Six Canadian skaters headed to Japan for final stop on ISU Grand Prix Circuit

OTTAWA, ON: Team Canada will be competing at the 2019 ISU NHK Trophy in Sapporo, Japan, from November 22-24, 2019. This will be the final stop of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series.

In the men’s discipline, Conrad Orzel, 19, Toronto, Ont., will be the first of two Canadian entries. This season, Orzel finished 11th at Cup of China and sixth at Autumn Classic International. He is coached by Tracy Wilson and Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

Roman Sadovsky, 20, Vaughn, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in men. This season, he placed 10th at Skate Canada International and third at Finlandia Trophy. Sadovsky is coached by Tracey Wainman and Grzegorz Filipowski in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 27, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 27, Sarnia, Ont., will be the only Canadian entry in pairs. The team won a silver medal at Skate Canada International and a gold medal at Nebelhorn Trophy this season. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte in Oakville, Ont.

In the ice dance discipline, Carolane Soucisse, 24, Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus, 25, North Vancouver, B.C., will be representing Canada. This season, they finished seventh at Internationaux de France, third at U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and fifth at Autumn Classic International. The team is coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Cole Beavis of Saskatoon, Sask., and physiotherapist Josiane Roberge of Sillery, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Debbie Islam of Barrie, Ont., and Sabrina Wong of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian officials attending the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 NHK TROPHY – SAPPORO, JAPAN

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Conrad Orzel 19 Toronto, Ont. Toronto CS & CC Tracy Wilson / Brian Orser
Men Roman Sadovsky 20 Vaughn, Ont. York Region Skating Academy Tracey Wainman / Grzegorz Filipowski
Pairs Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 27 / 27 St. Catharines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. St. Catharines SC / Point Edward SC Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus 24 / 25 Chateauguay, Que. / North Vancouver, B.C. CPA Repentigny / CPA Repentigny Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Two sixth place finishes for Canada at Warsaw Cup

WARSAW – Emily Bausback of Vancouver and ice dancers Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary placed sixth on Sunday at the Warsaw Cup figure skating competition.

In women’s competition, Ekaterina Kurakova of Poland won the gold medal with 201.47 points, Bradie Tennell of the U.S. was second at 189.01 and Elizaveta Nugumanova of Russia was third at 186.02.

Bausback was ninth after Friday’s short program and delivered the sixth best free skate to finish with 172.48.

“I’m really happy with my performance and my ability to overcome some challenges,” said Bausback, 17. “I handled my nerves really well and trusted my training. I was proud to reach the scores I wanted.”

Alison Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., was eighth.

“I had more attack in both programs,” said Schumacher, 16. “I was committed to my elements.”

In ice dancing, Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of France won the gold medal with Ksenia Konkina and Pavel Drozd of Russia second and Caroline Green and Michael Parsons of the U.S third.

Fabbri and Ayer remained in sixth place.

“With this free dance we were hoping for a little bit more performance-wise after surpassing our expectations in the rhythm dance,” said Ayer, ninth with his partner at the world juniors last season. “But this was a very valuable experience for us to compete at this level.”

It was the senior level international debut for all three Canadian entries.

On Saturday, Justine Brasseur and Mark Bardei of Montreal won the bronze medal in pairs

Full results: http://www.pfsa.com.pl/results/1920/CSPOL2019/

Gilles and Poirier book ticket to Grand Prix Final with silver

MOSCOW – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won the silver medal on Saturday in ice dancing to conclude the Rostelecom Cup, the fifth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit in figure skating.

Combined with their gold medal performance at Skate Canada International last month, the Canadians are assured a berth in next month’s ISU Grand Prix Final.

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia took the gold medal with 212.15 points followed by Gilles and Poirier 207.64. Sara Hurtado and Kirill Khaliavin of Spain were third at 185.01.

“We were extremely happy with how we skated today,” said Gilles. “Coming from an NHL size rink to an Olympic size rink feels different. With this result we’ll qualify for the GP final, we have nines in our components in both programs, so we’re moving in the direction that we want to.”

World junior champions Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of St-Hubert, Que., were seventh.

