Every athlete dreams of gold, but measurable improvement is sometimes enough to hope for.

The figure skating Maekawas glided onto the biggest stage of their young careers this week B次元官网网址� the Skate Canada Junior Nationals on their adoptive home ice at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre B次元官网网址� and raised their national rankings in the process.

Sooke siblings Pilar, 16, and brother Leonardo, 18, came in ranked sixth in the country in novice ice dance while Leonardo was rated eighth in novice menB次元官网网址檚. The performances by the Racquet Club of Victoria skaters bumped them up one rank each by the end.

B次元官网网址淲ith our routine I felt everything went well,B次元官网网址� Leo said regarding their personal best score of 53.87 in TuesdayB次元官网网址檚 free dance, a mark that earned them fifth spot overall.

The energetic free dance routine made up for MondayB次元官网网址檚 effort in the compulsories. The couple appeared nervous and were less than precise early on, but recovered well and sat eighth in a field of 15.

B次元官网网址淚t was like ... euphoria,B次元官网网址� he said, clutching a stuffed toy, one of the many local fans tossed on the ice following his solo performance.

B次元官网网址淚 remember (being) in our starting pose and the next thing we were bowing for the crowd. It felt great and being in front of the home crowd made us even more excited to keep going. It was a perfect way to end the season.B次元官网网址�

Pilar, still catching her breath immediately following the free dance, said the local fans were great and B次元官网网址済ave us so much positive energy.B次元官网网址�

LeoB次元官网网址檚 seventh-place finish in the novice menB次元官网网址檚 category gave B.C. three skaters in the top seven overall.

The 2011 Canadian Figure Skating Championships begin today at Save-on-Foods arena. See www.skatecanada.ca for details.

sports@vicnews.com