Canadian team wins bronze at Mozart Cup

SALZBURG, Austria – Team Meraki from the Leaside Skating Club in Toronto won the bronze medal Saturday at the Mozart Cup synchronized skating figure skating competition.

Marigold Ice Unity from Finland was first with 19031 points, Miami University from the U.S. was second at 164.49 and Meraki followed at 151.21 out of 13 entries.

The Canadians were third after Friday’s short program and hung on to that position after the fourth best free skate of the day.

‘’The team is thrilled to have skated a solid free program,’’ said Meraki coach Cathy Dalton. ‘’The skaters are very proud to be on the podium at their first international this early in their skating career as Team Meraki, especially with Mozart Cup being one of the largest International competitions on the synchronized skating calendar this season.’’

This is the first international assignment for the 2015 Canadian bronze medallists. Meraki are coached by Cathy Dalton and Lyne Forget.

Canada has two entries at the event which features 52 teams from 15 countries, in senior, junior, and novice.

In junior competition, Les Pirouettes from Laval, Que.,also jad the fourth best free skate which allowed them to climb from sixth to fifth overall out of 19 teams They were just over four ppoints from third spot. Teams from Russia, USA and Finland were 1-2-3.

The three-time consecutive Canadian junior bronze medallists are coached by Nancy Alexander and Stéphanie Savoie. Les Pirouettes were third here last year and won gold in 2014.

More information: 2016 Mozart Cup

SKATE CANADA NAMES TEAMS FOR 2016 ISU CHAMPIONSHIPS

HALIFAX, NS: At the conclusion of the highly successful 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, Skate Canada named the teams for three upcoming ISU Championships.

2016 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Taipei City, Chinese Taipei – February 16-21, 2016
MEN
Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont.
Liam Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C.
Kevin Reynolds, 25, Coquitlam, B.C.
WOMEN
Alaine Chartrand, 19, Prescott, Ont.
Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont.
Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld. / Edmonton, Atla.
ICE DANCE
Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Waterloo, Ont. / Andrew Poje, 28, Waterloo, Ont.
Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont. / Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont.
Élisabeth Paradis, 23, Loretteville, Que. / François-Xavier Ouellette, 23, Laval, Que.
PAIR
Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont. / Eric Radford, 30, Balmertown, Ont.
Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que. / Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que.
Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia / Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont.
2016 ISU JUNIOR WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Debrecen, Hungary – March 14-20, 2016
MEN
Nicolas Nadeau, 18, Boisbriand, Que.
WOMEN
Sarah Tamura, 15, Vancouver, B.C.
ICE DANCE
Mackenzie Bent, 18, Uxbridge, Ont. / Dmitre Razgulajevs, 19, Ajax, Ont.
Marjorie Lajoie, 15, Boucherville, Que. / Zachary Lagha, 16, St.-Hubert, Que.
Melinda Meng, 16, Ottawa, Ont. / Andrew Meng, 19, Ottawa, Ont.
PAIR
Hope McLean, 16, Glencoe, Ont. / Trennt Michaud, 18, Trenton, Ont.
Bryn Hoffman, 18, Whitehorse, YT / Bryce Chudak, 20, Rocky Mountain House, Alta.
Justine Brasseur, 15, Brossard, Que. / Mathieu Ostiguy, 18, Granby, Que.
2016 ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Boston, USA – March 28 – April 3, 2016
MEN
Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont.
Liam Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C.
WOMEN
Alaine Chartrand, 19, Prescott, Ont.
Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont.
ICE DANCE
Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Waterloo, Ont. / Andrew Poje, 28, Waterloo, Ont.
Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont. / Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont.
Élisabeth Paradis, 23, Loretteville, Que. / François-Xavier Ouellette, 23, Laval, Que.
PAIR
Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont. / Eric Radford, 30, Balmertown, Ont.
Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que. / Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que.
Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia / Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont.

