Canada sends eleven entries to Japan for 2014 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send eleven entries for a total of 17 skaters to the 2014 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan, from March 24-30. Canada will have three entries each in men’s, pair, and ice dance, and two entries in ladies.

Three-time Canadian silver medallist Kevin Reynolds, 23, Coquitlam, B.C., is the first of three entries in the men’s discipline. The 2013 ISU Four Continents champion is coming off a 15^th place finish at the Olympic Winter Games in men’s and a silver medal in the inaugural team competition. Last season, he placed a career-best fifth at the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. He is coached by Joanne McLeod at the BC Centre of Excellence.

Elladj Baldé, 23, Pierrefonds, Que., representing Club de Patinage des Deux-Rives, will be the second entry in the men’s category, and will be competing at this event for the first time. This season, he placed seventh at Skate Canada International, and 11^th at the ISU Four Continents championships. He trains out of the Detroit Skating Club with coaches Yuka Sato and Jason Dungjen.

Rounding out the men’s entries is newly crowned 2014 Junior World Champion Nam Nguyen, 15, Toronto, Ont. This will also be his first time competing at this event. This season, Nguyen earned a fifth place finish at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in the senior category and placed 10th at the 2014 ISU Four Continents championships. He is coached by Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club.

Two-time Canadian champion Kaetlyn Osmond, 18, Marystown, Nfld. & Sherwood Park, Alta., is one of two entries in ladies. Last season, she placed eighth at this event. Most recently, she earned a 13^th place finish at the Olympic Winter Games in the ladies event, and a silver medal in the team event. Osmond is coached by Ravi Walia and represents the Ice Palace Figure Skating Club.

Gabrielle Daleman, 16, Newmarket, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ladies. The two-time Canadian silver medalist won bronze earlier this season at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk, Poland, and placed fourth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Tallin, Estonia. She also competed at the Olympic Winter Games, placing 17th. Daleman is coached by Andrei Berezintsev and Inga Zusev and trains at the Richmond Training Centre in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Three-time Canadian champions Meagan Duhamel, 28, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 29, Balmertown, Ont., are the first of three pair teams representing Canada. The representatives of Walden FSC and CPA Saint-Léonard won bronze at this event last season, placed fifth in 2012, and seventh in 2011. Most recently, they placed seventh at the Olympic Winter Games in pair, and won silver in the team event. They are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte at CPA Saint-Léonard.

Also competing in the pair discipline are Kirsten Moore-Towers, 21, St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch, 29, Toronto, Ont. This will be their third time competing at this event, having placed fourth last season, and eighth in 2011. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch placed fifth at the Olympic Winter Games in pair, and won silver in the team event. The duo trains at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club with coaches Kris Wirtz and Kristy Wirtz.

Paige Lawrence, 24, Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers, 26, Kipling, Sask., will be Canada’s third entry in the pair category. This will be their first time competing at this event. Representing Wawota FSC, the four-time Canadian bronze medallists placed 14^th at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Lawrence and Swiegers train in Melville, Sask., and Virden, Man., and are coached by Patricia Hole and Lyndon Johnston.

Kaitlyn Weaver, 24, Waterloo, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 27, Waterloo, Ont., are the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. This will be their sixth time competing at this event. Last season, Weaver and Poje placed fifth at the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. This season, they placed seventh at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Representing Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC, the seven-time Canadian medallists are coached by Pasquale Camerlengo and Angelika Krylova in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Alexandra Paul, 22, Barrie, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 24, Barrie, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in the ice dance category. This will be their first time competing at this event. Most recently, the two-time Canadian bronze medallists Paul and Islam placed 18th at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. Paul and Islam train at the Detroit Skating Club with coaches Pasquale Camerlengo, Angelika Krylova, and Massimo Scali.

Piper Gilles, 22, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 22, Unionville, Ont., will also represent Canada in ice dance. Last season, they placed 18^th at this event. This season, Gilles and Poirier won silver at the 2014 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ont.

The team leaders for the event will be Skate Canada Director High Performance Mike Slipchuk, and Petra Burka of Toronto, Ont. Dr. Laura Cruz of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Josiane Roberge of Sillery, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff travelling with the team. Beth Crane of Burnaby, B.C., Susan Heffernan of Roberts Creek, B.C., Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., and Benoit Lavoie of Baie St-Paul, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.