Interview with Joannie Rochette

Trophee Bompard, November 2008

 

Q: Joannie, you have two new programs this year.

Joannie: Yes. The short program, “Summertime” was originally an exhibition program that Shae-Lynn choreographed for me. The point was also that I should feel relaxed and comfortable, like in an exhibition.

Q: You picked “Concierto de Aranjuez” for the free program, although you had a Spanish themed program for the past two seasons as well, with “Don Juan” by Felix Gray.

Joannie: At first we also thought that it might be too similar in style, but the “Concierto de Aranjuez” is a very classical music, Spanish, but classical, while last year’s program was more a Flamenco.

Q: You said earlier that your training has been different this summer. What exactly has changed?

Joannie: I was able to train better on the ice, a thing that I couldn’t do before, because I always was injured during the summer. So my on-ice training is better plus I also had more hours of training. I could repeat the jumps more often.

Q: Why didn’t you have more hours on the ice before?

Joannie: I had only two hours on the ice for jumping. Now I have three. I have always done a lot off the ice like stretching, but my coach thinks that it’s really the additional time for jumping on the ice that makes a difference. I feel more confident. I had the possibility to train more on the ice before, but my coach and I decided to make a change. Before, we put more emphasis on quality. We still do that but we are also looking at the quantity to train the muscle memory to achieve a state when you can do the jumps automatically so I don’t have to think about each jump. So this has changed.

Q: You can see that as you are skating with much more authority now.

Joannie: Yes, skating is a sport and I think you need to repeat elements a lot and this is something I haven’t done before. I was always athletic off the ice, very sportive, but for skating you also need to be artistic and I had to change a lot here. I needed more time on the ice to work on the edges and on my upper body that was always stiff. This is better now.

Q: Was there a moment when you felt that something was different?

Joannie: I think I started to believe in it towards the end of September. After we did the long program with Lori (Nichol) this summer with all the exits from the jumps I came home and when I did the first run-through, I think I landed two triples. I thought I’d never be able to do it and that this program is too hard. At the test skate of Skate Canada in September in Vancouver it still wasn’t very good. But then it improved and I was doing more repetitions, more run-throughs. We’ve tried to change my mental approach for the competition, to take away the stress and to be calm. Of course, there is still stress but being calm and being able to be happy on the ice, even though I’m not a very expressive person to have a smile on my face is very important this year.

Q: After winning your two Grand Prix events and beating the reigning World Champion Mao Asada you are now one of the favorites for the Grand Prix Final and the World Championships. How do you deal with this new situation and this role for you?

Joannie: I don’t think there is a new role for me. I know that Yu-Na (Kim) and Mao (Asada) are really strong competitors and technically they are rising the bar and setting the standard for female figure skating. I admire both of them a lot. Mao didn’t skate her best here in Paris , nor did I. For me, this victory gives me confidence, but at the same time I know that Mao wasn’t at her best. So I don’t think that I really overtook Mao, it’s more like that I had a good competition and that I managed to stay focused and I stepped through the open door which is something I wouldn’t have done in the past. I would have been too nervous and I would have missed everything! So I remained focused on myself and at the end of the performance I didn’t really think that I would have won. I was just happy that I was able to skate a decent program after Mao because it was quite difficult to skate after her.

Q: Did you see her score?

Joannie: Yes, I saw her score, but at the same time, I didn’t really know what it means, because the scores are different from one competition to the next. And it can add to the stress, because you start thinking, “oh, it’s possible, the door is open”, so I had to give a solid performance.

Q: You said before that one of your main goals of the season is to improve your component score. What other goals do you have now after the success in the Grand Prix events?

Joannie: For sure I didn’t fulfill all my goals that I had set for myself like at Skate Canada. There were some jump exits that I took out. I think I was less confident and didn’t feel quite over my feet. Just this week, the practice was a little less strong. I’m pleased that I was able to concentrate on my program and to do like in practice, but for the Grand Prix Final my goals don’t change. I don’t set myself a goal in terms of placement. I didn’t do that from the beginning of the season and I won’t do it now. I’m just pleased that I go to the Final. That’s better!

Q: How does your boyfriend Francois-Louis, who is a top athlete himself, help you?

Joannie: He is someone who is super calm, in contrast to me. Before a competition I am tense at home, while he is the opposite. He helped me to change my way to view a competition. He is a few years older than I am and I think he has more experience in life. He helps me in a lot of things and he can cook!

Q: And how can you help him?

Joannie: I don’t know! I take care of housekeeping! I think he could answer this question better.

Q: Ladies skating in Canada was in the shadow of the other disciplines for a long time.

This has changed now with you, but why were the Canadian ladies lagging behind?

Joannie: I don’t know how to explain. First of all there were less high level female skaters. Maybe it’s because of the mentality of how the girls are training in Canada . Maybe they didn’t have the same strong will to succeed. I think this comes mostly from the head. Then it is the way of training maybe. I think there is not enough on-ice training. The boys are naturally more motivated, I don’t know why. Maybe Benoit (Lavoie, President of Skate Canada) or Mike (Michael Slipchuk, Performance Director of Skate Canada) could give a better answer to this question. But I notice at my club that the boys are more competitive among each other. I think the girls want to do well, but they are less competitive. I am very competitive, even with the boys in practice!

Q: Maybe that’s the reason why you succeed! Who was your inspiration in skating when you were younger?

Joannie: My first inspiration was Oksana Baiul. I saw her performances from Lillehammer , and they were so beautiful. I fell in love with figure skating because of her. But the one that I admire a lot for career is Michelle Kwan, because she was at the top for such a long time and she was a five-time World Champion. This is really a great achievement.

Q: If you were sent to an isolated island and could take three things, what would you take with you?

Joannie (laughs): I assume there is no skating at the island. I’d take mascara! But if I can take my boyfriend, I don’t need anything else.

Q: Thank you very much for the interview and all the best for the rest of the season.