Canadian Figure Skating Has Bright Future in Kaiya Ruiter

The future of Canadian women’s figure skating wasn’t in the senior field at the Canadian championships in January.

Kaiya Ruiter was already on a flight home to Calgary with a junior gold medal in her bag, having trounced a field a skaters who were in most cases were a good half a foot taller and a couple of years older.

Ruiter, which is pronounced like writer, might have been a favorite to win the senior event in Mississauga, Ont. But the 13-year-old wasn’t old enough to compete.

“Normally I’d say you never know, you can’t really compare that too much because it would be maybe a different feeling being with these senior ladies and with TV and everything,” said her coach Scott Davis. “But knowing her, it wouldn’t have even fazed her. She just loves those moments of being able to perform. So who knows?”

…Skating to music from “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,” the four-foot-nine skater with wide Disney-character eyes and rosy cheeks reeled off seven triple jumps. Posing for post-medal podium pictures, she reached chin level of the two other medalists.

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