Editor's note: this is part of a series of features being published on the various sports which make up the 2007 Canada Winter Games, and the athletes who will be representing the Yukon in them.

While hundreds of athletes, coaches and mission staff fly into Whitehorse from across the country over the next few days, at least three Yukon athletes will be heading in the opposite direction.

As Week 1 action at the Canada Winter Games kicks into high gear, figure skaters Kevin Caron, Teneil Caron and Millie Austin will be attending an intense, one-week training camp in Vancouver.

Figure skating doesn't start until Week 2 of the Games, and the three youngsters want a few more run-throughs with high-performance coaches like Karen Magnussen, a former Olympian who has been working with some of the members of the local Arctic Edge Skating Club for the past couple of years.

Fellow Yukoner Chantal Emond won't be able to make the trip south, but will train at home with coach Trish Pettitt prior to the Games.

The training camp comes on the heels of a visit to the territory from Mitch Miller, a well-known Canadian choreographer, who fined tuned program details for the Yukoners.

They'll need all the help they can get as they get set to compete against skaters from much bigger provinces, with a lot more experience.

Kevin, who will skate in the pre-novice men's category, had a small taste of the Games competition level when he skated at the western Canadian championships earlier this year, where he placed 10th.

Kevin was sixth at the same event last year, which allowed him to attend junior nationals where he placed 10th.

Kevin trained with two athletes from B.C. all summer and expects they will be fairly strong, but also knows Ontario and Quebec can be figure skating powerhouses.

'The top half would be nice,' he says, when asked about his personal goals for Canada Games. 'It's more about the experience than anything, but I'm going to shoot for the top half.

Kevin has been working hard on his triple loop jump and is determined to land at least one of them in competition. He's also hoping to ace his spins, as long as his skates don't get in the way.

'I'm getting my skates rebuilt,' he explains. 'They open them up and put in a new piece of foam, which makes them stronger so I can wait until after the Games to get new skates.

'I don't want to be breaking in new skates during the Games.'

Emond, who also works part-time when she's not skating, attending school or playing squash, says there's one key to a good performance.

'Practice, practice, practice,' she laughs. 'I've been running through my program on-ice, as well as doing off-ice training. It's been tough.

'I've been working a lot on my jumps and I've also discovered some new spins that I'm going to try in my program for the first time in competition. Spins score big points with the new judging system.'

The young athlete, skating in the women's pre-novice category, admits she's a tad nervous, especially considering she'll be skating in front of a hometown crowd.

'I'll do my best to show Whitehorse what I do every day and what I love to do,' she says. 'I've been skating since I was three.'

Emond said the biggest goal for her is to be happy with her performance.

'I've been working at being more positive lately, not being disappointed in myself. I have a tendency to be negative but I just want to have fun and work through new things in my program.'

While she knows the Canada Games will bring topnotch competitors, Emond acknowledged the Yukon skaters may have a slight advantage over some competitors, because they skate on an Olympic-sized ice surface regularly.

'At the test event (hosted in Whitehorse last fall), people thought our ice was so big and were having trouble breathing. Our high altitude can also be a factor.'

Emond says it will be weird staying at the athletes' village when her house is just a few minutes away, but knows it's all part of the Canada Games experience and something she's very much looking forward to.

'I went to the Arctic Winter Games in 2004 and that was very cool, getting to meet new people, watching a bunch of sports and cheering your teammates on.'

'If we didn't get to stay (in the athletes' village), we wouldn't get the full experience,' agrees novice skater Teneil, who is most looking forward to the social aspect of the Games as well as the pin trading.

She said all four of the Yukoners will stick together during the competition.

'We're all really good friends, so it's going to be a good time.'

Teneil is aiming to complete all of her jumps and just have fun at the Games. She's also hoping to stay healthy and be able to skate on a full stomach.

'I'm a really picky eater,' she smiled. 'I remember at the Arctic Winter Games, every day I had just an orange and buns the whole trip.'

While the Yukon has numerous medals at the past two Arctic Winter Games, the last Yukon figure skater to medal at the Canada Winter Games was Aidan Sanderson.

Sanderson took a silver medal at the 1999 Games in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland.

Figure skating gets underway on the Olympic ice surface at the Canada Games Centre on Mar. 5 and runs through Mar. 8.

There will also be a category for the Special Olympics athletes and three Yukoners will be competing.

Julien Richard, Theresa Roberts and Aimee Lien will skate for the territory.