Nexxice wins second straight international event

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SESTO SAN GIOVANNI, Italy – Nexxice, from Burlington, Ont., won its second straight international event on Sunday placing first at the Spring Cup synchronized skating competition.

The Canadians, first at the Trophy d’Ecosse last weekend in Scotland, topped the 11-team field with 211.44 points placing first in both the short and long programs. Lumineers from Finland were second at 196.32 and Crystallettes from the U.S. third at 182.91.

The skaters for Nexxice were: Nadine Banholzer, Payton Beckett, Kelly Britten, Danielle Broughton, Naya Bay, Molly Coxon, Emma Daigle, Caroline Marr, Laura Emery, Aranna Gould-Tasoojy, Taylor Johnson, Emma Kim, Megan MacLellan, Elizabeth McKenna, Courtney McNaughton, Tegan Orr, Carolina Rodriguez, Alessandra Toso, Emily Wright and Brooklyn Williamson.

Full results: http://www.fisg.it/upload/result/4743/CAT003RS.HTM.

Photo: Jim Coveart 

Great start for Nexxice at Spring Cup

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SESTO SAN GIOVANNI, Italy – Nexxice, from Burlington, Ont., is in first place after the short program at the Spring Cup synchronized skating competition.

The Canadians, vying for a second consecutive international win, totalled 76.80 points in their short program. The Crystallettes from the U.S. are second at 68.79 and Lumineers from Finland third at 65.89. There are 11 entries.

The skaters for Nexxice are: Nadine Banholzer, Payton Beckett, Kelly Britten, Danielle Broughton, Naya Bay, Molly Coxon, Emma Daigle, Caroline Marr, Laura Emery, Aranna Gould-Tasoojy, Taylor Johnson, Emma Kim, Megan MacLellan, Elizabeth McKenna, Courtney McNaughton, Tegan Orr, Carolina Rodriguez, Alessandra Toso, Emily Wright and Brooklyn Williamson.

The free skate is on Sunday.

Full results: http://www.fisg.it/upload/result/4743/CAT003RS.HTM.

Photo: Jim Coveart

Skate Canada saddened by the passing of skating pioneer Billie Mitchell

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada is saddened by the passing of beloved Hall of Famer Billie Mitchell. She passed away peacefully at age 103 on Wednesday, February 13, 2019. Mitchell, a native of Vancouver, blazed a path for female leadership in sport and was devoted to advancing figure skating throughout her life.

Mitchell was a legend in Canadian figure skating, setting trends with a number of ‘firsts’ for the organization. She was the first woman on the Skate Canada Board of Directors as a section chairman in 1960, and in 1976 she became Skate Canada’s first female president.

“Our heart is heavy as such an influential leader in our sport has left us. Billie helped to shape the landscape of Canadian figure skating and lead the way for women to follow in her footsteps,” said Leanna Caron, President, Skate Canada. “She was a true pioneer and we are thankful for all the innovation she brought to our sport and to her dedication to volunteerism. Skate Canada sends its deepest condolence to Billie’s family and friends.”

Mitchell was instrumental in the successful campaign to bring the 1960 World Figure Skating Championships to Vancouver. During her tenure as president, she introduced “The Parade of Champions” for the first time at the 1973 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. In 1996, she was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame as a builder and in 1998 she entered the BC Sports Hall of Fame, also as a builder.

Mitchell’s legacy in figure skating is celebrated annually at the Skate Canada Ice Summit during the Awards Banquet, where the Billie Mitchell Award is presented to a member of the Skate Canada Board of Directors for outstanding contributions throughout the year.

Mitchell will be deeply missed by the skating community, and Skate Canada sends its deepest thoughts and prayers to Billie’s family and friends.

Nexxice Senior to compete at 2019 Spring Cup

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OTTAWA, ON:  Nexxice Senior will compete at the 2019 Spring Cup in Sesto San Giovanni, Italy from February 15-17, 2019.

Last week Nexxice Senior won gold at the Trophy D’Ecosse. Nexxice Senior, from Burlington Skating Club, are coached by Shelley Simonton Barnett and Ann Schelter.

