Whisper Challenge: Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud

Whisper Challenge: Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier

Dad Jokes: Marjorie Lajoie/Zachary Lagha

Canada’s Les Suprêmes win bronze at synchronized skating international

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands – Les Suprêmes from St-Léonard, Que., won the bronze medal Saturday in the junior event at the Lumiere Cup synchronized skating competition.

Musketeers from Finland maintained top spot for the gold with 189.32 points, their compatriots Valley Bay Synchro were second at 184.04 and the Canadiand followed in third at 181.74. There were 13 entries.

Les Suprêmes were second after Friday’s short program but lost a spot with their free while Valley Bay gained a position.

Skating for les Suprêmes were Jade Deschênes, Solène Aymard, Émilie Beaucage, Julia Caponi, Alona Chabalin-Zea, Alice Cormier, Thea Dimbu, Natasha Gligorijevic, Victoria Gligorijevic, Charlotte Grutter, Josephine Kawa, Astrid Kumpulainen, Audrey-Ann Lajeunesse, Audrey Landrey, Mia Lasalle, Olivia Ronca, Simona Ronca, Lauren Santori, Frédérique Savard and Sara Squalli.

“The performance felt very good,” said Deschênes. “We had extremely strong energy throughout and we were very confident in our skate.”

Les Suprêmes won gold at the 2019 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships in Waterloo, Ont. The team then went on to place sixth at the 2019 World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships. They are coached by Marilyn Langlois, Pascal Denis, Kassandra Patenaude and Cathy Dalton.

Full results: http://results.lumierecup.com/4th/int/index.htm

Canada’s Les Suprêmes second after short program

EINDHOVEN, Netherlands – Les Suprêmes from St-Léonard, Que., are in second place in the junior event after Friday’s short program at the Lumière Cup synchronized skating competition.

Musketeers from Finland are in first place with 69.98 points followed by the Canadians at 67.02 and Valley Bay Synchro from Finland in third at 66.66. There are 13 entries.

“We felt confident in the short program,” sais Suprêmes skater Jade Deschênes. “We had fun and it felt good. This was our first performance at a competition this season and we felt good about how everything was executed. It was not perfect but it was still awesome.”

Also skating for the Suprêmes besides Deschênes are: Solène Aymard, Émilie Beaucage, Julia Caponi, Alona Chabalin-Zea, Alice Cormier, Thea Dimbu, Natasha Gligorijevic, Victoria Gligorijevic, Charlotte Grutter, Josephine Kawa, Astrid Kumpulainen, Audrey-Ann Lajeunesse, Audrey Landrey, Mia Lasalle, Olivia Ronca, Simona Ronca, Lauren Santori, Frédérique Savard and Sara Squalli.

Les Suprêmes won gold at the 2019 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships in Waterloo, Ont. The team then went on to place sixth at the 2019 World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships. They are coached by Marilyn Langlois, Pascal Denis, Kassandra Patenaude and Cathy Dalton.

The free skate is on Saturday.

Full results: 4th Lumière Cup

Canadian skaters nominated for the ISU Skating Awards

The Canadian flag will be flying high at the inaugural ISU Skating Awards.

As Skate Canada prepares to host the premiere edition of the ISU Skating Awards that will close out the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2020 in Montreal, Quebec, we are thrilled to announce that 12 entries from the host country are nominated for awards in three categories: Most Valuable Skater, Best Costume and Most Entertaining Program.

Winners will be announced during the ISU Skating Awards on Sunday, March 22, 2020 between 16:00 – 18:30 hours (EDT) at the Centre Bell.

Canadian skating fans, it’s time to cast your ballot!  Voting is now OPEN! Online voting for the public, ISU Members and Media is open from December 1, 2019 to February 10, 2020.

CANADIAN NOMINEES FOR THE ISU SKATING AWARDS

Most Valuable Skater
Keegan Messing
Kirsten Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier

Best Costume
Nam Nguyen (SP)
Roman Sadovsky (FS)
Liubov Ilyushechkina & Charlie Bilodeau (FS)
Kirsten Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro (SP)
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (RD)
Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Nikolaj Sorensen (RD)

Most Entertaining Program
Nam Nguyen (FS)
Keegan Messing (FS)
Gabrielle Daleman (FS)
Liubov Ilyushechkina & Charlie Bilodeau (FS)
Kirsten Moore-Towers & Michael Marinaro (FS)
Piper Gilles & Paul Poirier (FD)

The ISU Skating Awards, which combine the high-flying energy of the traditional exhibition gala with the glitz and glamour of an awards show, are created to honour the world’s best skaters competing at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2020. In keeping with the exhibition gala tradition, the 2020 world medallists will perform an exhibition number coupled with live musical acts and exciting production numbers that combine contemporary skating and dance. Awards will be handed out to skaters, coaches and choreographers in seven categories.

All day tickets, including the ISU Skating Awards show, 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.

For further information on the ISU Skating Awards please visit: https://isu.org/figure-skating/isu-skating-awards.

