ISU Junior Grand Prix Bratislava marks start of 2015-2016 skating season

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five skaters, for a total of three entries to Bratislava, Slovakia, for the first stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Canada will have one entry in men’s, and two entries in ice dance at the competition which will run from August 19-23, 2015. There will be no pair competition at the event.

Roman Sadovsky, 15, Vaughan, Ont., will be Canada’s sole entry in men’s. Last season he won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in the Czech Republic and placed fourth in Germany. He qualified for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, placing fifth, and the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, placing 14^th. Sadovsky also finished in fourth in the senior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski at the YSRA Winter Club.

Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve, 18, Montreal, Que., and Jeff Hough, 19, Russell, Ont., are one of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Last season, the representatives of the Town of Mt. Royal FSC and Minto SC placed 7^th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Estonia, and 6^th in Croatia. The duo trains at Minto SC with coaches Darryl VanLuven and Jamie Britton.

Valerie Taillefer, 16, Montreal, Que., and Jason Chan, 19, Saint-Laurent, Que., will also represent Canada in ice dance. The team from Club de Patinage des Deux-Rives and Saint-Laurent FSC placed 9^th last year at their sole ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment in Slovenia. They also placed sixth in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Taillefer and Chan are coached by Élise Hamel and Shawn Winter at Sportplexe 4 Glaces Pierrefonds.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be the Canadian team leader, and physiotherapist Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., and Ron Conacher of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #1 – Bratislava, Slovakia