In men’s competition, Russia swept the podium with Alexander Samarin first at 264.45, Dmitri Aliev second at 259.88 and Makar Ignatov third at 252.87.

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto was in the mix for the medals and climbed to fifth from sixth after the short program on Friday with 246.20. Skating to a Beatles medley, Nguyen opened with a quad Salchow-triple toe combination en route to a clean program. However a couple of jumps weren’t as polished as he would have liked.

“It was a bit of a struggle,” said Nguyen, the silver medallist at Skate Canada International. “This week has been a little challenging just because I miss the home atmosphere like at Skate Canada. But I just kept my head down and focused on doing my job.”

The pairs competition was won by Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii of Russia. Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., took sixth spot with 168.96.

“It wasn’t the long program we were hoping for,” said Walsh. “We have a ton of work to do for nationals (in January).”

The next stop on the circuit is the NHK Trophy in Sapporo, Japan on Friday and Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2019

Brasseur and Bardei win bronze at Warsaw Cup

WARSAW – Justine Brasseur and Mark Bardei of Montreal won the bronze medal in pairs on Saturday at the Warsaw Cup figure skating competition, a stop on the 2019 ISU Challenger series.

In pairs, Jessica Calalang and Brian Johnson of the U.S. took the gold medal with 191.46 points, Alena Pepeleva and Roman Pleshkov of Russia were second at 188.79 and Brasseur an Bardei moved from fourth after the short program to third at 172.21.

“We came over here very well prepared and we skated to the best of our abilities,” said Brasseur. “We still had some small errors but we worked hard to perfect some elements and that really helped us.”

Bardei is a former skater with Ukraine and joined forces with Brasseur in 2017. He saw his parents for the first time in two years this week at the event.

“At this point I was just happy to see them,” said Bardei. “It didn’t put any additional pressure on me or make me anxious with them in the audience.”

Lori-Ann Matte and Thierry Ferland of Lévis, Que., were seventh and Nadine Wang and Francis Boudreau-Audet of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., were ninth.

“We came back strong after a subpar short program,” said Matte. The pair scored a personal best free skate of 100.88. “There was some challenges with the scheduling here this week but that’s only going to make us stronger.”

In men’s competition, Andrei Mozalev led Russia to a 1-2 finish while Joseph Phan of Laval, Que., took fifth spot with 198.80 less than seven points from third.

“It was an OK performance with errors in both programs,” said Phan. “But I had no doubts in my program and attacked it.”

After the short program in women’s competition, Alison Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., is fifth and Emily Bausback of Vancouver ninth.

After the rhythm dance, Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Calgary are sixth.

The women’s free skate and the free dance are on Sunday.

Full results: 2019 Warsaw Cup

Gilles and Poirier in fight for gold at ISU Grand Prix in Moscow

MOSCOW – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier almost duplicated their rhythm dance performance from last month’s victory at Skate Canada International to stand second at the sixth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit in figure skating.

Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia are first with 86.09 points followed by the Toronto couple with 82.56 just 0.02 off their personal best set at Skate Canada. Sara Hurtado and Kiriil Khaliavin of Spain are third at 72.01.

“I think we’re starting to learn how to compete how we practice at home,” said Gilles. “We wanted to keep pushing, and didn’t allow ourselves to calm down too much.”

World junior champions Marjorie Lajoie, from Boucherville, Que, and Zachary Lagha, from St-Hubert, Que., are eighth.

In men’s competition, Russia stands 1-2-3 with Alexander Samarin first at 92.81, Dmitri Aliev second at 90.64 and Maka Ignatov third at 87.54.

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen of Toronto is sixth but is only 0.53 points from third spot with 87.01. He delivered a clean program landing a quad Salchow-triple toe combo, a triple Axel and triple flip.

“I’m really happy with how I put myself out there and I think it’s really important for me to keep believing in my confidence,” said Nguyen, the silver medallist at Skate Canada International.

The Russians also grabbed the top three spots in the pairs short program led by Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii.

Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., are fifth after a personal best 62.76 less than six points from third place.

