Homick, Buelow open Junior Grand Prix season
Jeff Tribe
Advocate Contributor
Summer Homick and Nick Buelow’s International Skating Union (ISU) season-opening Junior Grand Prix Ice Dance bronze medal in Xi’an, China, August 20-22 represented success in both ‘journey’ and ‘destination.’
A podium finish was where the pair wanted, virtually needed to further their shared goal of qualifying for the Junior Grand Prix series championship this December.
The mental resilience they showed in order to move up two positions and achieve that goal indicated less obvious but equally crucial progress.
“It was a good start for our season and testament to our mental game,” said Homick. “It’s a big testament on how we can compose ourselves.”
It was a short off-season for Homick and Buelow. Their 2025-26 campaign finished at world championships the first week of March in Tallinn, Estonia. Beyond guest appearances in skating shows, they enjoyed a short break, but were quickly back on the ice training for this year’s programs: a rhythm component skated to Prince’s Wow and Kiss, and their free dance set to Evita.
In a sport where a full year of training culminates in a few short minutes on the ice, there is scant opportunity to ramp up as the season progresses.
“You want to be ready right away, basically,” said Buelow. “You just have to be ready to go out there and do your thing for those five minutes.
“You don’t have time to be nervous.”
They opened with a strong 131.07-point gold medal finish at the 2026 Nextgen Competition at the Slush Puppy Centre in Gatineau, Quebec, July 17-18. Homick and Buelow headed an all-Canadian field with ice dance pairs from Quebec, Audra Gans and Danil Park, and Laurence Briere and Earl Jesse Celestino, finishing second and third, with 127.95 and 127.28 points respectively.
Xi’an represented Homick and Buelow’s first international event of the season. It is one of seven Grand Prix competitions leading up to the series final, scheduled for Dec. 10-13 in Chongqing, China. Teams typically accumulate points through two of seven events, with the top six qualifying for the final.
“Our hopes and dreams are to get to the junior grand prix final,” said Homick.
Those hopes and dreams got off on the wrong skate, so to speak, with the loss of their luggage - including their skates - en route to Xi’an.
“That was a bit of a mess - a frantic disaster,” said Homick.
With Skate Canada working behind the scenes, their luggage was tracked down. But the time it took cut their pre-event practice in half, down from an expected two full days to one.
The setback was compounded by what Buelow called ‘a bit of a shaky start’ to their rhythm dance program.
“We weren’t ‘into the ice,’” he said, a differentiation they use from skating ‘on top’ of the ice.
“We’re not skating like sticks on top of the ice,” Homick explained. “We’re into it and in control.”
The second half of their rhythm dance was ‘strong and into the ice’ the way they wanted to skate, Buelow continued, but a couple of small errors left them sitting in fifth position heading into the following day’s free dance portion.
Their training helped prepare them for the challenge to come, both on-ice and additional sports psychology work to support their ‘mental game.’
“It’s always better to have more tools in your toolbox,” said Homick, who beyond that more formal work, says she and Buelow are able to rely on each other.
“We both kind of recognize when the other is getting a little stressed out,” he said, noting their response tends to be situational and based on their own unique approaches.
“I’d say Nick is the calmer one out there,” Homick credited. “When I get riled up, he looks at me and says, ‘Just breathe.’”
Conversely, Buelow leans into Homick’s commitment and determination.
“Summer is super committed, that’s always the word that comes to mind,” he said. “She’s bringing ‘Let’s get going’ energy and really gets me up.”
Following the challenges of a stressful night where sleep proved difficult, and being the first team to hit the ice following warmup, the pair responded with exactly the kind of performance they needed.
“We just laid it out on the table,” said Homick. “We just had to skate well.”
Settling in right away, they brought the program they needed to perform, getting them where they needed to be. Their 87.74-point free dance score brought their final total to 143.68, lifting them from fifth past a pair of American competitors and ultimately into third place.
“I think we represented ourselves really well and came off as a very strong team,” Homick assessed.
Overall, all things considered, the competition was a productive and also enjoyable experience. Chinese fans are a joy to skate in front of, she said, appreciation extending to seeking autographs and photos, some bringing photos of them to sign.
“You feel like a celebrity,” Homick laughed. “It made us feel the love, that’s for sure.”
The pair is looking forward to its next grand prix event, the fifth of seven scheduled, in Batumi, Georgia, Sept. 24-26. A potential appearance in the final, Canadian championships, and worlds are also on their competitive radar.
“Every year we’re trying to push ourselves further and further,” Homick summed up. Missions accomplished both in and away from the ri
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