Canadians continue on ISU Grand Prix circuit in France

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have two entries, for a total of three skaters, competing at the 2016 Trophée de France. The event takes place from November 11-13, 2016, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France. Canada will have one entry in ladies and one entry in ice dance.

Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ladies. Last season, she placed sixth at this event. This season, Daleman won bronze at the Nebelhorn Trophy and placed fourth at her first ISU Grand Prix event of the season, Skate America. The 2016 Canadian silver medallist is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 25, Unionville, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event three times, winning the silver medal in both 2014 and 2015, and placing sixth in 2012. This season, Gilles and Poirier won the bronze medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy and also won bronze at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment, Skate Canada International. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event and physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Jodi Abbott of Edmonton, Alta., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 TROPHÉE DE FRANCE

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman 18 Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Brian Orser
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/25 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs

Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte win at 2016 Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada coaches Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte were honoured once again as recipients of the 2016 Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards. The annual awards were presented on Friday, November 4th by the Coaching Association of Canada at the annual Petro-Canada Sport Leadership Awards Gala, which took place in Richmond, B.C.

The Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards recognize coaches whose Canadian athletes or teams win gold, silver, or bronze medals while competing in an Open World Championship, the Olympic Games, the Special Olympics World Games, or the Paralympic Games.

“We’re extremely proud of Richard and Bruno’s work with Meagan and Eric on the path to their second consecutive world championship title. Richard and Bruno are tremendous leaders and ambassadors representing over 5,500 Skate Canada certified coaches across the country,” said Debra Armstrong, Skate Canada CEO. “Thank you to the Coaching Association of Canada along with Petro-Canada for doing a wonderful job recognizing the important the role of coaches in the development of athletes and sport in Canada. Congratulations again to Richard and Bruno for earning this esteemed award.”

In total, 60 coaches from a variety of sports in Canada were honoured at the banquet in Richmond.

Bronze medal for Weaver and Poje at ISU Grand Prix

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MOSCOW – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., won the bronze medal on Saturday at the Rostelecom Cup, to conclude the third stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia took the gold with 186.68 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were second at 182.13 while the Canadians followed at 178.57.

‘’We are really pleased with how the performance went,’’ said Poje. ‘’We really wanted to come out there and show the work we’ve put into creating our story and our emotion. We felt really connected to the audience. It’s early in the season but we wanted a strong technical score and to feel like we are on the right track.’’

Weaver and Poje’s new Spanish-flavored long program was ranked second on the day as they nearly reeled in the Americans for the silver. They ended a six Grand Prix event winning streak dating back to 2014.

‘’We’ll take the feedback from here and analyse what worked and what didn’t work in our programs,’’ added Poje. ‘’This being our first competition we want to take the best direction from here until the rest of the season.’’

In pairs, Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., remained fifth overall following their free skate. Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany won the gold medal ahead of two Russian pairs.

Camille Ruest of Boucherville, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Montreal were sixth. In the end Séguin and Bilodeau, the Skate America champions two weeks ago, were only 5.5 points from the podium.

‘’It was a tough fight today,’’ said Séguin. ‘’But we continued to believe in ourselves and gave a good performance. It was a learning experience.’’

Bilodeau said it was hard to go into the free skate standing fifth.

‘’We made big errors in the short so we had a strike against us right off the start,’’ he said. ‘’But we were able to stay focused and get through our long program.’’

Ruest and Wolfe completed their debut on the circuit.

“We continued to improve,’’ said Ruest. ‘’We need to continue to gain speed and improve our transitions on our long programs. Our technical scores are where we wanted them to be for now.’’

In men’s competition, world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain took the gold medal with Shoma Uno of Japan second and Alexei Bychenko of Israel third.

Elladj Baldje of Pierrefonds, Que., produced another clean program and was sixth.

‘’There were some small errors but overall it was a satisfying competition for me,’’ said Baldje. ‘’Fitness-wise I felt super strong and that will be a real plus for me in the future. I’m going to continue working on the quad and make it better.’’

The fourth stop on the circuit is next Friday and Saturday in Paris.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2016

Weaver and Poje unveil thrilling short dance at Grand Prix

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MOSCOW – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are in third place after a spectacular debut of their Michael Jackson flavoured short dance on Friday at the Rostelecom Cup, the third stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S., the Skate Canada International silver medallists last week, are first at 75.04, Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev of Russia second at 74.92 and Weaver and Poje earned 69.81.

‘’We are very pleased with our performance,’’ said Weaver. ‘’This is our first competition of the season for us and we underwent many changes through the summer including this brand new short dance. We came out today feeling calm and excited to perform.’’