Canadian team third after short program at synchronized figure skating event

SALZBURG, Austria – Team Meraki from the Leaside Skating Club in Toronto is in third place after Friday’s short program at the Mozart Cup synchronized skating figure skating competition.

Marigold Ice Unity from Finland is first with 64.52 points, Miami University from the U.S. is second at 58.10 and Meraki follows at 51.66 out of 13 entries.

‘’The team was delighted with their third place result for the short program,’’ said Meraki coach Cathy Dalton. ‘’They enjoyed the performance despite an unfortunate fall at the ending. They are very proud to represent Skate Canada and are looking forward to a solid free skate tomorrow.’’

This is the first international assignment for the 2015 Canadian bronze medallists. Meraki are coached by Dalton and Lyne Forget.

Canada has two entries at the event which features 52 teams from 15 countries, in senior, junior, and novice.

In junior competition, Les Pirouettes from Laval, Que., are sixth out of 19 teams after their short program but less than four points from third place. Teams from Finland, USA and Russia are 1-2-3.

Competition ends Saturday.

More information: 2016 Mozart Cup

Bent and Razgulajevs crowned junior ice dance champions

Junior Dance Podium National Skating Championships 2016

Junior – Dance

Junior Pair Podium national skating championships 2016

Junior – Pair

HALIFAX – First year partners MacKenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Toronto won the gold medal in ice dancing as junior competition concluded Thursday at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Bent and Uxbridge totalled 145.31 points for the victory with Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Montreal second at 141.23 and Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal third at 139.12. It was a second Canadian junior title for Bent who won with former partner Garrett MacKeen in 2014.

‘’We paired up in June and haven`t had a break so it’s been pretty crazy,’’ said Bent, a silver medallist with her new partner this past fall at an ISU Junior Grand Prix event. ‘’But it seems to have paid off. We are gaining confidence with each of our performances.’’

In pairs, Hope McLean and Trennt Michaud of London, Ont., were the winners at 154.45 with Bryn Hoffman and Bryce Chudak of Calgary second at 139.15 and Allison Eby and Brett Varley of Cambridge, Ont., third at 136.01.

‘’It’s just great to have that skate under our belts heading into the world juniors,’’ said McLean. ‘’We know what we are capable of and we just have to keep pushing.’’

Junior - Men

Junior – Men

Junior - Women

Junior – Women

In men’s competition, Joseph Phan of Gatineau, Que., took the junior crown scoring 189.30 while Edrian Paul Celestino of Montreal was second at 179.92 and Christian Reekie of Orleans, Ont., third at 164.65.

‘’I’m happy to win the title,’’ said Phan. ‘’I was more stressed during my long program because I didn’t have a very good warm-up. I was really struggling with my triple Lutz so it was a big moment when I landed it successfully in the competition.’’

Sarah Tamura of Burnaby, B.C., Alicia Pineault of Montreal and Megan Yim of Vancouver were 1-2-3 in women’s competition.

‘’I feel really good about my performances and the hard work is paying off,’’ said Tamura. ‘’I executed the two programs the way I was practicing them at home.’’

The senior competition concludes the nationals on Friday and Saturday.

More information: 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

Eleven-year-old wows crowd at 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

Novice Men Podium National Skating Championships 2016

Novice – Men

Novice Dance Podium National-Skating Championships 2016

Novice – Dance

HALIFAX – Eleven-year-old Stephen Gogolev of Toronto landed a triple Axel en route to the gold medal in men’s novice competition which concluded on Wednesday at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Gogolev scored 142.30 to outdistance his nearest rival by more than 20 points. Matthew Markell of Prescott, Ont., took silver at 120.25 and Bruce Waddell of Toronto was third at 106.91.

‘’I felt more comfortable in the long program than the short,’’ said Gogolev, who is coached by Brian Orser. ‘’I just wanted to go out there and do my best for my first nationals.’’

Markell also delivered a personal best performance. ‘’There are some elements I know I could have done better but it is a great way to end the season,’’ he said.

Ontario skaters grabbed all four Canadian titles in novice.

