Career
Lawrence started to skate when she was four. Her parents own a rodeo production company and she competed in barrel racing when she was younger. Although Lawrence is right-handed, she is a clockwise skater like Swiegers. She paired up with him in 2005, primarily because he needed a partner and there were few other clockwise jumpers at their club.
As juniors, Lawrence and Swiegers did not get off to a strong start, placing 14th at Junior Nationals in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, however, they moved up to 2nd at the junior level and received several international assignments for the 2008–9 season. They were eighth and fifth at their two junior Grand Prix assignments before finishing fourth at the 2009 World Junior Championships. They also skated to a fourth place finish the senior division at Canadian Nationals.
In the 2009–10 season, the pair moved up to seniors. They were seventh at the 2009 NHK Trophy, their sole Grand Prix event. They dropped to sixth at Canadian Nationals, and received no further assignments for that season.
Lawrence and Swiegers started the 2010–11 season at the 2010 Skate Canada International, where they won their first international medal, a bronze. They followed this with a fifth-place finish at the 2010 Cup of Russia. At the 2011 Canadian Nationals, they made several mistakes in the long program to drop from second after the short program down to third place; however, this was their first podium finish at the event as seniors. Lawrence and Swiegers were named to the Canadian team for the 2011 Four Continents Championships; they finished second in the short program and fourth in the free skating, setting personal bests in both segments, and won the bronze medal.
In late December 2011, Lawrence sustained a concussion in a training accident. The next month, the pair competed at the 2012 Canadian Championships, where they won their second national bronze medal.
Read more about this topic: Paige Lawrence
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