Canadian skaters begin season in Salt Lake City at U.S. International Figure Skating Classic

OTTAWA, ON: Canada will send seven entries, for a total of eleven skaters to the 2015 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, the first event on the International Skating Union’s (ISU) Challenger Series. Canada will have one entry in men’s and two entries per discipline in ladies, pair and ice dance at the event which runs from September 16-20, 2015, in Salt Lake City, UT.

Christophe Belley, 21, Quebec, Que., is the Canadian entry in men’s. Last season, the representative of CPA Lévis placed seventh at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. This will be his first international assignment at the senior level. Belley is coached by Annie Barabé, Sophie Richard and Yvan Desjardins in Drummondville, Que.

Canadian bronze medallist Véronik Mallet, 21, Sept-Îles, Que., is the first of two Canadian entries in the ladies division. This will be her first time competing at this event. Last season, the representative of CPA Sept-Îles placed 10^th at both of her Grand Prix assignments, Skate Canada International and Trophée Eric Bompard, and finished 14^th at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. Mallet is coached by Annie Barabé at CTC Varennes.

Selena Zhao, 17, Varennes, Que., – Colorado Springs, USA., is the second Canadian entry in the ladies category. Last season, Zhao won the 2015 Canadian junior title and placed 26^th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. This will be her first international assignment at the senior level. She is coached by Christy Krall and Damon Allen in Colorado Springs, CO, and represents CPA Varennes.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 23, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 23, Sarnia, Ont., are one of two Canadian entries in pair. Last season, the representatives of Kitchener-Waterloo SC and Point Edward SC placed sixth at Skate Canada International, seventh at Trophée Eric Bompard, and seventh at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships. They also placed fourth at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Moore-Towers and Marinaro are coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier, Sylvie Fullum, Julie Marcotte and Cynthia Lemaire in CPA Saint-Léonard.

Vanessa Grenier, 23, Johnville, Que., and Maxime Deschamps, 23, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., will also represent Canada in pair. Representing CPA Sherbrooke and CPAR Vaudreuil, they placed fifth at the Nebelhorn Trophy, fifth at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International and sixth at Skate America last season. Grenier and Deschamps placed fifth at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte at CPA Saint-Léonard.

Élisabeth Paradis, 23, Loretteville, Que., and François-Xavier Ouellette, 23, Laval, Que., are one of two Canadian ice dance entries at the event. Last season, they placed fifth at the Nebelhorn Trophy, fourth at Skate America and seventh at Skate Canada International. The representatives of CPA Loretteville and CPA Les Lames D’Argent De Laval Inc., also placed fifth at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They train in in Montreal, Que., with coaches by Marie-France Dubreuil,Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Canadian junior champions Brianna Delmaestro, 19, Port Moody, B.C., and Timothy Lum, 20, Burnaby, B.C., are the second entry in ice dance for Canada. Last season, Delmaestro and Lum won the silver medal at their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment in Slovenia and won the bronze medal at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Germany. This will be the first senior international assignment for the representatives of Coquitlam SC and Burnaby FSC. They are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the Champs International Skating Centre of B.C.

Louis Stong of Etobicoke, Ont., and Paige Lawrence of Kennedy, Sask., will be travelling with the team as team leaders. Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., will be the team physiotherapist. Jérôme Poulin of Montreal, Que., and Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

The event will be streamed live on icenetwork.com. For more information and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2015 U.S. INTERNATIONAL FIGURE SKATING CLASSIC