In ice dancing, Olivia Han and Grayson Lochhead of Kitchener, Ont., took the gold with 90.26 points. Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Claudio Pietrantonio and Laval, Que., were second at 89.22 and Irina Galiyanova and Tommy Tang of Toronto were third at 87.50.

‘’It was pretty intense and lots of fun,’’ said Han. ‘’We are pretty proud of our performances.’’

Novice Pair Podium national skating championships 2016

Novice – Pair

Novice Women Podium National Skating Championships 2016

Novice – Women

In pairs, first-year teammates Jamie Knoblauch and Cody Wong of Milton, Ont., were the victors at 119.90. Katrina Lopez and Kurtis Schreiber of Calgary were second at 104.81 and Hannah Dawson of Hawkesbury, Ont., and Daniel Villeneuve of Sherbrooke, Que., were third at 103.50.

‘’We did exactly what we wanted,’’ said Wong. ‘’We had fun with it.’’

In women’s competition, Aurora Cotop of Thornhill, Ont., overcame a three point deficit after the short program to win gold with 123.85. Olivia Gran of Kelowna, B.C., the leader heading into the long, followed at 121.84 and Natalie D’Alessandro of Thornhill was third 117.56.

‘’For my free program I really wanted to just perform after getting the nerves out in the short,’’ said Cotop. ‘’I wanted to show what I could do.’’

Competition continues Thursday with the completion of the junior event.

The seniors go Friday and Saturday.

More information: 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

Canadian synchronized skating teams prepared for 2016 Mozart Cup

OTTAWA, ON:  Canada will have two teams competing at the sixth annual Mozart Cup in Salzburg, Austria. The international synchronized skating competition takes place from January 22-24, 2016, and features 52 teams from 15 countries, in senior, junior, and novice. Canada will have entries in the senior and junior categories.

Representing the Leaside Skating Club, Meraki will be the Canadian entry in the senior category. This will be the first international assignment for the 2015 Canadian bronze medallists. Meraki are coached by Cathy Dalton and Lyne Forget.

Les Pirouettes, representing CPA Laval, will be the Canadian entry in the junior category. They have previously competed at this event winning bronze last season and gold in 2014. The three-time consecutive Canadian junior bronze medallists are coached by Nancy Alexander and Stéphanie Savoie.

Jennifer Betts of Bragg Creek, Alta., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

For more information on the event please visit the event website.

Canada’s Top Figure Skaters Descend on Halifax for the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

HALIFAX, NS – From January 18 to 24, the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships will bring together Canada’s top 250 figure skaters for a week of on-ice competition in Halifax. The all-Canadian championships take place at the Scotiabank Centre and will feature competition in the men’s, women’s, pair and ice dance disciplines at the senior, junior and novice levels.

“From our reigning champions to the novice skaters attending the event for the first time, the Canadian Tire National Skating Championship is the pinnacle of Canadian skating season,” explains Dan Thompson, Skate Canada CEO. “Skate Canada, together with our title partner, Canadian Tire are thrilled to be in Halifax to celebrate the 102nd instalment of this historic event.”

“At Canadian Tire, we believe in the power of sport to change lives, bring communities together and inspire greatness,” says Allan MacDonald, Chief Operating Officer, Canadian Tire. “Nova Scotia is my home province and I’m so proud to welcome and cheer on Canada’s top skaters, as well as their coaches, families and friends as they advance the sport of figure skating in Canada.”

The week long competition will begin with the novice ice dance on Monday, January 18 and the senior events will begin on Friday, January 22. Athletes will vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, 2016 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and 2016 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Leading the senior events are 2015 World Pair Champions Meagan Duhamel, 30, from Lively, ON, and Eric Radford, 30, from Balmertown, ON. The four-time Canadian champions will look to win their fifth consecutive title, taking on Canada’s best.

In ice dance, two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, from Waterloo, ON, and Andrew Poje, 28, from Waterloo, ON, plan to capture their second Canadian title. They will be challenged by a rising field of ice dance talent.

