also felt we would like to end our career on a high and, despite some good results, we didn’t think that we did that last time. The pressure of it being an Olympic season possibly got on top of us and we weren’t able to match our own, or other people’s expectations.”

This remark encapsulates the Kerrs’ lofty standards. During the past two years, they have won a European bronze medal and finished fifth at the world championship – the best British placing since the fabled Torvill and Dean struck gold in 1984 – while effortlessly cruising to their seventh consecutive domestic title, a sequence which seems likely to carry on this winter, and particularly given the unexpected decision by the promising Scot, Mark Hanretty, to quit skating during the summer.

Yet, even though the sport’s governing body, the ISU, recently highlighted the paucity of elite British competitors and effectively warned the GB authorities to get their act together before the European Championships come to Sheffield in 2012, the Kerrs remain exempt from any of this criticism. They have always danced to their own rhythm, whether in relocating to the United States, or deploying cutting-edge choreography which risks falling foul of judges for whom Ravel’s Bolero represented the last word in progressive music.

“We are used to being the only world-class British performers in our sport, so there is no extra pressure on us from that point of view,” said John, who, along with Sinead, has climbed to an unprecedented global ranking of two, sandwiched between the North Americans, Merle Davis and Charlie White and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

“We have an excellent opportunity to win our first Grand Prix event and that is our immediate goal. As far as the season goes, we want to qualify for the Grand Prix final [in Beijing in December], challenge for the European title and for a medal at the worlds. That maybe sounds as if we are putting more pressure on ourselves, but we are going to enjoy the challenge and keep remembering why we started skating in the first place.”

It promises to be an exhilarating campaign for the Scots, who fear nobody else on the circuit. The trick now is for somebody else to follow their lead and demonstrate that British skating doesn’t start and finish with the Kerrs.

Overall S & J finished a fantastic 2nd. Well done