Canada has no entries in women’s competition.

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2019

Seven Canadian skaters headed to Russia for Rostelecom Cup

OTTAWA, ON: Team Canada will be competing this week at the Rostelecom Cup, the fifth event of the 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. Canada will be sending one entry in men, one entry in pair and two entries in ice dance, for a total of seven skaters. The event will take place from November 15-17, 2019, in Moscow, Russia.

Nam Nguyen, 20, Ajax, Ont., will be the lone Canadian entry in men. This season, Nguyen won silver at Skate Canada International and finished fourth at Nebelhorn Trophy. He is coached by Robert Burk in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Evelyn Walsh, 18, London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 23, Trenton, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in pairs. The two finished eighth at Skate Canada International and sixth at Finlandia Trophy this season. They are coached by Alison Purkiss in Brantford, Ont.

Piper Gilles, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 28, Unionville, Ont., will be the first of two Canadian entries in ice dance. This season, the duo took home gold medals at Skate Canada International and Autumn Classic International. They are coached by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Jon Lane in Scarborough, Ont.

Marjorie Lajoie, 19, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 20, Saint-Hubert, Que., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. The team finished sixth at Skate Canada International and fourth at Finlandia Trophy this season. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Que.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director and Bev Viger of Abbortsford, B.C., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Leanna Caron, President, Skate Canada, will also be travelling with the team. Karen Butcher of Greely, Ont., and Veronique Gosselin of Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., will be the Canadian officials attending the event. Dr. Albert Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., and physiotherapist Mike McMurray of Oak Bluff, Man., will be the medical staff onsite.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 ROSTELECOM CUP – MOSCOW, RUSSIA

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Nam Nguyen 20 Ajax, Ont. Richmond Hill Training Centre Robert Burk
Pairs Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud 18 / 23 London, Ont. / Trenton, Ont. London SC / Trenton SC Alison Purkiss
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 27 / 28 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs / Jon Lane
Ice Dance Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha 19 / 20 Boucherville, Que. / Saint-Hubert, Que. CPA Boucherville / CPA Saint-Lambert Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Canadian skaters headed to Poland for Warsaw Cup

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have seven entries, for a total of 11 skaters competing at the 2019 Warsaw Cup in Warsaw, Poland, from  November 14-17, 2019. Team Canada will have one entry in men, two entries in women, three entries in pairs and one entry in ice dance at the 2019 ISU Challenger series event.

Joseph Phan, 18, Laval, Que., will be the lone Canadian entry in men. This season, he finished fifth at JGP Baltic Cup and sixth at JGP Riga Cup. He is coached by Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

Alison Schumacher, 16, Tecumseh, Ont., will be the first of two Canadian entries in women. On the JGP circuit, she finished seventh at Croatia and 18th at Courchevel. Alison is coached by Brian Orser and Joey Russell in Toronto, Ont.

Emily Bausback, 17, Vancouver, B.C., will be the second Canadian entry in women. Earlier this season, she placed sixth at JGP Lake Placid and she is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Justine Brasseur, 18, Brossard, Que., and Mark Bardei, 23, Montreal, Que, will be the first of three Canadian entries in pairs. Last season, the team placed fifth at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Richard Gauthier in St- Léonard, Que.

Nadine Wang, 20, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., and Francis Boudreau-Audet, 25, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., will be the second Canadian entry in pairs. Earlier this season, the duo finished ninth at the ISU Challenger series event U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. They are coached by Richard Gauthier.

Lori-Ann Matte, 20, Lévis, Que., and Thierry Ferland, 22, Lévis, Que., will round out the Canadian entries in pairs. At the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, the two finished eighth. They are coached by Richard Gauthier in Montreal, Que.