Current Canadian champion Nam Nguyen, 17, from Toronto, ON, will go head-to-head with three-time world champion Patrick Chan, 25, from Toronto, ON, as he returns to the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships after a year off.

In women’s Gabrielle Daleman, 17, from Newmarket, ON, will defend her 2015 Canadian title against two-time Canadian champion Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, from Marystown, NL, and Sherwood Park, AB, who will return to competition after missing last season due to injury.

For full entries and the event start orders please click here.

Skate Canada is adding some extra sheen to the event with the addition of three-time World Champion, Elvis Stojko. He will be returning to the competitive sphere, but this time as the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships Athlete Ambassador. Representing his fellow athletes, Stojko will lend his engaging personality and time to public appearances, media interviews and in-venue fan activities.

Kids will add to the glow of the week through the Skate Canada School Program. As part of Skate Canada’s vision to help youth develop a love for skating, over 1,000 kids from grades three to five will have the opportunity to participate in a free session to watch and learn about the sport during the senior practices on Thursday, January 21.

The spotlight will also shine on 2008 world champion Jeffrey Buttle who will be officially inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame on Sunday, January 24. There will be a special ceremony to honour his tremendous career in skating during the Gala. In addition, Buttle will skate a solo in the Gala and choreograph the closing group number.

TICKETS

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketatlantic.com, by phone at 902-451-1221 or toll free 1-877-451-1221 or in person at the Ticket Atlantic box office located on the Scotiabank Centre Promenade.

Senior competition prices range from $30-$55 per session, plus surcharges. Promotional four-packs are available for $100-$175, for senior events only.

Tickets for the junior and novice competition are $15-$20 per day. Seating for the junior and novice competition days is general admission. Children 12 and under are free for the junior and novice events only.

In addition, all-event ticket packages are still available for purchase. All-event ticket packages range from $125-$175, plus applicable surcharges.

ABOUT SKATE CANADA

Skate Canada is the nation’s governing body for skating and dedicated to creating a nation of skaters both recreationally and competitively. At over 125 years old, it is the world’s oldest skating organization and Canada’s preeminent leader in skate training and education, providing high performance coaching and skating development education. Over 130,000 Canadians participate in Skate Canada educational programs each year.

Canada’s most successful governing sport body, Skate Canada athletes have won 25 Olympic medals and 32 world championships. Today’s Canadian world and Olympic medalists all began at one of our 1,200 local Skate Canada clubs or skating schools. Through our programs, more than 5,200 certified professional coaches encourage Canadians of all ages to skate together as a family, pursue competitive ice sports and enjoy an active lifestyle.

Skate Canada has a National Service Centre in Ottawa, marketing headquarters in Toronto and High Performance facilities in Toronto and Calgary.

ABOUT CANADIAN TIRE CORPORATION

Canadian Tire Corporation, Limited, (TSX:CTC.A) (TSX:CTC) or “CTC,” is a family of businesses that includes a retail segment, a financial services division and CT REIT. Our retail business is led by Canadian Tire, which was founded in 1922 and provides Canadians with products for life in Canada across its Living, Playing, Fixing, Automotive and Seasonal categories. PartSource and Gas+ are key parts of the Canadian Tire network. The retail segment also includes Mark’s, a leading source for casual and industrial wear, and FGL Sports (Sport Chek, Hockey Experts, Sports Experts, National Sports, Intersport, Pro Hockey Life and Atmosphere), which offers the best active wear brands. The nearly 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets are supported and strengthened by our Financial Services division and the tens of thousands of people employed across the Company. For more information, visit Corp.CanadianTire.ca.

2016 Skate Canada Adult Figure Skating Championships headed to Oakville

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada announced today that Oakville, Ont., will host the 2016 Skate Canada Adult Figure Skating Championships. The competition will take place at the Sixteen Mile Sports Complex, from April 22-24, 2016.