The Canadians, who skated a highly original program to three Michael Jackson tunes (The Way You Make Me Feel, Dangerous and Jam), received a rousing and extended ovation from the crowd for their performance.  Weaver and Poje will try to extend their Grand Prix event winning streak to seven in Saturday’s free dance.

‘’We were treated like hometown athletes from the crowd here,’’ Weaver said. ‘’We had an error on our twizzle and lost points there but we are taking away a lot of positives. We can’t wait to show of our free skate.’’

In pairs, Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., the Skate America champions two weeks ago, are in fifth spot after the short.

They are only eighth points from the leaders. Both skaters fell on the side-by-side jumps and Séguin touched one hand down on the throw.

‘’Of course it wasn’t our best,’’ said Séguin. ‘’I expect we’ll come back much stronger tomorrow because our long program is more polished right now.’’

Natalia Zabiiako and Alexander Enbert of Russia lead at 69.76, Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany are second at 69.51 and Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek of Italy third at 66.82. Séguin and Bilodeau scored 61.72 and Camille Ruest of Boucherville, Que., and Andrew Wolfe of Montreal are seventh at 60.09.

In men’s competition, Shoma Uno of Japan stands first after the short, world champion Javier Fernandez of Spain is second and Mikhail Kolyada of Russia third.

Elladj Balde of Pierrefonds, Que., produced a clean program but with no quad jump he is ranked sixth.  ‘’The goal was to come here and skate clean,’’ he said. ‘’That’s the way I’ve been skating every day at home. I broke the 37-point barrier for my components which shows that may skating’s improved.’’

Canada has no entries in women’s competition.

All free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: ISU GP Rostelecom Cup 2016

 

Skate Canada Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

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The Board of Directors of Skate Canada is pleased to announce that Debra Armstrong has accepted the position of Chief Executive Officer of Skate Canada, effective immediately. Debra joined the organization in January of 2016 as Chief Operating Officer. She brings an impressive combination of skills, experience and collaborative leadership style that has already made a significant impact on the organization.

Throughout her career, Debra has focused her legal and business acumen on contributing to the growth of leading national and international private sector and not-for-profit institutions. In her 17 years with MBNA Canada Bank, Debra attained increasingly senior roles, and as President & CEO led the organization through its acquisition by TD Bank.

A committed community leader, Debra serves on the Board of Governors of Carleton University, is Past President and Board Chair of Volleyball Canada and was recently appointed to the Nominating Committee of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

“Debra’s proven background in business growth and change management, as well as in sport governance and leadership will be a tremendous asset to Skate Canada” stated Skate Canada President, Leanna Caron.

Earlier this week the Skate Canada’s Board of Directors announced that Dan Thompson would be leaving the organization after serving as Chief Executive Officer since June 2013. Skate Canada thanks Dan for his contributions and wishes him every success in his future endeavours.

Rostelecom Cup marks third stop for Canadian team on ISU Grand Prix circuit

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have four entries, for a total of seven skaters, in Moscow, Russia, for the 2016 Rostelecom Cup. Canada will have one entry in men’s, two entries in pairs and one entry in ice dance at the event which takes place from November 4-6, 2016.

Elladj Baldé, 25, Montreal, Que., will be the Canadian entry in the men’s category and will be competing at this event for the first time. Baldé placed eighth at his first event this season, the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. He trains in Montreal, Que., with his coach Bruno Marcotte.

Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 23, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the first of two Canadian pairs entries at the event. This season, they won gold at their assignment on the ISU Challenger Series, the 2016 Autumn Classic International, and also won gold at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment, Skate America. Séguin and Bilodeau are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Camille Ruest, 22, Rimouski, Que., and Drew Wolfe, 21, Calgary, Alta., will also represent Canada in pairs. Earlier this season, the duo placed fourth at their first international assignment together, the 2016 Autumn Classic International. Ruest and Wolfe are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Que.

Two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 29, Waterloo, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. Weaver and Poje have previously competed at this event three times, winning the silver medal in 2011 and 2013, and the gold medal last year. The two-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Nikolai Morozov and train in Hackensack, NJ, USA.

Terra Findlay of Echo Bay, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Albert Schumacher of Tecumseh, Ont., and physiotherapist Meghan Buttle of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Janice Hunter of West Vancouver, B.C., and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 ROSTELECOM CUP

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Elladj Baldé 25 Montreal, Que. CPA Anjou Kinsmen Bruno Marcotte
Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 19/23 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Pairs Camille Ruest / Drew Wolfe 22/21 Rimouski, Que. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA De Rimouski / Glencoe Club Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 27/29 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Nikolai Morozov

Gold for Duhamel and Radford at Skate Canada International

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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Two-time Canadian world champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford won the gold medal in pairs on Saturday at Skate Canada International.

Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., added a silver in women’s competition while Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto were third in pairs.

In pairs, Duhamel and Radford had a mishap on their throw quadruple Salchow but otherwise wowed the crowd with their side-by-side triple Lutz and remarkable lifts performed to Non, je ne regrette rien by Patricia Kaas.

They totalled 218.30 points for their third consecutive Skate Canada International crown and fifth career victory on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

‘’After the fall I was little worried was Meagan OK,’’ said Radford, from Balmertown, Ont. ‘’But I was really happy with how we fought back and I think we finished the program really strong.’’

Duhamel, from Lively, Ont., felt they continued to improve.

‘’I think that performance was a major step up from what we did three weeks ago at an event in Finland,’’ she said. ‘’The program is growing and we are doing a really good job with our lifts and spins and those are points we are always looking to collect as well.’’

Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch made two errors in their program but the high difficulty of the performances kept them in the medals finishing with 190.22. Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang of China were second at 202.08

‘’It wasn’t an ideal run through,’’ said Moscovitch. ‘’But we stuck to our training and we kept refocusing throughout the program and working as a team. By not letting the other points slip away we were able to keep the integrity of the program and get on the podium.’’

In women’s competition, world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia won the gold medal with 220.65 points. Osmond landed five triple jumps and followed at 206.45 and Satoko Miyahara of Japan was third at 192.08.

It was the first time, Osmond surpassed the magic 200-point barrier.

‘’I’m beyond excited to be where I am right now,’’ said Osmond, 20, who skated to music from La Bohème. ‘’I made two personal best scores this weekend and there is still a lot of room for improvement so I’m super happy to compete at this level this early in the season.’’

Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was fifth at 185.56.

‘’There were things that could have been improved,’’ said Chartrand. ‘’But I was happy with how I attacked my program and didn’t let anything get to me.’’

Competition continues this evening with the men’s free skate and the free dance.

Full results: 2016 Skate Canada International

Canadians spin more gold at Skate Canada International

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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Patrick Chan of Toronto and ice dancers Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., won gold medals on Saturday evening to conclude Skate Canada International.

In men’s competition, Chan posted the second best free skate but hung on to top spot with 266.95 points. He edged Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan who won the free skate to climb from fourth to second at 263.06.

Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., landed three of his four quad jumps and took the bronze medal at 245.06. It is his first Grand Prix medal in his career.

Chan entered his highly anticipated free skate which was scheduled to include three quad jumps. He landed one, fell on the quad Salchow, which he was attempting for the first time in competition, and tripled the last one. Still he got strong scores from the judges for his artistic performance.

‘’It was a bit rough,’’ admitted Chan, a three-time world champion. ‘’I had a great opening but anytime you put in a new quad it feels different. The additional pressure of having it tired me out and you could see I faded as the program went along.

‘’Still it’s a great start to the season and I feel it’s a well deserved win.’’

Reynolds was at his first Grand Prix since 2012.

‘’It’s great to be on the podium in my first Grand Prix in many years,’’ he said. ‘’And to do it in such a high pressure environment with skaters like Patrick and Yuzuru makes feel really confident going forward.’’

Liam Firus of North Vancouver was ninth.

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir ranked second in the free dance and held on to first with 189.06. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S., took silver at 188.24 while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto were third at 182.57.

‘’It was mixed emotions out there for us,’’ said Moir. ‘’It wasn’t kind of the moment we really wanted but the fans really helped us through that one. At the end we were proud of it.’’

Virtue said they rejigged the program after the Autumn Classic event in Montreal earlier this month. The couple are back in action this season for the first time since the 2014 Olympic Games.

“We’ve made some great strides with this free dance,’’ she said. ‘’Both technically and emotionally we went back to the drawing board and really got back to the intention of each movement and we made a lot of improvements.’’

Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., were eighth.

Canada ends the competition with seven medals. Earlier Saturday, Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., won the pairs event with Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto third. Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. won silver in women’s competition.

Full results: 2016 Skate Canada International

Canadians blast out of the gates at Skate Canada International

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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Patrick Chan, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir as well as Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford are all in first place after their respective short programs Friday at Skate Canada International.

Duhamel and Radford earned 78.39 points with China’s Xiaoyu Yu and Hao Zhang of China in second at 69.43. Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are third at 67.53.

The two-time world champions were most excited about landing their new throw triple Axel.