Kathy Psutka of Formosa, Ont., and Debbie Beauchamp of Burlington, Ont., will be the team leaders at the event. Cynthia Alepin of Mount Royal, Que., will be the Canadian official at the event.

For more information, please visit the official event page or isu.org.

Canadian ice dancers win silver and bronze at ISU Four Continents

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ANAHEIM, California – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., took the silver and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto followed for the bronze in ice dancing on Sunday to conclude the ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won the free dance to get the gold with 207.42 points. Weaver and Poje ranked third for both programs but their consistency gave them the silver with 203.93. Gilles and Poirier move from fourth to third with the second best free dance totalling 202.45.

“We feel really proud of our skate today,” said Poje. “We went out there and just tried to perform the whole story behind our program We were more connected to than in our previous performance.”

The couple skated to a piece from the Quebec rock opera Starmania in tribute to figure skater Denis Ten of Kazakhstan, stabbed to death in a car hijacking last year at age 25.

“It’s a very emotional piece to the last music he performed to,” added Weaver. “It’s a great inspiration, not only because he was an amazing skater but an amazing person. We want to give our best tribute to him.”

Gilles and Poirier were also satisfied with their performance skated to Don MacLean’s hit song Vincent (Starry, Starry Night).

“Every time we perform this we feel a different emotion but we always feel that magic,” said Gilles. “We need to keep creating moments, that we’re proud of and keep going with this momentum to reach our goal to be on the podium at worlds.”

Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S., first after the rhythm dance, wound up fourth.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal were sixth.

Canada ends the competition with three medals. On Saturday, Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., won silver in pairs.

Photo Credit: Danielle Earl Photography

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/

Canadians win two more medals at Bavarian Open

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OBERTSDORF, Germany – Conrad Orzel of Toronto won the silver medal in men’s competition and Aurora Cotop of Thornhill, Ont., added a bronze in the women’s event to conclude the Bavarian Open figure skating competition.

Both skaters were competing for the first time at the senior international level and both achieved a major goal by posting world-ranking scores.

In men’s competition, Koshiro Shamada of Japan took the gold with 210.80 points. Orzel, fourth after the short program on Friday, finished second with 200.51 while Peter-James Hallam of Britain was third at 192.10. There were 12 entries.

“Landing the two quad toes and my triple Axels were a big highlight for me,” said Orzel, 18. “Still there were costly mistakes on triple jumps so I didn’t get the score I wanted but it was a world ranking score which means I got the job done.”

Japan was 1-2 in the women’s event with Satoko Miyahara first at 204.56 and Yuna Aoki second at 182.90. Cotop ranked third in both programs and totalled 162.56. There were 18 entries.

“I feel pretty good about my skate,” said Cotop, 16, on the comeback from injury. “I achieved some of my goals including my technical scores and levels. Still I need to get my Lutz more consistent and add more triples to the program.”

Canada ended the competition with three gold, three silver and two bronze.

On Saturday, Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., and Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary were 1-2 in junior ice dancing.

Canada was 1-2 in Novice I ice dance with Sophia Kaglovskaya and Kieran MacDonald of Wellesley, Ont., winning gold and Kiera Kam of Burnaby, B.C., and Mathew Carter of Langley, B.C., the silver.

Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., won gold in men’s advanced Novice I and Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary won the bronze in women’s advance Novice I.

Full results: http://www.deu-event.de/results/BO2019/index.htm

Moore-Towers and Marinaro take silver at ISU Four Continents

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ANAHEIM, California – Canada’s Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro were 0.06 points short of gold on Saturday in pairs as they earned Canada’s first medal at the 2019 ISU Four Continents figure skating event.

Olympic silver medallists Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China snuck by the Canadians for the victory with 211.11 points. Moore-Towers and Marinaro, first after the short program Friday, earned 211.05 for silver and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China were third at 205.42.

“It’s bittersweet,” said Moore-Towers from St. Catharines, Ont. “We were so close to first place but we’re proud of the performance we put out and we know the areas we need to improve.”

