If you would like to send Ben congratulatory or good luck wishes, please email them to ferreirafanatics@yahoo.com.
If you would like to send Ben congratulatory or good luck wishes, please email them to ferreirafanatics@yahoo.com.
August 15, 2006:
Well, that's all folks as far as the skating goes (sniffle, sniffle) but I'm sure we'll be seeing him around sometimes. Ben attended the recent Mariposa Gala to say goodbye and thanks to everyone but wasn't able to skate. He and his wife are moving back to Edmonton where Ben has been offered a coaching position back at Royal Glenora!
Best Wishes to them!!
January 2006: Ben placed 8th in his final Canadians due to an injury but received a nice send-off from the crowd. That's it for competing as Ben is retiring this season. We'll all miss Ben for the skater and person that he was/is! Ben can be really proud of his accomplishments! He never was able to make it to the Olympics but had a great skating career and a lot of fun times!
December 6, 2005: Well, the Grand Prix season is over now with Ben placing 4th at Cup of China and 6th at NHK after a nice comeback. He also placed first in Central Ontario's Octoberfest. Now it's preparation for nationals which should be a tough battle for the Olympic spot!
September 22, 2005:
Boy are we behind on the "news"!! Guess we took the summer off!
Ok, Ben competed at Thornhill this August where he placed 4th.
Ben's events this year will be Cup of China and NHK Trophy in preparation for Olympic hopes. Best of luck!!
Well, I guess that about covers it for now. I'll try to get my mind back on skating!
May 23, 2005: Congratulations to Ben and Jaydene on their wedding in Calgary on the 21st!!
Ben will be doing Cup of China and NHK Trophy in Japan this fall in preparation for his final Canadians in January as qualification for the Olympics which Canada has qualified 3 men.
Best wishes for the season and the marriage!!
February 18, 2005: Congratulations to Ben on skating 4th place at 4CC! It was great to see that the short program went well placing him in 2nd behind Li going into the free. It was a good season overall and now the hard work begins going into the Olympic year with some time off for his upcoming wedding. Have a nice summer everyone!
January 31, 2005: Congratulations to Ben on skating well to a 4th place in the 2005 Canadian Championships
Ben will be competing in the 4 Continents Championships February 14-20, 2005 in Gangneung, Republic of Korea!
Best wishes from us all!
November 29, 2004: Ben placed 2nd at Bofrost Cup - See photos and videos here
November 17, 2004:
Ben has been added to Bofrost Cup in Gelsenkirchen, Germany for November 26-28th.
More info and results here
November 7, 2004: Congratulations to our Skate Canada silver medalist!!
Following a disappointing Skate America earlier in October, Ben came back at Skate Canada at his best. You can send congratulation messages or good luck messages for Canadians to us at: ferreirafanatics@yahoo.com.
Ben's summer has been very busy! He has been conducting seminars all around Canada in addition to working on his new programs for the upcoming season. On August 3, 2004 he gave the audience attending the 2004 Mariposa Gala a preview of his new short program as well as a new exhibition program entitled "The Cowboy in Me". The new short program is quite different for Ben, featuring techno-style classical music and a very intricate straight-line footwork sequence which he was still working on perfecting when we saw it at the Gala. However, he looked great and is very optimistic about the coming season.
Further to that end, Ben placed second just behind Jeff Buttle at the 2004 Thornhill Summer Skate competition in Thornhill, Ontario the weekend of August 14-15. Cheryl was able to attend and we should have pix soon (hopefully -- there are nets hanging from the ceiling of the rink that make photography very difficult, unfortunately.) The next public appearance that Ben will be skating in is the 2004 Athlete Trust Skate Canada Fundraiser (previously known as "The Stars Come Out to Shine" last year) on September 25th in Montreal, Quebec.
March 2004: Furthering on his previous-best 15th place finish at a World Championships, Ben placed 13th at Worlds in Dortmund with three very good performances. After opting not to try the quad in the qualifying round, he would come close in both the short and long programs to landing it. Though his performance of the technical elements in the short program were better executed than those of Emanuel Sandhu, Ben's placement in his qualifying group caused him to be ranked below Sandhu for the remainder of the competition. Ben was happy with his overall performance at Worlds, and hopes to attempt to put a second quad in his long program for next season.
