Feb 05, 2010 - 11:33 AM

By Brian McNair

WHITBY -- Jordan Hockley will be watching the dance portion of the figure skating competition at the Vancouver Olympics with particular interest this year.

But, four years from now, he fully intends to be the one being watched, along with his partner Kelly Oliveira, when the Games shift to Russia.

Hockley, a 17-year-old Whitby resident, has good reason to be confident, too, after winning the novice dance title with Oliveira at the recent 2010 BMO Skate Canada junior nationals in London.

The pair, training out of the Scarboro Figure Skating Club, had finished second at both events leading up to the nationals, including at the Skate Canada Challenge in Mississauga in December.

"It was almost the exact same competition at nationals, so we kind of went in with the thought we were going to come second, but during the time between Challenge and nationals, we prepared ourselves better," Hockley explained.

The extra hard work paid off when Hockley and Oliveira won both compulsory dances in London, then held on to first place overall despite finishing second in the free dance to Edrea and Edbert Khong, the Ajax siblings who had beaten them in the previous events.

"We won both of those (compulsories) which was a really big accomplishment for us because it's the first time at a national competition we had been in first place after compulsories," Hockley said. "We've won nationals once before, back in 2006, but that was at the juvenile level. This is three levels up."

The next step is an even bigger one, as the two have already begun preparing for the junior level next year, which will include international competition for the first time. Only the senior level remains after that.

Hockley, who was born in Ajax and had trained with the clubs in Ajax and Pickering growing up, has been with Oliveira, from Toronto, for the past five years. The Scarboro club is home to several national level athletes, including current Olympians Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier.

"Kelly is a really determined skater," Hockley said, when asked what makes them tick. "She also competes freeskate, so she's a really, really hard worker. I think that's the best part about it, how she always has something to do. We don't stand around and talk very much. We always train as hard as possible and get the job done."

Hockley, a Grade 12 student at Anderson Collegiate, doesn't let any dust settle on himself either.

A fitness buff who plans on mastering the infamous beep test some day, Hockley said he and Oliveira take only four days off a year from training.

"What normal people would call a holiday, we call more skating," Hockley said. "When there's no school, then we just skate more. You have to be really committed to it. Basically you just put your life aside and train."

All the hard work will pay off, of course, if the two realize the Olympic dream.

"Oh yeah, very realistic," said Hockley, when asked if the Olympics were within grasp. "We're very confident we'll improve ourselves more and build ourselves up to that."