‘’Landing the throw triple Axel is a huge confidence boost,’’ said Radford. ‘’We had to prove to ourselves that we were capable of doing it. It’s a nice reassuring feeling and we know we can do it even better.’’

The pair paid tribute to the Hershey Centre venue. They executed their first clean short program on the same ice in 2011.

‘’We’ve had some of the most amazing memories in our career here,’’ said Duhamel. ‘’It’s a special rink, we love it. The crowd was unbelievable right from the second we stepped on the ice for the warm-up.’’

Brittany Jones and Joshua Reagan of Toronto are seventh.

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir are in first place after the short dance. They almost equalled their personal best score with 77.23 just off the 77.72 they skated in their comeback a couple of weeks ago at the Autumn Classic in Montreal.

‘’This is the start of our journey towards the 2018 Olympics,’’ said Moir, from Ilderton, Ont. ‘’We were really thrilled with our skate. We left some points on the table level wise which we’ll look to improve. For the end of October we are very pleased.’’

Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. are second at 76.21 and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto third at 72.12. Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., are eighth.

In the men’s short, Chan compiled 90.56 points to stand first. Takahito Mura of Japan is second at 81.24 and Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam. B.C., stands third at 80.57 ahead of Olympic champ Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Liam Firus of North Vancouver is 10th.

‘’I was committed to staying tight in the air and saving the landings,’’ said Chan. ‘’Landing that quad triple gave me a ton of energy going into the triple Axel. The rest of the program I was really pleased with, especially the footwork.’’

In the women’s short program, Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., set a personal best 74.33 to stand in second place. Only world champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia beat the Canadian earning 76.24. Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia is third at 66.69.

‘’It was a long time coming to finally do a short program like that,’’ said Osmond, whose previous best was set in 2013. ‘’It feels so good to finally get a personal best again and skate great again. I’ve been working towards it for so many years.’’

Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., is sixth but still in the medal hunt at 62.15. Only six points separate seventh from third.

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2016 Skate Canada International

Skaters from around the world headed to Mississauga, Ontario, for 2016 Skate Canada International

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada’s top figure skaters are headed to Mississauga, Ont., this week to compete against some of world’s best at the 2016 Skate Canada International. The event takes place October 28-30, 2016, at the Hershey Centre. Canada will have 11 entries (three entries per discipline in men, pairs and ice dance, and two entries in ladies) for a total of 17 skaters.

Skate Canada International is the second of six competitions on the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, which qualifies skaters for the ISU Grand Prix Final, taking place December 8-11 in Marseille, France.

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., is the first of three Canadian entries in men’s. This will be his eighth time competing at this event, having previously won the gold medal five times and the silver medal once. Chan won silver at his first event this season, the Finlandia Trophy. The eight-time Canadian champion is coached by Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns and trains in Canton, MI, USA.

Canadian silver medallist Liam Firus, 24, North Vancouver, B.C., is the second Canadian entry in men’s. He placed 11th at this event in 2014 and 10th in 2012. This season, Firus placed fifth at his first event, the Nebelhorn Trophy. Firus is coached by Bruno Marcotte in Sainte-Julie, Que.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kevin Reynolds, 26, Coquitlam, B.C., rounds out the Canadian entries in the men’s discipline. Reynolds previously competed at this event in 2010 and placed fourth. This season, Reynolds won the silver medal at his first event, the Ondrej Nepela Trophy. He is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand, 20, Prescott, Ont., is the first of two Canadian entries in the ladies’ category. Chartrand previously competed at this event in 2014 and placed seventh. She began this season winning the silver medal at the 2016 Autumn Classic International. Chartrand is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., will be the second Canadian entry in the ladies’ discipline. Osmond won this event in 2012 and placed 11th at this event last season. This season, she won the gold medal at her first event, the Finlandia Trophy. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallist is coached by Ravi Walia and trains in Edmonton, Alta.

Two-time World Champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., lead the Canadian pair entries. This will be their seventh time competing at this event, having won gold in 2014 and 2015 and medalled five years consecutively. Duhamel and Radford won their first event this season, the Finlandia Trophy. The five-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum in Saint-Léonard, Que.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 32, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian pair entry, and will be competing at this event for the first time. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallists won the silver medal at their first event this season, the Nebelhorn Trophy. Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.

Brittany Jones, 20, Toronto, Ont., and Joshua Reagan, 26, Toronto, Ont., will be the third Canadian entry in pair. Jones and Reagan placed seventh at this event in 2014. This season, they won the gold medal at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. Jones and Reagan are coached by Bryce Davison in Hamilton, Ont.

