Style On Ice Skaters of the Day: Dube and Davison

Three-time Canadian Pair Champions Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison announced yesterday that they were ending their 9 year partnership.  Style On Ice wants to take a look back at this classic duo that won fans with their grace and determination.

Jessica Dube:

Dubé began skating at age four. She eventually took up pairs skating and teamed up with Bryce Davison in 2003. The two had a successful junior career before moving up to the senior level in 2005-6. They placed 10th at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and 7th at the World Championships that same season. She has also competed in singles skating. Her highest finish in the senior ladies' event at the Canadian Championships was 6th in 2008; internationally, she was a medalist at two junior Grand Prix events.

In the summer of 2006, Dubé suffered an injury in practice and was removed from the ice on a backboard; she had knee surgery in September. They trained both short and long programs for nationals, while Jessica also trained a short program for the singles event. They won their first national crown in Nova Scotia at the 2007 Canadian Championships. After an on-ice accident at the 2007 Four Continents Championships (see below), they made a comeback a month later at the World Championships, where they again finished seventh.

Dube and Davison had a breakthrough season in 2007-8. They won their first Grand Prix medals, including a gold at Skate America. They lost the national title to Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay, but two months later at the World Championships, they won the bronze medal after finishing second in the long program;^[1] they set personal best scores in each segment of the event and overall.

The next two seasons did not prove as successful, and while they regained and then defended their national title, the pair were unable to repeat their success at the World Championships. Their top placement during this time was a second place finish at the 2009 Four Continents Championships. Dube and Davison were part of Team Canada at the inaugural World Team Trophy in April 2009. In the 2009-10 Olympic season, they medalled at both Grand Prix events but did not qualify for the Grand Prix final. They were sixth at the Olympics and at Worlds.
Dubé and Davison withdrew from 2010 Skate Canada International after Davison suffered a knee injury.^[2] Davison underwent season-ending surgery to reattach a broken piece of bone.^[3] Davison may begin skating again after six months.
Dubé elected to compete as a singles skater in 2010-11.^[4] She qualified for Canadian Nationals, and competed in the ladies' event for the first time in three years, her last appearance being in 2008 when she finished 6th.^[5] Despite falling ill with a virus on the morning of the free skate, she skated to a 6th place finish in 2011.^[6]
Dubé and Davison ended their partnership in March 2011.^[7] Dubé intends to continue as a singles skater, though she has not ruled out returning to pair skating in the future.^[6] She also said she would like to study communications at university.^[

^{Bryce Davison:}

Davison began skating at age six. He competed with Jessie McNeil at the pre-novice^[1] and juvenile levels. They were the 2000 Canadian Juvenile national champions.^[2] He later competed with Claire Daugulis on the novice and junior levels.
Dubé and Davison teamed up in 2003, and competed successfully as juniors before moving to the senior ranks in 2005-6. They placed 10th at the 2006 Winter Olympic Games and 7th at the World Championships a month later. They won their first national crown in Nova Scotia at the 2007 Canadian Championships, yielding comparisons to Jamie Salé and David Pelletier in the process (with whom they had worked just prior to Christmas).
In the summer of 2006, Dubé suffered an injury in practice and was removed from the ice on a backboard; she had knee surgery in September. She made a successful recovery and the pair won their first national title later that season. After an on-ice accident at the 2007 Four Continents Championships (see below), they made a comeback at the 2007 World Championships, where they again finished seventh.

Dube and Davison had a breakthrough season in 2007-8. They won their first Grand Prix medals, including a gold at Skate America. They lost the national title to Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay, but two months later at the World Championships, they won the bronze medal after finishing second in the long program;^[3] they set personal best scores in each segment of the event and overall.
The next two seasons did not prove as successful, and while Dubé and Davison won back and then defended their national title, their international results were not as good as in 2007-8; their best placement was a second place finish at the 2009 Four Continents Championships. In the 2009-10 Olympic season, they medalled at both Grand Prix events but did not qualify for the Grand Prix final. They were sixth at the Olympics and at Worlds.
Davison suffers from osteochondritis dissecans, which led to his sustaining a serious knee injury in practice in October 2010, forcing the pair to withdraw from the 2010 Skate Canada International.^[4] He later underwent surgery to reattach a broken piece of bone, which will cause him to miss the 2010-11 season.^[5][6] After staying off his feet for three months, Davison will begin three months of intensive physiotherapy, after which he may return to the ice.^[6]

Dubé and Davison ended their partnership in March 2011.^[7] Davison left open the possibility that he might continue skating if he finds the right partner.^[8] He is studying human anatomy and physiology through Athabasca University online courses.^[7]

Davison competed in singles until 2007. He is a member of the Hamilton Skating Club in Hamilton, Ontario