February 23, 2004: Ben was honored with a BMO Financial Group Possibility Award, which recognize exceptional performances at the national championship level.
Ben will be participating in a couple of local skating shows: He will perform in the closing program for the Antigonish Skating Club of Antigonish, Nova Scotia on Sunday, March 7th, the Aurora Figure Skating Club's ice show on April 3, 2004. Details will be posted when they've become available.
January 2004: Two personal-best skates took Ben all the way to the silver medal at the BMO Financial Group Canadian Championships in his hometown of Edmonton, Alberta. While Rod Black had made note of the fact that around Christmas time, Doug Leigh had been advising people to "watch out for Ben, he's training like an animal", very few could have expected the very big surprises Ben had up his sleeve, which included landing a gorgeous quad-triple combination in the short program and another perfectly clean quad in the long. Though Ben admitted he wouldn't change anything except the doubled Salchow in the long, he was thrilled with his performance which garnered him trips to Four Continents in Hamilton, Ontario at the end of January, and to the World Championships in Dortmund, Germany in March. Congratulations Ben!!!
Also in January, Ben came in 7th overall at the Four Continents Championship in Hamilton, Ontario, with a long program that earned him a standing ovation from the crowd. :-)
Ben's Grand Prix events are now in the record books. He had two strong finishes in his events, placing seventh overall at Cup of Russia and moving up a spot to sixth at NHK Trophy in Japan. This is a great improvement on his GP placements from last season. Various reports also stated that he is landing his triple axels with more consistency in competition, and at NHK landed a quad with just a hand down rather than a fall, which is also another step toward landing it! The staff of Ferreira Fanatics congratulates Ben on his great showing, and we look forward to seeing him at Canadians!
We were also contacted by a representative of Eva's Initiatives with information on a charity event Ben will be participating in:
Hello Ben Ferreira Fanatics,
I just wanted to drop you a note about Ben Ferriera. He will be the Celebrity Chair of Eva's Initiatives "Light Up A Life Winter Celebration & Skating Party". This event will be held at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto on December 11, from 7-9pm. He will be on hand to make a few remarks and to lead a public skating party. This Celebration is free to the public and is a part of Eva's Initiatives' annual campaign to raise funds and awareness for homeless youth in Toronto.
You can contact me at 416-977-4497 ext.125 or visit our website @ www.evasinitiatives.com. We look forward to seeing you there.
Thanks for thinking of us this Holiday Season.
Suzanne Duncan
Development Coordinator
sduncan@evas.ca
We appreciate Suzanne sending us this note on an event for a very worthy cause - those of you in the Toronto area who can make it please feel free to drop us a note with reviews!
Ben competed in the annual Octoberfest competition in Barrie, Ontario the weekend of October 18-19, and won the gold with an amazing skate that saw him land two triple axels! Congratulations! :)
On September 13, 2003 Ben debuted his new exhibition program, to the song "Hard to Handle" by The Black Crowes, at the The Stars Come Out to Shine 2003 event in Kitchener, Ontario. This program showcased the fun side of Ben's skating as well as being one of the more polished programs of the night. Ben told us at the reception after the show that he has always wanted to skate to this song, and having seen it live we agree it fits him well. Here's hoping we'll see it on TV this season!
Ben has been confirmed as a participant in The Stars Come Out To Shine on Saturday, September 13, 2003 in Kitchener, Ontario. The skaters performing in this show comprise most of the Canadian National Team; the show will also feature Elvis Stojko as a special guest performer. The exhibition is a benefit to the Skate Canada Athlete Trust. The Athlete Trust provides support through a number of grants to athletes at various stages of development and competitive levels as part of the pursuit of competitive excellence. For tickets, contact the Kitchener Auditorium at 519.745.0303 or toll free in Canada at 1.800.265.6368.
August 7, 2003: Ben was named one of the recipients of the Dana Wright Award at the 2003 Mariposa Charity Gala. This award is in memory of Mariposa skater Dana Wright, who passed away in a tragic car accident in 2002. The award offers assistance to promising skaters from the club to continue their endeavours.
