Skating season starts off in Riga, Latvia with first event on 2013-2014 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send eight skaters, for a total of four entries to the first stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit in Riga, Latvia. Canada will be represented in all four categories, ladies, men’s, pair and ice dance, at the competition which will run from August 28-31, 2013.

Canadian bronze medalist Alaine Chartrand, 17, Prescott, Ont., will represent Canada in the ladies division. Last season, she competed at the ISU Junior Grand Prix events in Lake Placid and Zagreb, placing seventh and sixth respectively. She also placed eighth at the 2013 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. She is coached by Michelle Leigh and Leonid Birinberg and trains at the Nepean Skating Club in Ottawa, Ont.

Roman Sadovsky, 14, Vaughan, Ont., is the Canadian entry in the men’s division. This is Sadovsky’s third international assignment. Last season, he won bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Lake Placid, USA, and placed 10th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Bled, Slovenia. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski at the YSRA Winter Club.

Mary Orr, 16, Brantford, Ont., and Phelan Simpson, 17, Lunenburg, N.S., are one of two teams representing Canada in pair. This is their first season competing together after partnering in the off-season. Orr and Simpson placed third and fourth, respectively in junior pair with their previous partners at the 2013 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships. They are coached by Kristy Wirtz and Kris Wirtz at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club.

Dylan Conway, 15, Toronto, Ont., and Dustin Sherriff-Clayton, 20, Newmarket, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in pair. This is their first international assignment. Conway and Sherriff-Clayton placed fifth at the 2013 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships. The duo train at 8 Points Centre of Excellence in Markham, Ont., where they are coached by Monica Lockie.

Mackenzie Bent, 16, Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen, 19, Oshawa, Ont., are the sole Canadian entry in the ice dance category. Last season on the Junior Grand Prix circuit, they won bronze in Linz, Austria, and placed fourth in Zagreb, Croatia. They also placed fifth at the 2013 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and reached the junior podium at the Canadian championships, placing second. They train at Scarboro Ice Dance Elite with coaches Juris Razgulajevs and Carol Lane.

Louis Stong of Etobicoke, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader, and physiotherapist Meghan Buttle of Toronto, Ont., will also accompany the team. Susan Blatz of Troy, Ont., and Jerome Poulin of Montreal, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.