Skate Canada Announces 2017-2018 National Team

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada is pleased to announce the 2017-2018 National Team. The team is comprised of 32 senior members, which includes five men, five women, five ice dance teams and six pair teams.

To be named to the National Team a skater must finish in the top five in senior singles, pair and ice dance disciplines at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, or be added at the discretion of Skate Canada. These skaters may be considered to represent Canada at international competitions.

Their appointment to the national team is effective from June 1, 2017 through to April 30, 2018.

Skate Canada also announced the three teams that will make up the Skate Canada Synchronized Skating National Team.

MEN
Patrick Chan, 26, Toronto, Ont.
Kevin Reynolds, 26, Coquitlam, B.C.
Nam Nguyen, 19, Toronto, Ont.
Nicolas Nadeau, 19, Boisbriand, Que.
Keegan Messing, 25, Girdwood, Alaska, USA

WOMEN
Kaetlyn Osmond, 21, Marystown, Nfld. & Sherwood Park, Alta.
Gabrielle Daleman, 19, Newmarket, Ont.
Alaine Chartrand, 21, Prescott, Ont.
Larkyn Austman, 19, Coquitlam, B.C.
Sarah Tamura, 16, Burnaby, B.C

PAIR
Meagan Duhamel, 31, Lively, Ont. & Eric Radford, 32, Balmertown, Ont.
Lubov Ilyushechkina, 25, Toronto, Ont. & Dylan Moscovitch, 32, Toronto, Ont.
Kirsten Moore-Towers, 24, St. Catharines, Ont. & Michael Marinaro, 25, Sarnia, Ont.
Brittany Jones, 21, Toronto, Ont., & Joshua Reagan, 27, Toronto, Ont.
Camille Ruest, 23, Rimouski, Que., & Andrew Wolfe, 22, Calgary, Alta.
Julianne Séguin, 20, Longueuil, Que. & Charlie Bilodeau, 23, Trois-Pistoles, Que.

ICE DANCE
Tessa Virtue, 28, London, Ont. & Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont.
Kaitlyn Weaver, 28, Waterloo, Ont. & Andrew Poje, 30, Waterloo, Ont.
Piper Gilles, 25, Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier, 25, Unionville, Ont.
Carolane Soucisse, 22, Châteauguay, Que., & Shane Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C.
Haley Sales, 20, Burnaby, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker, 20, Langley, B.C.

SYNCHRONIZED SKATING
NEXXICE, of the Burlington Skating Centre
Les Suprêmes, of CPA Saint-Léonard
Nova, of CPA Brossard & CPA St-Hubert

All-Event Tickets On Sale Now : 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

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VANCOUVER, BC: All-event tickets for the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships go on sale on Thursday, June 22, at 10:00 a.m. (PT). The event will take place in Vancouver, B.C., at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre from January 8-14, 2018. The 2018 event will serve as a qualification event for the team that will compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea later that same year.

All-Event ticket packages will include all competitions in novice, junior and senior and the exhibition gala, as well as all practices. Fans will be able to choose from four levels of all-event ticket packages that are priced at $140, $175, $210, and $310, plus applicable surcharges. Fans may also save up to 30% at select Vancouver hotels with code that appears after every online ticket purchase.

Join our exclusive mailing list to receive pre-sale information!

Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ca, by phone at 1-855-985-5000 or in person at Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre.

SUPER FAN SECTION
The Super Fan Section is back! 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 flag, event pin, event program and stylish bag. All-event ticket packages in the Super Fan Section, which includes the super fan bag, are priced at $310, plus applicable surcharges.

Fans not seated in the Super Fan Section may purchase the Super Fan Bag for an additional $60 each, plus applicable surcharges.

EVENT INFO
The pre-eminent all-Canadian sporting event will feature approximately 250 skaters in the men, women, pair, and ice dance disciplines, competing in three levels: senior, junior, and novice. Athletes will vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, 2018 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, 2018 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and 2018 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

This will be Vancouver’s sixth time hosting the national championships. Most recently they hosted the event a decade ago in 2008. They also hosted in 1997, 1973, 1968 and 1951. The city has also hosted several international figure skating events: the 2009 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2001 & 1960 ISU World Figure Skating Championships and the 1978 Skate Canada International.

Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford update coaching team

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OTTAWA, ON: Two- time world pair champions Meagan Duhamel, 31, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 32, Balmertown, Ont., have updated their coaching team for the 2017-2018 season and will no longer be coached by Richard Gauthier.

“Meagan and I thank Richard from the bottom of hearts for all he has done for us. His influence in our lives will extend far beyond the arena. This was an extremely difficult decision but now we will concentrate and focus on the important upcoming season,” stated Radford.

“Eric and I felt like we wanted to make some changes to our training. We will be forever grateful to Richard. Everything we’ve achieved in our career wouldn’t have been possible without him. We wish him the best,” added Duhamel.

Bruno Marcotte will act as head coach with support from John Zimmerman. John Kerr has also joined the team as their choreographer, alongside Julie Marcotte.

Skate Canada members recognized at 2017 Achievement Awards Gala in Ottawa

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OTTAWA, ON: This past weekend, Skate Canada celebrated 22 award winners during its annual Achievement Awards Gala and Banquet, part of the 2017 Skate Canada Ice Summit in Ottawa, Ont. Hosted in the nation’s capital in honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial anniversary, Skate Canada also celebrated its 130th anniversary since its inauguration in 1887.

The winners received their awards on Friday night in front of a crowd of over 350 of Canada’s top skating delegates. Winners were presented their awards by the evening’s co-hosts: Olympian and three-time Canadian champion, Josée Chouinard, and renowned figure skating correspondent PJ Kwong.

The Skate Canada Achievement Awards program honours dedicated members of the skating community who have donated their time to help contribute to improving the quality of skating in Canada.

The 2016-2017 recipients were:

  • Skate Canada Club and Recreational Coach Award of Excellence
    Stacey Charlton, Sussex FSC, New Brunswick Section
  • Skate Canada Competitive Coach/Choreographer Award of Excellence
    Lee Barkell, Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club, Central Ontario Section
  • Skate Canada Officials Award of Excellence
    Josie Howard, Skate Regina, Saskatchewan Section
  • Skate Canada Event Volunteer Award of Excellence
    France Bisson, CPA Saint-Sébastien, Quebec Section
  • Elizabeth Swan Memorial Award
    Kortney Story, Aldergrove FSC, British Columbia/Yukon Section
  • Billie Mitchell Award
    Sally Rehorick, Champs International Skating Centre of British Columbia, British Columbia/Yukon Section

Skate Canada also presents a volunteer award to one member of each of the Skate Canada sections. The following exceptional volunteers were awarded the 2016-2017 Skate Canada Section Volunteer Award of Excellence:

  • British Columbia/Yukon Section
    Lorraine Mapoles, Mount Boucherie Skating Club
  • Alberta/NWT/Nunavut Section
    Krista Sellers, Calalta Figure Skating Club
  • Saskatchewan Section
    David Tuffs, Unity Skating Club
  • Manitoba Section
    Stan Yee, St. Andrews Skating Club
  • Northern Ontario Section
    Felicia Blasky, Border Skating Club of Fort Frances
  • Western Ontario Section
    Judi Emery, Ilderton Skating Club
  • Central Ontario Section
    Douglas Shelley, Skate Oakville
  • Eastern Ontario Section
    Barbara Hough, Prescott Figure Skating Club
  • Quebec Section
    Carole Bellerose, CPA Trois Rivières Ouest
  • New Brunswick Section
    Kim Macvey, Saint John Skating Club
  • Prince Edward Island Section
    Cindy Ramsay, Kensington Area Figure Skating Club
  • Nova Scotia Section
    Donald Murray, Dalhousie Kings Figure Skating Club
  • Newfoundland and Labrador Section
    Susan Dean, Flying Blades Figure Skating Club

Three additional host section awards were recognized in the CanSkate, STARSkate and CompetitiveSkate athlete areas, as representatives of all section winners across the country in those categories:

  • Skate Canada Section CanSkate Athlete Award
    Ben Baldwin, Gloucester Skating Club, Eastern Ontario Section
  • Skate Canada Section STARSkate Athlete Award
    Joelle Menard, Winchester Skating Club Inc., Eastern Ontario Section
  • Skate Canada Section CompetitiveSkate Athlete Award
    Evan Hopkins, Rideau Skating Club, Eastern Ontario Section

Skate Canada congratulates all award winners, nominees, and countless invaluable volunteers.

