Liam Dougherty has always found the time to come back to the Yukon on occasion and share his love of figure skating with the young local athletes, as well as entertain local spectators.

Now, it's his partner Terra Findlay's turn to thrill her hometown.

This weekend, the ice dancing duo will join Canadian figure skating legends Kurt Browning and Shaelynn Bourne, as well as other past and present stars, for a performance at the 'Celebration on Ice' tour.

Dougherty and Findlay, the reigning Quebec ice dance champions, were invited to the performance on Sunday in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., since that is Findlay's hometown.

'We're not actually a part of the tour, we were just invited to perform at one stop because it's Terra's hometown, so it's really not that impressive to be invited,' insisted Dougherty, in an interview from Montreal where he has been living and training for the past several years. 'Still, it's a really fun opportunity for us to share the ice with some of our idols. Kurt Browning, I've looked up to him ever since I started skating.'

Dougherty and Findlay will perform one number on Sunday, their competitive free dance, which is danced to music with a Hungarian theme but played in a variety of traditional and non-traditional styles, including Latin and Blues.

It's a dance that helped them clinch their second straight Quebec provincial championship, in Riviere-du-Loop last month. They were first in the compulsory dance, first in the original dance and second in the free dance, for a first overall finish.

With the first-place finish, Dougherty and Findlay qualified for the Canadian senior nationals, which will be held in Halifax Jan. 18-21.

It was good competition, said Dougherty, pointing out there were five teams this year as opposed to three in 2005.

'We were happy with how we skated. It was definitely an improvement over the previous competition. Winning was obviously our goal. We really felt like it was a step in the right direction toward nationals.'

The duo had two bizarre errors during the competition, one in the original dance and one in the free dance, both involving spins. They were just 'freak accidents', said Dougherty, admitting neither performance was completely clean.

'It was probably our original dance that we felt best with,' he said, which is kind of ironic, because it's the original dance that they changed right after the provincial competition.

'We felt like the program wasn't developing anymore,' he explained. 'We put it off for a bit after provincials because we thought we could maybe just change a few elements of the actual program. But, a couple of weeks ago, we decided to go ahead and change the music.'

Their original dance is a tango, so the music isn't radically different, he added. He's confident they can put a great program together in time for nationals in January.

In just their second season together as a competitive team, Dougherty and Findlay continue to make strides in all aspects of their skating. After more than a full season off while he searched for a new partner in 2004, Dougherty is just happy to be back in the swing of things and is looking forward to new opportunities.

'This year is our first chance to take it from point A to point B. Last season was just such a whirlwind, you can't even really consider it a season.

'Now, everything is improving. We've really had a chance to develop basic skills together, so our compulsory dance is much better. The difficulty has improved in a lot of our programs.'

Dougherty also feels the added year of skating together has given them more opportunity to focus on the artistic side of their programs, which is very important.

And for Findlay, who was a pairs skater prior to hooking up with Dougherty, it's also meant time to transition completely to the dance side of skating.

'She's only 16,' Dougherty pointed out. 'But she's changed completely in her mindsets and technical abilities. I think she's really become a dancer.'

At nationals, the duo is hoping to finish in the top five, which would mean a spot on the Canadian team. Last year, they finished eighth overall, but two of the teams ahead of them have since dropped out of competition, meaning Dougherty and Findlay are ranked sixth heading to Halifax.

'It'll be a fight (to finish in the top five), but I think it's possible,' said Dougherty. 'If we drop any lower than sixth, we won't be happy, because that really means we're lower than last year. If we are sixth, that means we stay in the same spot, so depending on how we skate, that might be OK.

'But our goal is to make the national team. If we're fifth and we skate really well, that's what we want ideally.'

A spot on the Canadian team would ensure Sport Canada funding for the two athletes, which would certainly help in their training.

It would also provide the opportunity to compete internationally, at events such as the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Colorado Springs, U.S. in February.

The Four Continents is a step below the world championships, explained Dougherty. This year, Canada has three spots at the worlds, which will be held in Japan in March. Because the two competitions are so close together, the top three dance teams don't usually go to both.

So if the top three go to worlds, that gives the other two duos on the national squad a chance to skate at the Four Continents.

'If you're on the national team, you also get to go to more national events and training camps,' added Dougherty. 'Basically, it gives you more exposure.'

While Dougherty hopes to keep climbing the ranks over the next few years, in anticipation of the 2010 Olympics, he is hesitant to look too far beyond this season.

'You can only take it one year at a time,' he stated. 'It all depends on the results.

'Obviously, the long-term goal is the 2010 Olympics. Everybody wants that. But there are a lot of steps inbetween.'