“We’ve definitely come a long way since November,” added Marinaro, from Sarnia, Ont. “There was a big improvement in points but it’s too bad we let a couple get away from us. Lesson for the future that we need every point we can get.”

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., were seventh and Camille Ruest of Rimouski, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Calgary eighth.

In men’s competition, Olympic silver medallist Shoma Uno of Japan took the gold with 289.12, Boyang Jin of China was second at 273.51 and Vincent Zhou of the U.S. third at 272.22

Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., followed in fourth with a career international best 267.61. He was fifth after the short program and produced the third best free skate of the night. His skate included two triple Axels and two quad toes both with one in combination.

“I’m pretty excited,” said Messing. “It’s rewarding for me because this is what I’ve been fighting for every day and to put down two clean programs this week is very satisfying.”

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 10th and Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., was 11th.

Competition ends Sunday with the free dance. Canadian couples Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto stand third and fourth after Friday’s rhythm dance.

Photo Credit: Danielle Earl Photography

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/

Lajoie and Lagha lead Canada to 1-2 finish at Bavarian Open

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OBERTSDORF, Germany – Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., led Canada to a 1-2 finish in junior ice dancing Saturday at the Bavarian Open figure skating competition.

Lajoie and Lagha, tuning up for next month’s world juniors, posted a decisive win with 169.34 points.  Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary followed for silver at 144.64. There were 22 entries.

“This is really a test run for the world juniors when you include the travel and time management,” said Lagha. “It’s a great learning experience for us and we reached our objectives for this event. Now we need to go back home for the next three weeks and keep polishing the program.”

Fabbri and Ayer are also headed to the juniors worlds March 4-10 in Zagreb.

“We’ve gained some confidence here with another international event under our belts,” said Ayer. “We were able to put down a solid program and stay together through the whole thing.”

In senior competition, Aurora Cotop of Thornhill, Ont., is third after the women’s short program and Conrad Orzel of Toronto is fourth after the men’s short program but he is less than five points from the lead.

Their free skates are on Sunday.

Canada added five medals in novice competition:

  • Canada was 1-2 today in Novice I ice dance with Sophia Kaglovskaya and Kieran MacDonald of Wellesley, Ont., winning gold and Kiera Kam of Burnaby, B.C., and Mathew Carter of Langley, B.C., the silver.
  • In the men’s event Wesley Chiu of Richmond, B.C., won gold in advanced Novice I.
  • In the women’s event Kaiya Ruiter of Calgary won the bronze in advance Novice I while in advanced Novice II Mélaurie Boivin of Alma, Que., took silver, Doriela Lugo-Mayrand of Rouyn-Noranda, Que., was fourth and Melody Zhu of Vancouver sixth.

Full results: http://www.deu-event.de/results/BO2019/index.htm

Decisive victory for Canada’s Nexxice at Trophy d’Ecosse

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DUMFRIES, Scotland – Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., won a decisive gold medal on Saturday at the Trophy d’Ecosse synchronized skating competition.

The Canadians earned 216.74 points for their performances in Friday’s short program and Saturday’s free skate with British teams the Crystalettes in second at 186.22 and Icicles third at 115.74.

Skating for Nexxice were: Nadine Banholzer, Payton Beckett, Kelly Britten, Danielle Broughton, Naya Bay, Molly Coxon, Emma Daigle, Caroline Marr, Laura Emery, Aranna Gould-Tasoojy, Taylor Johnson, Emma Kim, Megan MacLellan, Elizabeth McKenna, Courtney McNaughton, Tegan Orr, Carolina Rodriguez, Alessandra Toso, Emily Wright and Brooklyn Williamson.

Full results: http://www.iceresultsuk.org.uk/TrophyD’Ecosse/2019/CAT001RS.HTM

Moore-Towers and Marinaro first after short at ISU Four Continents

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ANAHEIM, California – Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro produced their best short program of the season to stand first in pairs on Friday at the ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

Moore-Towers and Marinaro, crowned Canadian champions last month, earned 74.66 points, a career high in international competition. Their clean skate featured a triple twist, side-by-side triple toe and a triple throw loop.