Alicia Fabbri, 16, Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer, 21, Calgary. Alta., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. Last season, the team finished ninth at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Physiotherapist Paige Larson of North Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Beth Crane of Burnaby, B.C., and Erica Topolski of Fredericton, N.B., will be the Canadian officials attending the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 WARSAW CUP – WARSAW, POLAND

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Joseph Phan 18 Laval, Que. CPA Laval Brian Orser
Women Alison Schumacher 16 Tecumseh, Ont. Granite Club / Toronto CS & CC Brian Orser / Joey Russell
Women Emily Bausback 17 Vancouver, B.C. Champs International SC of B.C. Joanne McLeod
Pairs Justine Brasseur / Mard Bardei 18 / 23 Brossard, Que. / Montreal, Que CPA Brossard Richard Gauthier
Pairs Nadine Wang / Francis Boudreau-Audet 20 / 25 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. / Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que. Maroposa WC / CPA St Jean Richard Gauthier
Pairs Lori-Ann Matte / Thierry Ferland 20 /22 Lévis, Que. / Lévis, Que. CPA St. Romuald – St. Jean / CPA St Romuald – St. Jean Richard Gauthier
Ice Dance Alicia Fabbri / Paul Ayer 16 / 21 Terrebonne, Que., / Calgary, Alta. CPA Terrebonne / Calalta Calgary Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon

Nexxice wins bronze with comeback, Suprêmes also third at California Cup

IRVINE, California – Les Suprêmes from St-Léonard, Que., and Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., each won a bronze medal Saturday night at the California Cup synchronized skating competition.

In junior competition, Mystique from Finland won the gold with 185.24, Skyliners from the U.S. were second at 181.17 and Nexxice moved from fourth after the short to third overall with 154.35.

The Nexxice skaters were: Christina Au, Ninna Blom, Savana Bosco, Kayleigh Cheung, Avery Clark, Alice Douplik, Vasiliki Victoria Kiriakou, Cassandra Leung, Natalie Leung, Kathryn Malott, Abbey McMurray, Victoria Morgado, Noora Naatsaari, Mya Napier, Matilda Nilsson, Miriam Pedrozo, Lauren Pollack, Beatrice Sassi and Angela Yang.

“Coming into this we weren’t expecting big things,” said Napier. “We just wanted to focus on our skate and what we could control and it paid off in the end. There are only six returnees from last year so it’s incredible for us to have a result like this.”

In senior competition, the Helsinki Rockettes won the gold medal with 211.57 points. The Haydenettes from the U.S., were second at 203.60 and Les Suprêmes remained in third spot totalling 191.58. Nova, from Brossard, Que., followed in fourth at 187.65.

Les Suprêmes – 2019 California Cup – Bronze medalists

The team members for Les Suprêmes were: Jessica Allaire, Rebecca Allaire, Karianne Bégin, Julia Bernardo, Loriana Cocca, Marie-Ève Comtois, Ariane Conn, Laurie Désilets, Olivia Di Giandomenico, Lisanne Foley, Peter Gerome, Alessia Hart-Lewis, Giulia Hart-Lewis, Grace Carol LeTouzel, Dana Malowany, Agathe Merlier, Andréanne Paradis, Martha Pietrasik, Alessia Polletta and Florence Poulin.

The Nova team members were: Noémie Beaucage, Anouk Begin, Sarah Bousquet-St-Laurent, Maya Cardillo, Laurence Darveau, Laura Derome, Selena Fortin, Audrey Hebert, Maude Héon Grandchamp, Evelynn Janacek, Noémie Julien, Audrey Martel, Elizabeth Morin, Safia Moussaoui, Léonie Nadeau, Alycia O’Leary, Tessa Sarret, Satia Lin Tetreault and Émilie Villeneuve.

Full results: ISU CS SYS California Cup 2019

Les Suprêmes third after short program at California Cup

IRVINE, California – Les Suprêmes from St-Léonard, Que., are in third place after Friday’s short program in senior competition at the California Cup synchronized skating competition.

The Haydenettes from the U.S. are in first place with 72.77 points followed by the Helsinki Rockettes from Finland in second at 67.97 and Les Suprêmes in third at 63.93. In fourth spot is Nova from Brossard, Que., seventh at the world championships last year, at 61.49.

There are seven entries.

