2017 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships: Tickets on sale now!

CALGARY, AB: Tickets for the 2017 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships will go on sale Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (MT). The event will take place from February 24-26, 2017 in Calgary, Alberta at The WinSport Arena at the Markin MacPhail Centre.

All event tickets are $50 and $25 for children ages 5-14. Children under four years of age are free. Day passes are $22 and $10 for children. All tickets are general admission and will have applicable taxes and service charges.

Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ca, or by phone at 1-855-985-5000.  Walk up tickets will be available for purchase on the day of the events at the Winsport box office.

The 2017 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships will bring approximately 40 teams and over 800 skaters from across the country to Calgary. The city and facility last hosted this event in 2013.

Teams will compete for national titles in the senior, junior, open, intermediate and novice categories. The top two senior teams will represent Canada at the 2017 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships.

Olympians Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam Retire from Competitive Skating

OTTAWA, ON: Six-time national team members Alexandra Paul, 25, Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 26, Barrie, Ont., have decided to retire from competitive figure skating. The ice dance duo have been staples on the Canadian dance scene for over eight seasons. Paul and Islam represented Canada at the highest level of competition, competing at the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia and at the world championships in 2014 and 2015.

“Skating has given me so many amazing life experiences, friendships, and opportunities I will never forget. I would like to thank our families, Skate Canada, COS, and our fans for always supporting our dreams and helping to make them a reality,” said Paul. “It is with sadness that we leave the sport that we love, but we look ahead with open arms to whatever the future may hold.”

Islam added, “It has been an absolute privilege competing around the world wearing the Canadian flag. We are so grateful for the unwavering support we’ve received from Skate Canada, COS, our fans and our families. We’d like to thank the incredible people we were fortunate enough to work with in Montreal, Michigan and Barrie. Skating taught us lessons that will serve us for the rest of our lives and given us experiences and friendships we will cherish forever. We leave the competitive side of the sport with nothing but joy and excitement for the future.”

Paul and Islam teamed up in 2009 and found success at the 2010 national championships, winning the junior ice dance title. They went on to win the silver medal the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships that same year.

“Alex and Mitch have been prominent members of our national team for many years. They have represented Canada proudly on the international stage and have been great ambassadors for the sport,” said Mike Slipchuk, High Performance Director, Skate Canada. “We wish Alex and Mitch the best of luck with their future endeavors.”

During their senior career they won bronze at the national championships in 2011, 2014 and 2015. Internationally they medalled four times, most recently winning bronze at the 2016 U.S. Classic International.

Paul and Islam are returning to Michigan in January to finish their degrees, they are both majoring in political science and both have plans to continue their education with post-graduate studies. They will stay involved with skating by helping out with the ice dance program in Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.

ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships ® 2017: Tickets On Sale Now!

MISSISSAUGA, ON: Tickets for the ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships ® 2017 will go on sale on Thursday, December 15, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. (ET). The championships will take place from March 10-11, 2017 at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga, Ont. Twenty-five of the top junior synchronized skating teams from 20 countries will compete for the junior world title.

All event tickets are $90 and $60 for children ages 5-14. All event ticket holders will receive a complimentary souvenir championship program and an event pin (added value of $15). Children under 4 years of age are free. Short program prices are $50 ($30 for children). Free programs are $60 ($40 for children). All tickets will have applicable taxes and service charges.

Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ca, or by phone at 1-855-985-5000 or in person at Hershey Centre Box Office. Groups of 25 or more can order through group order form found at sc3staging.skatecanada.ca.

The ISU World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships was a biennial event but it was recently decided at the 2016 ISU Congress that the event will become annual beginning in 2017. The inaugural event was hosted in 2013 by Helsinki, Finland. In 2015, Team Canada (Les Suprêmes) won the nation’s first medal at the championships, a bronze.

2017 Skate Canada International: Tickets On Sale Now!

REGINA, SK: All-event tickets for the 2017 Skate Canada International are now on sale. The event will take place in Regina, Saskatchewan from October 26-29, 2017 at the Brandt Centre located at Evraz Place.

