David Pelletier
David Pelletier was born in Sayabec, Quebec on November 22, 1974. David spent his childhood in Lachine, Quebec though as a young skater, he trained in Boucheville, Quebec with coaches Josee Picard and Eric Gilles. David has competed at a national level as both a pair skater and a single skater though he achieved international success in pairs when he represented Canada with partner Allison Gaylor in 1995 world championships.
David Pelletier's first pair partner was a young skater from Quebec named Julie Laporte. Together, Julie and David were Canadian novice and junior champions and they placed 7th at the junior world championships in 1992. "Following the 1993 Canadian championships, David Pelletier did something rather daring: he had won the Canadian pairs championship both as a novice and as a junior with Julie Laporte but then decided he needed to shake up his career and his skating. He split with Julie, getting together with Allison Gaylor," (Dan Mathison, Canadian Championships, CTV, 1995).
International Success
David Pelletier and Allison Gaylor trained in Boucheville where they had the opportunity to work with Lloyd Eisler and Isabelle Brasseur who were both former world champions and former students of Picard and Gilles. The young pair team arrived on the national scene when they skated a near flawless long program that brought the crowd to their feet at the 1995 Canadian championships. Their outstanding performance earned David and Allison the opportunity to represent Canada at the world championships in Birmingham, England.
Also competing in the senior mens event at the national championships, David Pelletier placed a surprising second after the mens short program. In his first year as a senior, David was stunned with the prospect of representing Canada in two events at the upcoming world championships. David's strength was his technical skill though he did not have a consistent triple axel. However, with a few technical mistakes in the long program, David's marks for presentation were not enough to hold his position and David slipped to 4th place in the event. "To move from junior to senior, to handle two events and make it in the pairs, he's got to be very, very proud of himself," (Brian Orser, Canadian Championships, CTV, 1995).
Allison Gaylor and David Pelletier traveled to the world championships in Birmingham, England one month after their outstanding performance at the national championships. "This is certainly a major moment for them. It is not only their world debut, but this is also their international debut. It is very rare for that to happen in this era of numerous fall international competitions," (Paul Martini, World Championships, CBC, 1995). Gaylor and Pelletier finished 15th at the 1995 world championships.
Following their experience at the world championships, Allison and David returned home to begin training for the next season. Unfortunately, the momentum from the previous year did not continue and the pair struggled throughout the early season. "They've had a very difficult season this year. Allison had knee surgery earlier and they've struggled with their confidence coming back from that injury," (Barb Underhill, Canadian Championships, CTV, 1996). After a 12th place finish at NHK, their only pre-season international that year, Allison and David returned to Canada to rechoreograph their long program before their next competition: the Canadian championships.
David and Allison entered the 1995 national championship, not as a favorite with a chance to win the event, but as a team that appeared to be struggling. Gaylor and Pelletier were 5th after the short program and they needed a strong performance in the long program if they had any hope of returning to the world championships. In the long program, Allison struggled throughout the performance with her jumps and she was forced to stop the performance when the lace on her boot came off the hook. Gaylor and Pelletier finished 5th in the event. Shortly after the Canadian Championships, Allison Gaylor and David Pelletier ended their partnership and David set out in search of a new partner.
Searching for a Perfect Match
David Pelletier was quickly paired with a young 15 year old skater from Quebec named Caroline Roy. The two were an odd match because of the age difference between the skaters and because Caroline was not a pair skater. In just 11/2 years, Caroline learned all the pair elements and the team qualified for the 1998 Canadian championships in Hamilton, Ontario. At the event, Barb Underhill commented: "this team has come a long way in a very short period of time," (Canadian Championships, CTV, 1998).
The Canadian championships proved to be a very difficult event for David Pelletier - regardless of anything that happened on the ice. One week before the event, David's former pair partner Julie Laporte was tragically killed in a car accident while traveling to a skating carnival in Quebec. Coincidentally, the 1998 Canadian championships were being held in the very same building where David and Julie had won their national junior championship. At this event, David Pelletier and Caroline Roy had a strong skate but placed 6th overall in the pairs event. Feeling unhappy and unfulfilled, David Pelletier ended his partnership with Caroline after the national championships and he decided to take some time away from the sport before setting out in search of yet another partner.
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