Olympic and World champions Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., are the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event six times, winning the gold medal on five occasions and the silver medal once. Virtue and Moir returned to international competition at the 2016 Autumn Classic International where they won the gold medal. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event twice, winning the silver medal in 2014 and placing fourth in 2012. Gilles and Poirier won the bronze medal at their first event this season, the Nebelhorn Trophy. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont.

Alexandra Paul, 25, Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 26, Barrie, Ont., are the third Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fourth time competing at this event, having placed sixth in 2015, fifth in 2013 and fourth in 2010. This season, Paul and Islam won the bronze medal at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. They train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Carolyn Allwright of Kitchener, Ont., and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Julia Alleyne of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., and Andrea Derby of Windsor, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Practices will be streamed live on the Skate Canada Dailymotion page.

For results and full entries please visit www.sc3staging.skatecanada.ca or www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Marina Zoueva / Oleg Epstein / Johnny Johns
Men Liam Firus 24 North Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver SC Bruno Marcotte
Men Kevin Reynolds 26 Coquitlam, B.C. Vancouver SC Joanne McLeod
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 20 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh/ Brian Orser
Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 20 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pairs Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 24/32 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Pairs Brittany Jones / Joshua Reagan 20/26 Toronto, Ont. / Toronto, Ont. Hamilton SC / Hamilton SC Bryce Davison
Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 27/29 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Ilderton SC / Ilderton SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/24 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Ice Dance Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam 25/26 Midhurst, Ont. / Barrie, Ont. Barrie SC / Barrie SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Canadians Séguin and Bilodeau win gold at Skate America

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CHICAGO – Canadians Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau won the gold medal in pairs on Saturday at Skate American, the first stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Séguin and Bilodeau were the first skaters in the final flight and saw their score of 197.31 go unbeaten by the following three couples. Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier of the U.S. were second at 192.65 and Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia third at 185.94.

‘’Our long program was really good,’’ said Séguin, of Longueuil, Que. ‘’It was at the level that we wanted. We delivered a strong performance and we were confident throughout the program. We are proud of ourselves.’’

‘’We showed we could put behind the errors we made in the short program,’’ added Bilodeau from Trois-Pistoles, Que. ‘’We just looked forward to the next program and making sure all the elements were there. We are super happy.’’

In women’s competition, Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., was just edged for the bronze medal finishing fourth at 186.63. Americans were 1-2 with Ashley Wagner earning the gold at 196.44 and Mariah Bell the silver at 191.59. Mai Mihara of Japan was third at 189.28.

Daleman landed a triple-toe, triple-toe combination to open her free program and produced a strong finish landing several jumps. Her only mishap was a fall on a triple Lutz.

“I’m very happy with how it went,” said Daleman. “I never gave up on the program and it was a great experience. I’m going to take away what I learned today, go home, work really hard only and comeback stronger in my next event in two weeks.”

In men’s competition, Shoma Uno of Japan is first after the short program with 89.15 points. Adam Rippon of the U.S. follows at 87.32 and his compatriot Jason Brown is third at 85.75. Nam Nguyen of Toronto produced a clean program, which included a quad Salchow-triple to combo and a triple Axel, followed in fourth with a personal best 79.62.

“I felt pretty good out there,” said Nguyen, fifth earlier this season at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. “I was relaxed and I just wanted to be comfortable to relax in front of the audience and that’s exactly what I did.”

Nice Cup
In Nice, France at the Nice Cup, Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of Barrie, Ont., finished seventh in ice dancing. Canada’s other entry Eri Nishimura of Toronto is in 22nd place after the women’s short program.

Full results Skate America: ISU GP 2016 Progressive Skate America

Canadian skaters in France for Cup of Nice

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada will have two entries at the 21st annual Cup of Nice, a senior international competition. Canada will have one entry in ladies and one entry in ice dance at the event which runs from October 19-23, 2016, at the Patinoire Jean Bouin in Nice, France.

Carolane Soucisse, 21, Châteauguay, Que., and Shane Firus, 22, Barrie, Ont., will be the Canadian entry competing in ice dance. This will be their second international assignment together, having placed seventh at the 2016 Autumn Classic International. Soucisse and Firus are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Eri Nishimura, 22, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in the ladies’ discipline. This will be her first international assignment. Last season, she placed eighth at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Nishimura is coached by Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

For results and full entries please visit the official event website.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 21st CUP OF NICE

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Ice Dance Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus 21/22 Châteauguay, Que. / Barrie, Ont. CPA Repentigny / CPA Ahuntsic Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon
Ladies Eri Nishimura 22 Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Brian Orser