Trail of Heroes: The start of competition

In October 2025, Shane and I visited Angers, France and London, England for 10 days of performances and adventures. These posts capture the details of our trip.

Friday evening treated us to the first two competitive events of Grand Prix de France: the women’s short program (with 12 skaters, including Kaori) and the pairs’ short program (with 8 pairs, including Riku and Ryuichi, as well as Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps).

For those unfamiliar with ice skating, skaters in all the disciplines earn one cumulative score for each competition. This score is calculated by adding up the points earned from skating two programs on different days: a short one (around 3 minutes) and a longer one (around 4). Each program has specific elements that must be included and scored based on the discipline, with more variations (and thus points) allowed in the longer program than the short.

Because of this structure, the short programs can be less dramatic—and may have lower attendance. Medals, after all, are not yet (completely) on the line.

When we arrived back at the rink before the women’s short program, though, the queue was already stretching down the block! With the small group of us at practices, it had been hard to gauge how full the venue would be for the main events. We were glad to see such enthusiasm and feel the energy of a bigger crowd.

Since the athletes’ entrance was just down the sidewalk from the public one, it was also fun to spot skaters heading to the competition (often with wheeled luggage bags in tow). The occasional “celebrity” sightings made the time fly by as we waited to pass through security.

Soon we were settling into our seats. For practices (which had no assigned seating), we had sat behind the judging panel. This evening was our first time sitting in our assigned section on the other side of the ice. The view was still excellent, and we liked being directly across from where the skaters entered the ice and waited for scores (this latter area is called the “Kiss & Cry”).

It was so exciting once the lights dimmed and the familiar competition music started up. We even enjoyed the odd novelty of hearing the French anthem being sung, with a French “flag” created with lights on the ice. The first Grand Prix of the season was really underway!

…aaand this exact moment was unfortunately when things went south for me. Earlier in the day, I had begun to feel unwell but hoped it was just jet lag. Unfortunately, my body decided then and there that it had reached some kind of limit. I spent the entirety of the first six women’s warmup and performances unable to sit or watch the skaters for more than a few minutes at a time.

It was agony. For a while I thought I was going to have no choice but go back to the hotel. Had I really come this far only to miss out on one of Kaori’s competitive skates? (And then what if I didn’t get better before the next day’s long program??)

Thankfully, I started to stabilize by the end of the first group. After an hour or so, I was able to sit again, and Kaori going last in the second group gave me enough recovery time to be present with and appreciate her skate.

Kaori did great: a few shaky moments, but a beautiful, clean program to end the women’s competition. She is often—as one of our favourite commenters likes to say—”the supreme competitor” in high-stakes competitions. And it meant all the more to applaud her after worrying I would miss the moment entirely!

Since I was still stable, we stayed for the pairs’ short program too. The Canadians did well—completing their highly publicized assisted back flip successfully!—and Riku and Ryuichi dominated with their “Paint It Black”. (That song through the loudspeakers at top volume was intense. We loved it.)

Partway through pairs’ event, I was also able to appreciate the environment more. It was delightful how the crowd applauded every element (even missed ones), how they cheered the French and non-French athletes, and how quickly they started clapping along to any livelier music. We had a ball joining in with it all. (And Shane took care of waving our mini flags for each country.)

Later in the trip, we chatted with a lovely French woman who said what she adores about skating is exactly this: it’s uniquely bienfaisant. That is, it’s a sport inclined to be kind and generous to its athletes, with audiences and commentators supporting the skill and artistry all around, rather than focusing only on specific countries or individuals.

So although I felt far from my best as we left the arena that night, my heart was full of bienfaisance. (And perhaps immersion in this was part of what helped turn things around for me too.)

Next up: a controversy, Kaori’s closing skate, and the first competition medals!