The team members for Les Suprêmes are: Jessica Allaire, Rebecca Allaire, Karianne Bégin, Julia Bernardo, Loriana Cocca, Marie-Ève Comtois, Ariane Conn, Laurie Désilets, Olivia Di Giandomenico, Lisanne Foley, Peter Gerome, Alessia Hart-Lewis, Giulia Hart-Lewis, Grace Carol LeTouzel, Dana Malowany, Agathe Merlier, Andréanne Paradis, Martha Pietrasik, Alessia Polletta and Florence Poulin.

The Nova team members are: Noémie Beaucage, Anouk Begin, Sarah Bousquet-St-Laurent, Maya Cardillo, Laurence Darveau, Laura Derome, Selena Fortin, Audrey Hebert, Maude Héon Grandchamp, Evelynn Janacek, Noémie Julien, Audrey Martel, Elizabeth Morin, Safia Moussaoui, Léonie Nadeau, Alycia O’Leary, Tessa Sarret, Satia Lin Tetreault and Émilie Villeneuve.

In junior competition, Skyliners from the U.S. are first after the short at 62.63, Mystique from Finland second at 62.04, Starlights from the U.S. third at 55.25 and Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., are fourth at 48.97.

The Nexxice skaters are: Christina Au, Ninna Blom, Savana Bosco, Kayleigh Cheung, Avery Clark, Alice Douplik, Vasiliki Victoria Kiriakou, Cassandra Leung, Natalie Leung, Kathryn Malott, Abbey McMurray, Victoria Morgado, Noora Naatsaari, Mya Napier, Matilda Nilsson, Miriam Pedrozo, Lauren Pollack, Beatrice Sassi and Angela Yang.

Competition ends Saturday with the free programs.

Full results: ISU CS SYS California Cup 2019

Two bronze medals for Canada at ISU Grand Prix

CHONGQIN, China – Ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaury and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal and new Canadian pairs team Lubov Ilyushechkina and Charlie Bilodeau won bronze medals Saturday to conclude the Cup of China, the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

In ice dancing, the top-three remained unchanged with Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia winning the gold medal with 209.90 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. won the free dance but it wasn’t enough to catch the Russians as they totalled 208.55.

Fournier Beaudry and Soresen notched their second bronze this season on the circuit with 190.74.

“Today we had a bit of a rough skate,” said Sorensen. “It’s really a testimony to our training that we were able to get into third place and we are really happy about that.”

In pairs, Chinese teams grabbed the top-two spots with world champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han first at 228.37 and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin second at 199.97. Ilyushechkina and Bilodeau improved on their fifth place finish from Skate Canada International two weeks ago for third with 190.73.

“It was definitely one of our tougher skates,” said Ilyushechkina, from Toronto. “We’re happy we fought for every single element but there were still a lot of points left on the table.”

It was a first Grand Prix medal for the couple which joined forces this past spring.

“We put together some nice performances here all things considered,” said Bilodeau, from Trois-Pistoles, Que. “It was our first competition in Asia and our third event in a month and a half. So it’s been a pretty intense period.”

In men’s competition, Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., posted the third best free skate to climb to fourth spot overall with 237.36.

It was a 1-2 Chinese finish with Boyang Jin first at 261.53 followed by Han Yan at 249.45. Matteo Rizzo of Italy took the bronze at 241.88.

“My free skate is a hard program for me to get through,” said Messing, fifth after the short on Friday. “To get out there and skate it as well as I did, is a little weight off my chest and I feel like I can be really happy leaving here now.”

Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., completed his Grand Prix debut in 11th place.

The fifth stop on the circuit is this Friday and Saturday in Moscow.

Full results: ISU GP SHISEIDO Cup of China 2019

Two Canadian teams in medal position at ISU Grand Prix

CHONGQIN, China – The new Canadian pairs team of Lubov Ilyushechkina and Charlie Bilodeau are in second place after the short program while ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaury and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal are third after the rhythm dance in Friday’s action at the Cup of China figure skating competition, the fourth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

World champions Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China lead the pairs competition with 80.90 points followed by Ilyushechkina and Bilodeau with a personal best 68.98 for second and Cheng Peng and Yang Jin of China in third at 68.50.