August 17, 2003: Ben began his competitive season at the 2003 Summer Skate competition in Thornhill, Ontario with a bronze medal-winning performance. He debuted his long program at this competition, and has once again shown great improvement in his artistry and overall technique. Congratulations on behalf of the staff of Ferreira Fanatics!
Summer 2003:
Ben spent the first part of the summer teaching Level 2 coaching theory skating classes; he also participated in a summer skating seminar at the Georgina Figure Skating Club in Keswick, Ontario on July 11.
He also had this to say about the coming season:
"...the plan at this point is until 2006. I am now 24! and this is the only time in my life when I can chase this dream. David Wilson will be doing a new long for sure, he brought me a piece of music when everyone was at worlds that was interesting, it was a rough draft so it is a possibility. However, Doug and Michelle think the Untouchables might be a good theme. At this point, I am still looking for that right theme and piece but there is so much selection out there, I'm sure I will find the right mission."
January 2003:
Ben showed vast improvement in both technique and presentation at the 2003 Canadian National Championships this year, emphasized by his first place showing after the short program. Though he finished fourth overall, the great strides he has made this season in his skating are definitely something to be very proud of!
November 2002:
Ben has completed his Grand Prix assignments, with a 10th place finish at Bofrost Cup in Germany and an 8th place finish at Trophee Lalique in France.
He attempted and missed the quad in the short at Bofrost, but came back with an impressive footwork sequence. In the Bofrost long, he unfortunately tripled his quad attempt; however the triple axel has improved greatly and is quite impressive. There is also improvement in spins, edges and speed.
We're still looking for details on the Lalique programs -- Cheryl did attend, and I'm sure she'll have something soon. :)
In other news, Ben will be the celebrity chair of Eva's Initiatives' "Light Up A Life Winter Celebration" being held at Harbourfront in Toronto, Ontario on December 11, from 7-9 pm. Ben will be on hand to make a few remarks and to lead a public skating party. Anyone in the Toronto area who attends is welcome to send notes on this event to webmaster@ferreirafanatics.com.
The next step on the competitive front for Ben is Canadians, then hopefully on to Four Continents and Worlds. It's not too late to get tickets for any of these events -- if you're up for a little in-person support for Ben, hit on the contacts below:
2003 Canadian National Championships
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan • January 6-12, 2003
All-event tickets are on sale now - call 1-800-970-7328
For event information go to the Skate Canada website
2003 Four Continents
Beijing, China • February 10-16, 2003
2003 World Championships
Washington D.C., United States of America • March 22-30, 2003
For tickets: Call (202) 661-5038 or use the order form on the official website
For event information go to www.worlds2003.com
October 19-20, 2002:
Ben placed third in the annual Skate Canada Octoberfest competition, held at the Allandale Recreation Center in Barrie, Ontario (the home of the Mariposa School of Skating, Ben's training base). Ben made a valiant effort after a tough short program to come back and skate a very good long program. The short featured a quad attempt that was fully-rotated but unfortunately not landed clean. (He's thisclose to landing it, though!) Ben's technique since coming to Mariposa has improved, with his jumps now featuring fast, tight rotation and more height; there is also definitely more flow and expression in his overall presentation. All indications are that Doug is helping Ben in the right direction, and we're looking forward to watching his progress as the season kicks into gear.
August 21, 2002:
Ben came in 7th at the COS Summer Skate in Thornhill, Ontario. He debuted his competitive programs for the 2002-2003 season at this competition. He has shown great improvement since beginning to work with Doug Leigh, even though it appears that adjustments in technique have temporarily thrown Ben's jumps off a bit.
June 21, 2002:
Ben has been confirmed as appearing at the 2002 Mariposa Gala in Barrie, Ontario, to be held August 3. Skate Canada also announced that Ben's Grand Prix assignments for this season will be Trophee Lalique (France) and Bofrost Cup (Germany).
April 17, 2002:
Ben was the guest skater at the Oshawa Skating Club's carnival, which also featured Canadian skating legend Donald Jackson.
March 15, 2002:
Ben was a last-minute addition to Canada's World's team after Elvis Stojko announced his retirment from competitive skating. Ben has also announced that he will be moving to Barrie, Ontario to train at the Mariposa Club under Doug Leigh, Elvis' former coach.