Gabby Daleman wins women's free skate competition for silver at Canadian national skating championships

HALIFAX - Whenever Gabby Daleman competes, luck is on her side. At least she believes that.

When she won the women’s free skate and the silver medal at the Canadian national skating championships on Saturday, a special stone, a lucky stone of some sort, was buried within the seams or the folds of her costume. It’s tradition.

After finishing third in the short program Friday, Daleman knew she had to lay down “a killer program’’ to overcome a six-point defict in the short behind two-time national champ Kaetlyn Osmond and a four-point deficit behind her occasional training mate Alaine Chartrand.

She had her lucky stones.

When Daleman was a little girl, a local seamstress stitched up one of her first costumes, and a stone got stuck underneath the skirt. Daleman’s mother, Rhonda Raby wanted to take it off, but her young daughter stopped her.

“Don’t do that,” Daleman said. “It’s a lucky stone.” 

Ever since then, Daleman has competed with stones intentionally sewn or stuck onto the underside of her costumes for good luck. She never knows where these stones are. It’s up to the seamstress. When she decided to have her costumes made by renowned Montreal seamstress Josiane Lamond when she turned senior,  the tradition continued.

All of this helped Daleman make it to the Sochi Olympics at age 16, the youngest member of the Canadian team. But alas, Raby found, the Montreal seamstress had attached the lucky stones to the outside of both Olympic costumes.

But to be truly lucky, they had to be attached to the inside. 

“Oh no,” Raby thought.

Pressed for time, Raby sent the costumes for both the short and long programs back to Montreal by courier to have the two stones placed elsewhere.

Lamond stitched the stones for both costumes close to Daleman’s heart.

Heart is what Daleman needed for the long program in Halifax.

How could she possibly pull off what was necessary to perhaps retain her Canadian title and/or make it onto the Canadian team for the world championships in Boston? Only two Canadian women may go.

She had one jewel left in her arsenal. After the warmup for the long program, Daleman called her choreographer, Lori Nichol, who lives north of Toronto.

Nichol had already called her on the way to the rink. But Daleman needed to hear her voice again. “I needed to hear her for more motivation,” Daleman said. “I need to hear that I can do this. And to tell me that I’ve worked hard. Just hearing that from her really helped me.”

Daleman said she wasn’t doubting herself. She has earned the highest free skate score among the Canadian contenders by 13 points for the season.

Nervous? Absolutely.

With all the gems in her arsenal, Daleman skated as if inspired, landing jump after jump, only underrotating one triple toe loop, which cost her about a point. It was the performance of a lifetime.

Daleman won the free skate with 133.18 points, just enough to put her in front of Chartrand by .37 points and ahead of Osmond by 6.31.

Chartrand, also skating a command performance to “Gone With the Wind” won the gold medal overall with 201.99 points, four points ahead of Daleman with 197.99.

Daleman sneaked past Osmond, who had had such a lead on her after the short program, to win the silver medal by only .12 points.

“I was so happy I laid it out there,” Daleman said. “I’m so proud of Alaine for getting the national title. And now to share it with Kaetlyn and Alaine, all three of us have won nationals.

“That just proves how much we are all improving. I am so proud of everyone today.”