This will be their first time hosting the Skate Canada Adult Figure Skating Championships. The venue is home to Skate Canada member club, Skate Oakville and earlier this year they also hosted the 2016 Skate Canada Central Ontario Sectional event.

The event will see hundreds of adult skaters from across the country competing in four disciplines: free skate, interpretive, ice dance and synchronized skating.

Skate Canada offers recreational, test and competitive opportunities to adult skaters through our AdultSkate program. Programs available to adult skaters include CanSkate, STARSkate, CanPowerSkate, and SynchroSkate.

Weaver and Poje repeat as Grand Prix Final champions

BARCELONA – For the second year in a row, ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., won the gold medal at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.

The Canadians produced 182.66 points on Saturday, a mere 0.27 off their personal best set last season. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were second at 177.55 and Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy third at 176.37.

It was the sixth straight victory for Weaver and Poje on the circuit over the past two seasons.

‘’We felt great about the performance today,’’ said Poje. ‘We improved upon our other Grand Prix showings this season. We didn’t perfect everything we wanted to, so there is still work to be done.’’

Weaver was also delighted with the performance.

‘’We felt in the zone,’’ she said. ‘’We injected some emotion into this program and skated with our hearts out there. That is the most rewarding experience you can get. I can’t believe we won this event again, it hasn’t sunk in yet.’’

In men’s competition, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan gave another interstellar performance raising his world record score to 330.43 points. Javier Fernandez of Spain was second at 292.95 and Shoma Uno of Japan third at 276.79. Three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Toronto climbed from sixth after the short to fourth  with the third best long program for 264.45 points.

‘’I was really scared and nervous,’’ said Chan, who sat out last season. ‘’I’ve had shaky practices this week. But my free program is very comfortable and once the music starts it’s almost like auto-pilot. It shows my training is going really well and I can rely on it.’’

Synchronized skating made its debut at the Grand Prix Final and world champions Nexxice from Burlington, Ont., won the bronze medal with 120.34 points. Team Paradise from Russia took the gold at 131.09 and Team Rockettes from Finland were second at 127.66.

The 18  Nexxice skaters were Shannon Aikman-Jones, Cassandra Ablack, Ellicia Beaudoin, Kelly Britten, Anna Cappuccitti, Alessia Chiovitti, Lee Chandler, Samantha Defino, Courtney Gray, Celina Hevesi, Victoria Kwan, Renata Khuzina, Lauren Malott, Courtney McNaughton, Lisa Miadovnik, Rachel Ng, Kiesten Tietz and Jillian Tyler.

‘’It’s just incredible to be here,’’ said Defino. ‘’We just loved skating out and seeing that crowd. We were very pleased with our skate. This is very early in the season for us to be performing our free program and to get a medal was a success.’’

Canada ends the competition with three medals – one of each colour. On Friday, Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., took silver in pairs.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/gpchn2015/index.htm

 

Silver medal for Duhamel and Radford at ISU Grand Prix Final

BARCELONA – One of the most impressive winning streaks in international figure skating is now history.

World champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., won the silver medal in pairs in on Friday at the ISU Grand Prix Final.  They had strung together nine straight international victories going back to the fall of 2014.

Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia took the title with a flawless free skate earning 229.44 points. Duhamel and Radford, climbed from third after the short to the silver with a season’s best 216.67. Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov of Russia were third at 206.59.

“We were really proud, we came back fighting after struggling in the short program,” said Duhamel. “It wasn’t perfect today but it was a step in the right direction. We plan to come back strong in the second half of the season.’’

First year seniors Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., were fourth with a personal best 200.98 and showed they will be a force to reckon with in the future.

“We are happy with what we did even though we made a couple of mistakes,” said Séguin. “One of our goals was to break the 200-point barrier. It really means a lot and shows we’ve reached another level.”

In ice dancing after the short dance, defending champions Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are in first place with 72.75 points. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. are second at 71.64 and Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte of Italy third at 70.14.