“We really like the feeling we’ve developed for this short program and it was quite stable,” Bilodeau told @goldenskate. “There were some mistakes, but we got our lucky 68 (score).”

In ice dancing, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia are first at 85.39, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. second at 80.34 and the Canadians follow at 78.41.

Fournier Beaudry and Sorensen have enjoyed a terrific season so far. They were third at the season opening stop in Las Vegas last month and also won two medals on the ISU Challenger Series including one gold.

Chinese skaters are 1-2 in men’s competition with Han Yan first at 86.46 and Boyang Jin second at 85.43. Matteo Rizzo of Italy follows in third at 81.72.

Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., stands fifth with 76.80 while Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., is 10th.

There are no Canadians in the women’s event.

The free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP SHISEIDO Cup of China 2019

Worlds Rewind: Ottawa 1984

As the countdown to the ISU World Figure Skating Championships ® 2020 in Montreal, Quebec continues, we look back at previous world championships staged in Canada. Part 5 of the ten-part series reflects on the 1984 world championships in Ottawa.

For Canadian pair legends Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, it was a world title that almost wasn’t.

As the 1984 ISU World Figure Skating Championships returned to Ottawa from March 20-25 – just six years after the nation’s capital hosted the 1978 edition of the event – Underhill and Martini, coming off a disappointing seventh place showing at the Sarajevo Olympic Winter Games weeks earlier, considered taking a pass on the home world championships.

“We came home very disappointed from the Olympics, very down,” admitted Martini at the time. “I don’t think anyone can appreciate how far we’ve come in the past two weeks. We came very close to not coming here at all.”

The decision to compete ended up being a wise one.

Energized by a rousing pro-Canadian crowd of more than 10,000 at the Ottawa Civic Centre, Underhill and Martini trailed Olympic and defending world champions Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev after the short program but delivered a flawless long program to dethrone the Soviet Union team and become the first Canadians to win a world championship since Karen Magnussen captured the women’s crown in 1973.

“After Sarajevo, skating wasn’t fun anymore, added Underhill. “We went to the rink because we had to, because people here had paid money to see us. But we didn’t want to.”

In the men’s competition, the growing rivalry between American Scott Hamilton and Canadian Brian Orser continued to evolve. Coming off a gold medal in Sarajevo – where Orser won silver – Hamilton captured his fourth straight world championship, with Orser once stepping up to the second step on the podium.

Riding a wave of momentum from the Sarajevo Olympics, the legendary British ice dance tandem of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean made sure the ice dance competition in Ottawa was a mere formality. Their dazzling Boléro free dance, which earned unprecedented perfect 6.0 scores for artistic impression from all nine judges in Sarajevo, is widely regarded as one of the most iconic in figure skating history, and Torvill and Dean did not disappoint in Ottawa as they cruised to their fourth straight world title. Tracy Wilson and Robert McCall, whose career would be highlighted by seven Canadian titles, three world bronze medals and an Olympic bronze, placed sixth in Ottawa.

Katarina Witt of East Germany, fresh off a gold medal performance in Sarajevo, won her first of four ladies’ world titles, with Anna Kondrashova of the Soviet Union earning silver and American Elaine Zayak taking home bronze. Kay Thomson was the top Canadian, finishing in fifth.
Canada would next host the world championships in 1990, when Halifax welcomed the world to the Maritimes.

Day tickets for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships ® 2020  are on sale now and can be purchased online at montreal2020.com, by phone at 1-855-310-2525 or in person at the Centre Bell Box Office.

1984 WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDALLISTS

DISCIPLINE GOLD SILVER BRONZE
Men  Scott Hamilton  Brian Orser  Alexander Fadeev
Ladies  Katarina Witt  Anna Kondrashova  Elaine Zayak
Pair skating  Barbara Underhill / Paul Martini  Elena Valova / Oleg Vasiliev  Sabine Baeß / Tassilo Thierbach
Ice dancing  Jayne Torvill / Christopher Dean  Natalia Bestemianova / Andrei Bukin  Judy Blumberg / Michael Seibert