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Simon Fraser University undergrad Jeremy Ten is a serious contender for a spot on Skate Canada’s senior men’s figure skating team at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Ten hopes that his serendipitous last name brings him some scoring luck.

The national junior men’s figure skating champion aims to score as close as possible to a perfect 10 at two upcoming international competitions this fall. A 10 or close to it will help him earn a competitor’s spot at the Games.

The third year SFU kinesiology student will skate at an international invitational event in Nagano, Japan, Nov. 5-8, and at another one in Kitchener, Ontario, Nov. 19-22. Ten’s placement in these competitions will heavily influence whether Skate Canada selects him in January 2010 to represent Canada.

A hockey player at the age of six, Ten’s passion for artistic expression motivated his father to switch him to figure skating at age 9. Ten trains 20 to 25 hours a week on ice, in the gym and in the dance studio at Burnaby’s 8 rinks, where spectators can watch him for free.

Shaw Cable TV will profile Ten in Powered To Win, a show about the upcoming Olympics, at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 8 and at 8:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9 on Channel 4.

“It would be a dream come true to compete in front of a hometown audience right in my backyard,” says 20-year-old Ten, an East Vancouver born and raised resident of Chinese descent. “But I go into each training practice focused on making myself better rather than on the fact that the Olympics are getting closer and closer. That reduces my stress.”

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Backgrounder: Skating champion aims to score big

Jeremy Ten credits his coaches, including Joanne McLeod who discovered three time national champion and Olympian Emanuel Sandhu, as well as his choreographer David Wilson, with helping him become an Olympic hopeful.

Wilson has worked with many World and Olympic medalists such as Jeffrey Buttle, a 2008 World Champion and 2006 Olympic bronze medalist.

Ten’s coaching team also includes Neil Wilson, a former national champion for Great Britain, and Victor Kraatz, a 10 time national champion and 2003 Ice Dance World champion for Canada.

A pre-novice champion in 2004, novice silver medalist in 2005, junior Canadian silver medalist in 2006, junior champion in 2007, the SFU undergrad has been steadily climbing the skating competition ladder.

Ten finished 11th in his first senior men’s national competition in 2008 and third in his second go at the title in 2009.

Ten has put much of his academic work on ice until his Olympic fate is decided. But he still crams eight hours a week into working on an SFU English course and up to 12 hours a week into selling clothes part-time, on top of his training as a competitive skater.

How does he do it? “If I didn’t love each of the things that I do I wouldn’t be able to do them, never mind put 100 per cent of myself into each of them,” explains Ten.

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