“We did everything to the best of our ability,” said Moore-Towers, from St. Catharines, Ont. “We went out there and did a clean program with big levels.”

Olympic silver medallists Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are second at 74.19 and their compatriots Cheng Peng and Yang Jin are third at 69.48.

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Brantford, Ont., are sixth at 61.91 and Camille Ruest of Rimouski, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Calgary are eighth at 57.38.

In ice dancing, the U.S. is 1-2 and Canada 3-4 after the rhythm dance. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue lead at 81.95, Madison Chock and Evan Bates are second at 81.17. Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are third at 80.56 and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto fourth at 78.05.

“It wasn’t our best,” said Poje. “We definitely have things we want to move forward on and we’re looking forward to doing our best again in the free skate.”

Gilles and Poirier were also satisfied with their skate.

“We’ve had some issues with our levels in the short and those were better today,” said Poirier. “The approach to the training we took after nationals has paid off and we’ve set ourselves up well for the free dance.”

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal are sixth at 73.30.

The women’s competition concluded late Friday. Rika Kihira led Japan to three of the top four placings with the gold. Elizabet Tursynbaeva of Kazakhstan was second and Mai Mihara of Japan third.

Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., surged from 12th to ninth and Larkyn Austman of Coquitlam, B.C., was 10th. Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was 16th.

“I’m really happy with how I skated,” said Mallet. “Both programs were strong and I replicated what I had been doing in practice.”

Competition continues through to Sunday.

Photo Credit: Danielle Earl Photography

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/

Nexxice builds solid lead at Trophy d’Ecosse

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DUMFRIES, Scotland – Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., built a solid lead in Friday’s short program at the Trophy d’Ecosse synchronized skating competition.

The Canadians earned 83.56 points for their performance with British teams the Crystalettes in second at 67.36 and Icicles third at 38.90.

Skating for Nexxice are: Nadine Banholzer, Payton Beckett, Kelly Britten, Danielle Broughton, Naya Bay, Molly Coxon, Emma Daigle, Caroline Marr, Laura Emery, Aranna Gould-Tasoojy, Taylor Johnson, Emma Kim, Megan MacLellan, Elizabeth McKenna, Courtney McNaughton, Tegan Orr, Carolina Rodriguez, Alessandra Toso, Emily Wright and Brooklyn Williamson.

The free skate is on Saturday.

Full results: http://www.iceresultsuk.org.uk/TrophyD’Ecosse/2019/CAT001RS.HTM

Keegan Messing top Canadian as 2019 ISU Four Continents gets underway

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ANAHEIM, California – Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., stands fifth after Thursday’s short program in men’s competition at the 2019 ISU Four Continents figure skating competition.

Vincent Zhou of the U.S. leads with 100.18 points, Junhwan Cha of South Korea is second at 97.33 and Boyang Jin of China is third at 92.17. Messing is in medal contention after scoring 88.18.

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto is eighth at 79.55 and Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., 11th at 74.44.

“I was a bit slower today,” said Nguyen. “I tweaked by back foot in practice which gave me something to think about when I was skating. I’m glad I got through that to carry the positive momentum I’ve had this season.”

In women’s competition, Bradie Tennell of the U.S. is first after the short program with Kaori Sakamoto of Japan second and Mariah Bell of the U.S. third.

Larkyn Austman of Coquitlam, B.C. is the top Canadian in 11th, Veronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., is 12th and Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., 21st.

“Apart from an unacceptable mistake I felt pretty good about my program,” said Austman, a 2018 Olympian. “I’m confident I got my levels and I’m happy with the score despite the fall. I feel I can get my minimum technical scores for the worlds in the free skate.”

Chartrand struggled in her warm-up and couldn’t recover.

“I felt uncomfortable,” she said. “I was slipping and I didn’t have enough confidence in my edges. I don’t know what happened. All the practices leading in were good.”

Competition continues through to Sunday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/fc2019/