All-Event ticket packages will include all competitions as well as practices. Fans will be able to choose from four levels of all-event ticket packages that are priced at $120, $160, $200, and $275, plus applicable surcharges.

Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ca, or by phone at 1-855-985-5000 or in person at Brandt Centre Box Office. Groups of nine or more can purchase by calling the box office directly 1-306-781-9300.

SUPER FAN SECTION  

The 2017 Skate Canada International will feature a special Super Fan Section! This section includes the first three rows of the arena, allowing fans to be closest to the action. All fans purchasing tickets in this section will receive a Canada toque, limited edition event pin, super fan name badge and a stylish tote. All-event ticket packages in the Super Fan Section which includes the deluxe super fan kit are priced at $275, plus applicable surcharges.

EVENT INFO
This will be Regina’s second time hosting this event; they last hosted in 1986. Most recently, the city hosted Skate Canada Challenge, a qualifying event for the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Skate Canada International is the second competition in the annual ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The other events take place in the United States (Skate America), Russia (Rostelecom Cup), France (Trophée de France), China (Cup of China) and Japan (NHK Trophy).

Each skater/team can be assigned a maximum of two events. Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their events. The top six from each discipline (men’s, ladies, pair and ice dance) qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.

Virtue and Moir add Grand Prix Final champions to their laurels

MARSEILLES, France – Canadian Olympic and world champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir ended their Grand Prix Final gold medal drought on Saturday with the victory in ice dancing at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.

It was the Canadian couples sixth appearance at the event and the first time they’ve earned gold. They’ve been runner-up four times.

Virtue and Moir, skating to emotional music by Coeur de Pirate and Sam Smith, totalled 197.22 points. World champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France were second at 192.81 and Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani third at 189.60.

‘’For us a Grand Prix title is pretty huge,’’ said Moir from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’It’s a great finish to the first half of the season and we are really pleased with the work we’ve done so far.’’

While the performance appeared flawless, Moir admitted there is still some polish to add.

‘’We are excited because when you’re off a little bit and have the training we have we are still able to come through with a good performance and get the marks that we did,’’ he said.

In women’s competition, Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., making her Grand Prix Final debut, produced a clean program but still dropped from second to fourth overall with a personal best 212.45 points. She was less than six points from the silver medal position.

World champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia took the gold with 227.66, Satoko Miyahara of Japan was second at 218.33 and Anna Pogorilaya of Russia third at 216.47.

‘’Obviously I’m really happy with the free program,’’ said Osmond. ‘’The few mistakes that I did were really silly ones for me and wish I could take them back. Still there’s a lot for me to be proud of in that skate.’’

On the men’s side it was a day to forget for Toronto’s Patrick Chan as he fell three times and placed fifth. Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan won the gold, Nathan Chen of the U.S. was second and Shoma Uno of Japan third.

Full results: 2016-2017 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

Canadian Keegan Messing wins the bronze medal at Challenger Series event

ZAGREB – Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., won the bronze medal Saturday in men’s competition at the Golden Spin of Zagreb figure skating event, part of the ISU’s Challenger Series.

Alexei Bychenko of Russia didn’t win either the short program or long program but wound up first overall for the gold with 228.08 points. Daniel Samohin of Israel, the leader after the short, took the silver at 226.12 and Messing hung on to the bronze at 223.30.

Messing, second after the short, finished only 0.28 points ahead of Alexander Petrov of Russia for third spot. Petrov posted the top free skate score to climb from 11th to fourth.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., was seventh and world junior championships silver medallist Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., was 11th.

Full results: ISU CS Golden Spin of Zagreb 2016

Duhamel and Radford win bronze/ world record for Virtue and Moir

MARSEILLES, France – Canadian world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won the bronze medal Friday in pairs at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition. The medal followed a world record performance in the short dance for Canada’s Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

In pairs, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morosov of Russia won the gold medal with 213.85 points. Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang of China were second at 206.71 and Duhamel and Radford remained third at 205.99.

‘’We struggled with our side-by-side jumps and those are normally our strengths,’’ said Radford from Balmertown, Ont. ‘’We can’t afford missing them because it costs us too many points. We need to find the proper focus for those elements because everything else was really good.’’

Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., climbed to fifth with 186.85.

‘’Today was really great after a hard performance in the short,’’ said Séguin. ‘’We had a good connection and everything flowed perfectly for us.’’

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir improved their world record short dance score from 79.47 cracking the 80-point barrier to 80.50 to stand in first place. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. are second at 77.97 and Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are third at 77.86.

‘’It was a great skate for us,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We were able to bring the energy up in our performance in a pressure situation We were able to be in the moment at a big competition and had a ton of fun in the process.’’

Virtue, from London, Ont.,  says the reason the couple returned to competition this season is to experience those moments once again.

‘’We’re embracing the nerves, the pressure, the challenge,’’ she said. ‘’That was a great part of the appeal for us. Now with the lead we can’t be cautious. We have to attack the free dance tomorrow.’’

There was more good news for Canada in women’s competition as Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., is second after the short program scoring a personal best 75.54. Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia leads at 79.21and Satoko Miyahara of Japan is third at 74.64.

‘’To get another clean program is really exciting,’’ said Osmond, who landed a triple-triple combo, triple Lutz and double Axel. ‘’It is so rewarding for me to be at the Grand Prix Final for the first time in my career. Every time out I improve something and hope that tendency continues for the free skate.’’

The men’s and women’s free skates and free dance are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU Grand Prix Final

 

Canadian Keegan Messing in second at Challenger Series event

ZAGREB – Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., is in second place in men’s competition after Friday’s short program at the Golden Spin of Zagreb figure skating event, a stop on the ISU Challenger Series.

Daniel Samohin of Israel holds the lead with 82.35 points, Messing follows at 76.39 and Brendan Kerry of Australia is third at 76.36. The 24-year-old Messing is chasing a third career international win.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., stands sixth at 74.66 and world junior silver medallist Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., 13th.

Canada only has the three entries in men’s competition. The free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2016 Golden Spin of Zagreb

Chan and Duhamel/Radford in medal hunt at ISU Grand Prix Final

MARSEILLES, France –  Canadians Patrick Chan and pairs skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford are in position to chase a gold medal after Thursday’s short programs at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.

In the men’s short, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan holds the lead with 106.53 points followed by Chan with a personal best 99.76 and world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain third at 91.76.

‘’It’s the best I’ve skated this season in competition,’’ said Chan, a three-time world champion, who executed a clean skate featuring a quad-triple combo and triple Axel. ‘’It’s a good feeling to have again and super to do that against all the top men here. I feel I’m progressing through the season properly.’’

In pairs, Evegenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia are in first place with 78.60. Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang of China are second at 75.34 while Duhamel and Radford are third at 71.44.

The Canadian two-time world champs had a fall on their throw and Duhamel touched her hand down on the side-by-side jumps.

‘’The throw Axel has been right there in practice,’’ said Radford. ‘’It’s just unfortunate that it went very haywire in the program. We haven’t done one like that in awhile.’’

‘’It’s actually our most consistent throw,’’ added Duhamel. ‘’We land it way more than the other throws in practice. So we are a bit shell-shocked and disappointed. In the end we need to do clean short programs.’’

Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., are sixth at 60.86.

‘’Even though we missed some technical elements we really enjoyed the program,’’ said Séguin. ‘’We really have to trust ourselves for the free program and I think we will do well.’’

The pairs free skate is on Friday along with the women’s short program and short dance. The men’s free skate is on Saturday.

Full results: ISU Grand Prix Final

Biggest Canadian team in history headed to ISU Grand Prix Final

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada is sending its largest team ever – five entries, for a total of eight skaters – to the ISU Grand Prix Final in Marseille, France. The event takes place from December 8-11, 2016, at the Palais Omnisports Marseille Grand-Est. This is the first time that Canada has qualified a skater in every discipline. The event includes both the ISU Senior Grand Prix Final and the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, however Canada did not qualify any entries for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final.

Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in men. This season, Chan won the silver medal at the Finlandia Trophy, and gold medals at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China. He is coached by Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns in Canton, MI, USA.