Les Suprêmes junior headed to Europe for 2019 Lumiere Cup

OTTAWA, ON: Les Suprêmes junior will be the lone Canadian synchronized skating team competing at the fourth edition of the Lumiere Cup. The event will take place from December 13-15, 2019 in Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Les Suprêmes junior of Saint-Leonard, Que., won gold at the 2019 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships in Waterloo, Ont. The team then went on to place sixth at the 2019 World Junior Synchronized Skating Championships. They are coached by Marilyn Langlois, Pascal Denis, Kassandra Patenaude and Cathy Dalton.

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

Gilles and Porier fifth in close battle for ice dance medals at Grand Prix Final

TORINO, Italy – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto took fifth spot in ice dancing, finishing less than five points from a medal berth to conclude the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.

Defending Grand Prix Final champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the gold medal with 219.85 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were second at 210.68 and their compatriots Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were third at 207.93.

Gilles and Poirier, who collected a gold and silver on the circuit this season, posted the fourth best free dance to move from sixth after the rhythm dance to fifth overall with 203.50.

‘’We both know we’ve got a strong free dance and everyone enjoys watching it,’’ said Gilles. ‘’We owed it to ourselves not to let a score define who we are at a competition. We need to make sure we are doing our job and our best in every program.

‘’We showed maturity and confidence today.’’

Canada’s other entry Kirsten Moore-Towers of St.Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., were fifth in pairs on Saturday.

ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2019

Media Accreditation: ISU World Figure Skating Championships ® 2020

OTTAWA, ON: The media accreditation applications for the ISU World Figure Skating Championships taking place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on March 16-22, 2020 are now open.

Media must apply for accreditation through the ISU Online Media Accreditation System (OMAS). The deadline to apply for accreditation is February 24, 2020.

The media information package for the event is also available and will help you prepare for your trip to Montreal. Accreditation will be granted to professional journalists and photographers only.

  • Writing Press (newspaper, magazine, internet, agencies and ISU Member Federations): maximum one professional per organization (agencies and major newspapers: maximum two professionals)
  • Photographer: maximum one professional per organization (agencies and major newspapers: maximum two professionals)
  • Television non-right holder: maximum three professionals per organization
  • Radio non-right holder: maximum one professional per organization
  • Freelancer: A freelance journalist or photographer is a full-time professional editor or photographer, who is not employed by an agency or newspaper – a self-employed professional. A freelance editor or photographer must provide written evidence that he/she operates on behalf of a clearly identified media. A freelance editor or photographer operating under his/her own account will not be accepted.

The total number of accredited media representatives will be subject to space available. The Organizing Committee (OC) and ISU reserve the right to refuse accreditation should the number of applications exceed given space or if any requested information / documentation has not been provided in due time.

All applications are evaluated on an event-by-event basis and are subject to Skate Canada’s media accreditation guidelines, and the International Skating Union (ISU) media accreditation regulations.

For further information on the ISU World Figure Skating Championship 2020, including entries, standings and results, please visit the event page.

Moore-Towers and Marinaro sixth after short program at ISU Grand Prix Final

TORINO, Italy – Canada’s Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro are in sixth place after Thursday’s pairs short program at the ISU Grand Prix Final in figure skating.

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are first at 77.50 followed by Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii of Russia in second at 76.65 and their compatriots Daria Pavliuchenko and Denis Khodykin in third at 75.16.

Moore-Towers, from St. Catharines, Ont.,  and Marinaro, of Sarnia, Ont., won silver medals at their two Grand Prix assignments this season. They totalled 67.08 on Thursday.

They opened with a strong triple twist lift before making two mistakes. Moore-Towers fell when tried to land the throw triple loop while her partner stepped out landing the side-by-side triple toe. They received strong level fours for three elements.

“Just some weird stuff tonight,” said Moore-Towers, in her first Grand Prix Final with Marinaro. “We can’t really explain it or understand it ourselves. We just hope to move on and start fresh in the free skate.”

The pairs free skate in on Friday. It will be preceded by the start of the ice dance event with the rhythm dance featuring Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto.

The competition features the top-six finishers overall on the Grand Prix circuit this fall.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1920/gpf1920/

Good Luck Team Canada: ISU Grand Prix Final

Canadian skaters headed to Italy for 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have two entries, for a total of four skaters competing at the 2019 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, in Torino, Italy. Canada will be represented by two senior entries, one in pairs and one in ice dance. The event will take place December 5-8, 2019 and will include both the ISU Grand Prix Final and the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 27, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 27, Sarnia, Ont., will be the pair team representing Canada. This season, the reigning national champions won silver on home soil at Skate Canada International and won silver at NHK Trophy to secure their spot in Torino. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte in Oakville, Ont.

Ice dancers Piper Gilles, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 28, Unionville, Ont., will be representing Canada. The duo won their first Grand Prix gold medal at home at Skate Canada International and won silver at Rostelecom Cup. They are coached by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Jon Lane in Scarborough, Ont.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Lee Schofield of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Mireille Landry of Toronto, Ont., will be the medical staff onsite. Janice Hunter of Vancouver, B.C., and Deborah Islam of Barrie, Ont., will be the Canadian officials attending the event. Leanna Caron, Skate Canada President, and Debra Armstrong, Skate Canada Chief Executive Officer, will be attending the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 ISU GRAND PRIX OF FIGURE SKATING FINAL – TORINO, ITALY

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Pairs Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 27 / 27 St. Catharines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. Skate Oakville / Skate Oakville Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 27 / 28 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs / Jon Lane