Olympic spots are on the line at the Canadian figure skating championships

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A key event in the run-up to the Winter Olympics, which are now just four weeks away, is taking place this week with the Canadian figure skating championships in Gatineau, Que.

Competition began yesterday for junior-age athletes. But the elite-level events, starting Friday afternoon, are the focus as they'll help determine who gets to represent Canada at the Olympics in Italy next month.

Coming off a disappointing 2022 Games in Beijing, where Canada failed to win a figure skating medal for the first time since 1980, the country has earned a total of eight entries in the various events in Milan — three in the ice dance, two in pairs, one each in the men's and women's, plus the team competition, which kicks things off on Feb. 6.

The Canadian championships are not like, say, the U.S. track and field trials, where the country's Olympic spots are completely up for grabs and simply go to the top finishers. Instead, they're part of an evaluation process that includes the skaters' overall body of work over the last few seasons. Skate Canada, the sport's national governing body, will announce its Olympic selections on Sunday evening, shortly after the championships wrap up with the final stage of the ice dance competition.

While it's safe to say that a few names are already written in pen, some of the blank spaces could very well come down to who performs the best this weekend. And even those who are basically guaranteed a spot on the team will be under pressure to prove to the country — and themselves — that they're in medal-contending form at their last big competition