When Tianna Brammer and Kurtis Hori aren’t in school, they’re usually at the rink.

In their case Burnaby Eight Rinks, where the two Richmond high school students spend an average of 20 hours a week honing their skating skills at the B.C. Centre of Excellence.

Hori follows a strict schedule. He leaves school weekdays at noon and skates from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. He skates for an additional hour Sundays. Off-season is a mere two weeks in June.

Brammer, 14, in Grade 9 at A.R. MacNeill Secondary, and Hori, 16, in Grade 11 at R.A. McMath Secondary took their first steps on the ice at the ages of four and five respectively. They’ve seldom been off it since.

“I love skating and enjoy performing in front of people the most,” says Brammer, who starred as Dorothy in the Connaught Skating Club’s production of The Wizard of Oz last season.

A focused individual who has high expectations of herself, Brammer improved on a fouth-place finish in last year’s Skate Canada B.C./Yukon sectionals to place third at the recent 2009 sectionals in Richmond. The result qualifies her for the Western Challenge Dec. 2-6 in Mississauga, Ont.

Hori, equally determined, was fourth in the Novice Men’s Division in the same competition and as a result has also qualified for the Western Challenge.

“I liked skating but I didn’t want to play hockey. One of the coaches at Connaught recomended that I try figure skating,” says Hori.

“Skating has given me lots of opportunities, like being chosen for national youth camp when I was 11 and meeting all these famous people in the skating world, skating on TV for the Four Continents’ opening and closing ceremony. I even got to meet (Olympic champion) Alexei Yagudin and got coaching from him at a seminar. Skating keeps me busy and I guess out of trouble.”

Brammer prepared for sectionals by skating six days a week, including off-ice training. Her main goal for the Western Challenge is to land her first triple in competition and make it through to the nationals.

Short-term, she hopes to place in the top six and ultimately to make it to the Olympics.

The goals are similar for Hori, who by placing in the top 16 at westerns will qualify for nationals.

“I was nervous but pretty confident I would make the provincial team again this year,” Hori says. “I prepared by working on skating clean programs, not taking any risks and making sure I was consistent.”

His favourite aspects of skating are the jumps and the speed. They’re what makes the sport exciting, he says.

“I have always been a good spinner,” he adds, “but I’m concentrating at improving my triples.”

Neil Wilson is part of a team of coaches at the B.C. Centre of Excellence that work with both Brammer and Hori. He says both skaters bring many great qualities to the rink.

“They both have a very strong work ethic and a will to improve and succeed,” Wilson says. “Both need to work on the consistent corrective components of their jumping techniques but there have (already) been great improvements. Training is the indicator for performances at competition so expectations for the Western Challenge are to complete their programs like they do every day in training.”

Being surrounded on a daily basis by national team athletes who push them is a great benefit to Brammer and Hori, says Wilson.

“And when your coaching team is headed up by a world and Olympic coach (Joanne McLeod) I think you further realize that international success is the ultimate goal.”

Brammer says training at the B.C. Centre of Excellence has already made her more independent. She also feels her jumps have improved quite a bit, especially her double axel which is bigger and more consistent.

Both Wilson and McLeod agree that Brammer skates a lot like Yu-Na Kim, the current world ladies figure skating champion. That’s ironic perhaps since Kim who trains in Toronto, is Brammer’s favourite skater.

“I have met her once in Toronto and am always mesmerized when I watch her on TV,” says Brammer. “She is a great role model with her perfect juming technique.”

Says Wilson: “Kim is a powerful skater who carries a lot of speed with strong jumps, yet she also possesses beautiful lines and has great feel for the music and movements.”

Wilson compares Hori’s skating style to two-time world champion Stephane Lambiel.

“Stephane has great spins and a unique feel for choreography,” says Wilson. “He is also someone who did not burst onto the scene with medals but slowly worked his way to the top with hard work and dedication.”

When they’re not giving it their all on the ice, Brammer and Hori try to make the most of their time off. For Brammer that includes hanging out with friends, watching TV, reading and shopping.

Hori’s hobbies include playing video games and volunteering.

“I am going to be volunteering at the 2010 Games as an ice patcher for the figure skating events,” he says. “I think it is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience and exciting as I will be able to be rinkside for many of the events. We got chosen over a year ago from a whole bunch of applicants and I feel lucky that I will be able to take part.”

Hori’s dad is designing events at Robson Square for 2010 and his mom is going to be volunteering at the Richmond Olympic Oval as a protocol language assistant.

“So most of my family is involved in the Games,” he says. “My little brother just wants to be decked out in Olympic wear and watch.”