Kaetlyn Osmond, 21, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., is the Canadian representative in the ladies category. Osmond won the gold medal at the Finlandia Trophy, and earned the silver medal at both Skate Canada International and the Cup of China this season. She is coached by Ravi Walia in Edmonton, Alta.

Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., are one of two Canadian entries in the pairs discipline. Duhamel and Radford won gold at all of their events thus far this season: the Finlandia Trophy, Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy. They are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte and Sylvie Fullum in St. Leonard, Que.

Julianne Séguin, 20, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 23, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the second Canadian pairs team at the event. This season, the duo won gold at Autumn Classic International and Skate America and placed fifth at the Rostelecom Cup. Séguin and Bilodeau are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. This season, Virtue and Moir won gold at each of their events: Autumn Classic International, Skate Canada International and the NHK Trophy. Virtue and Moir are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will travel with the team as team leader. Dr. Ghislaine Robert of Montreal, Que., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medial staff onsite. Beth Crane of Burnaby, B.C., and Nicole Leblanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Emma Bowie, Skate Canada Communications Manager, will be the Canadian media contact. She can be reached onsite at [email protected] or 613-914-2607.

For results and full entries please click here.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2016-2017 ISU GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Senior Men Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Marina Zoueva / Oleg Epstein / Johnny Johns
Senior Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 21 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Senior Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Senior Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 20/23 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Senior Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 27/29 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Regroupement élite de patinage artistique de Montréal / Regroupement élite de patinage artistique de Montréal Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon

Canadian skaters compete at the Golden Spin of Zagreb

OTTAWA, ON: Canada will send three entries to the 2016 Golden Spin of Zagreb from December 7-10, 2016 in Zagreb, Croatia. The event is part of the ISU’s Challenger Series. All three entries will be in the men’s discipline.

Nicolas Nadeau, 19, Boisbriand, Que., won silver at the 2016 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in March. Nadeau trains at École Excellence Rosemère and is coached by Yvan Desjardins.

Roman Sadovsky, 17, Vaughan, Ont., won silver and placed fifth at his two ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments in Estonia and Japan earlier this year. Sadovsky is coached by Brian Orser and Lee Barkell.

Keegan Messing, 24, Girdwood, Alaska, USA, placed fourth at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International in September. The representative of Sherwood Park FSC is coached by Ralph Burghart in Anchorage, Alaska, USA.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Jacqueline Wickett Warren of Manotick, Ont., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

For results and full entries please visit the event website http://www.croskate.hr/.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2016 GOLDEN SPIN OF ZAGREB

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Nicolas Nadeau 19 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand
Men Keegan Messing 24 Girdwood, Alaska, USA Sherwood Park FSC
Men Roman Sadovsky 17 Vaughan, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club

Canadian records for Gilles/Poirier and Daleman at Skate Canada Challenge

PIERREFONDS, Que. – Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., as well as ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto broke Canadian records in golden performances Sunday at the Skate Canada Challenge.

In ice dancing, Gilles and Poirier tabulated a national mark 196.58 points. Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of Barrie, Ont., were second at 167.78 and Haley Sales of Burnaby, B.C., and Nicolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C., third at 147.72.

“We made a lot of improvements,” said Gilles. “We wanted to build our confidence going into nationals and it was mission accomplished. The Canadian record in just icing on the cake.”

The couple feel they have chance to make a big step this year.

“We have so much confidence,” said Poirier. “We are just really proud of the material we’ve been able to put together and we’ve prepared ourselves well for success this season. We’ve learned so much from the previous seasons that it’s just allowed us to present our best selves. The programs will just grow even more.”

In women’s competition, Daleman tabulated 208.85 for a national record with Sarah Tamura of Vancouver second at 166.45 and Alicia Pineault of Varennes, Que., third at 147.72.

“There’s still so much that be can be improved going into nationals and that’s a great feeling,” said Daleman. “I focused on this being the final stage before the Canadian championships to determine what’s good and what needs to be improved on.”

The competition attracted over 500 skaters from across Canada with competition also being held in the novice and pre-novice categories. Skate Canada Challenge is the sole qualifying event for novice, junior, and senior skaters to earn entries to the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships January 16-22 in Ottawa.

Full results: 2017 Skate Canada Challenge