Behind the Blades for Safe Sport: Gabrielle Daleman

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After a very long and exciting season and then being asked to be in Stars on Ice I was ready to come home and regroup for the Olympic year. Stars on Ice was a dream come true for me and working with the incredible cast with so much talent had me over the moon. I was heartbroken when I had to leave the tour due to an illness. I am now recovering and looking forward to getting my new choreography for the upcoming season.

My journey as a young skater was not always easy and achieving the success I had this season didn’t come without tears of happiness and of sadness. All those tears, good and bad, helped me along my journey.

Being bullied as a young girl has given me courage and taught me perseverance. When athletes face the challenge of being hurt or when an illness strikes we have very little resources left to fight through it because we give everything every day in our training. Being bullied because I couldn’t read or spell correctly was terrible but it gave me the strength to fight through it with my skating.

Now being sick it is giving me the courage to work through this so I can go back to the sport I love and the place I call home. Skating has given me so much in my life and I am grateful for all of it. I get to travel the world doing what I love.

Having a Learning Disability, ADHD and Anxiety has been a challenge but through my freedom on the ice I get the relief I need to get away from my struggles and soar. So many people have their own struggles and we need to be kind to each other. We never know what someone is going through.

Skate Canada supports Safe Sport and we can all be a part of that by being understanding, tolerant and inclusive. I am proud to be a champion for Safe Sport and would love to see more being done in arenas around Canada to show kids that every effort is important, whether we are skating for fun or at a competitive level. Bullying, harassment and abuse should not be tolerated. We must appreciate each other for who we are and understand people have limitations. No one should ever be made to feel bad simply for who they are. We need to teach kids at the grassroots level about these important messages. This will help them to build the skills in life needed to get through the good but especially the bad times.

Take the time today to tell someone in your life that what they do is important and to never give up on what they love. Work hard, follow your dreams and don’t ever let anyone tell you you’re not good enough because you are!!!

Canadian Adult Skaters Win Nine Medals at 2017 ISU Adult Competition

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OTTAWA, ON: Fourteen Canadian skaters returned this week from the International Skating Union’s Adult Figure Skating Competition with a total of nine medals among them. The annual event took place in Oberstdorf, Germany, from May 22-27, 2017.

British Columbia skater Linda Maundrell, 74, won the first medal of the Canadian skaters, a gold medal, in the first event of the competition. She earned gold in the highest age bracket (ages 68-78) with her artistic free skating performance to You Make Me Feel So Young. Nearly all Canadian skaters placed in the top 10 of their categories which frequently comprised of upwards of 30 skaters.

The following Canadian skaters took home medals in their respective categories:

Gold medallists:
Gary Beacom – Masters Elite Men III Free Skating & Masters Elite Men III Artistic Free Skating
Linda Maundrell – Bronze Ladies V Artistic Free Skating
Cheri Taylor – Masters Ladies I Free Skating

Silver medallists:
Angela Justason – Masters Ladies III Artistic Free Skating

Bronze medallists:
Takashi Ikeno – Gold Men II Free Skating
Cheri Taylor – Masters Ladies I Artistic Free Skating
Amylie Noël – Gold Ladies I Artistic Free Skating
Cherie Taylor – Masters Ladies I Free Skating

In all, there were 560 skaters from 35 ISU member countries, counting over 700 entries, competing in competed in Free Skating, Artistic Free Skating, Pairs Free Skating, Pairs Artistic Free Skating, Ice Dance (Pattern Dance, Short Dance and Free Dance) and Synchronized Skating. The competition notably welcomed skaters from Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for the first time in its history.

The entire competition was live streamed, and archived performances can be accessed at www.dailymotion.com/skatingvideos. Competition results can be found at www.isu.org.

Last year, the ISU added a second competition for adults and, once again, Vancouver will be home to the next ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition being held at the Minoru Arena from August 21-26, 2017. The deadline for entry is June 7, 2017. The official announcement is available at www.isu.org.

The 2018 ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition in Oberstdorf will take place May 13-19. Details of this competition will be listed on the ISU website in Fall 2017.

For further information please visit www.isu.org or the ISU Adult Working Group website www.adultskating.org.

Media Inquiries:
Diana Barkley
ISU Adult Working Group
[email protected]