“We are so happy with our short dance today,” said Weaver. “We felt great this whole week and today we skated our short dance with grace and felt the energy of the Spanish fans.”

Canada has one entry in the Grand Prix Junior Final which is also being held here this week. Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., finished sixth in men’s competition.

“I definitely wanted to put out a better program,” said Sadovsky. “I sort of rushed my combinations and didn’t trust my technique today.”

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s free skate, the free dance and, for the first time, a synchronized skating final.

Full results: ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final

Canadian pairs in heated battle for medals at ISU Grand Prix Final

BARCELONA – World champions champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., are in the midst of a heated battle for medals following Thursday’s pairs short program at the ISU Grand Prix Final figure skating competition.

Duhamel and Radford are sitting third at 72.74 just ahead of first year seniors Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., in fourth at 71.16. Russians are 1-2 with Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov first at 74.84 and Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov second at 73.64.

Duhamel and Radford, the defending Grand Prix Final champions, had a fall on a throw near the end of the program.

‘’It was the best short program we’ve done this season,’’ said Duhamel. ‘’But we know we are capable of more. Falling on a throw triple is uncharacteristic of us. We possibly got carried away with the moment with everything else being so good.’’

Radford says they don’t feel pressure with their impressive streak of six straight Grand Prix wins on the line.

‘’We approach every event the same,” he said. “When the music starts we bring ourselves back to the same place. That’s what we’ll do tomorrow (Friday) we know we are capable of skating a great long program.”

Séguin and Bilodeau also posted a season’s best score.

‘’We felt really great out there,’’ Séguin said. ‘’We are taking it as an experience and this gives us some confidence for the free skate.’’

In men’s competition it wasn’t a great day for three-time world champion Patrick Chan of Toronto who is sixth after the short program with 70.61 which is more than 20 points off his personal best.

‘’I messed up,’’ said Chan. ‘’I tried to add the combo on the Lutz because you never want to give up. I tried to feel the program, feel the jumps but it wasn’t successful. I just have to put that behind me and have a fresh start.’’

Canada has one entry for the Junior Grand Prix Final also taking place here. Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., is in sixth spot in men’s competition after the short program.

“I think my mind was just racing today,” said Sadovsky, 16, a gold and bronze medallist on the circuit this fall. “I’ve had a good season up till now and I wanted to put together my best skate but it didn’t happen. I felt the extra pressure and it didn’t work.”

Competition continues Friday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/gpf1516/

Canadian Skaters in Barcelona for ISU Grand Prix Final

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have five entries at the 2015 ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Barcelona, Spain, taking place from December 9-13, 2015. Canada will have one entry in men’s, two entries in pair, one entry in ice dance and one entry in synchronized skating.

The ISU Senior Grand Prix Final is the concluding event of the ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit. The series hosts six stops: United States (Skate America), Canada (Skate Canada International), China (Cup of China), France (Trophée Eric Bompard), Russia (Rostelecom Cup), and Japan (NHK Trophy). Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their assigned two events and the top six in each of the four disciplines advance to the Final.

In senior, Canada will be represented by Patrick Chan, 24, Toronto, Ont., in men’s, Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 30, Balmertown, Ont., and Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que., in the pair category, as well as Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 28, Waterloo, Ont., in ice dance.

For the first time in the event’s history, the ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final will also include synchronized skating. One entry was assigned to each of the top five ranked ISU members in synchronized skating; Canada being represented by Nexxice. The synchronized skating competition will consist of free skating, which will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2015. The teams will not perform a short program.

Earlier this season, Canada qualified one entry, Roman Sadovsky, 16, Vaughan, Ont., to the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, also taking place in Barcelona, Spain from December 9-13, 2015. Similar to the senior qualification, juniors are assigned two events on the seven-event series, with the top six in each category advancing to the Final.

ISU Senior Grand Prix Final

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 24, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in men’s. Chan won gold at Skate Canada International and placed fifth in the short program at Trophée Éric Bompard to earn a berth at the ISU Grand Prix Final. The representative of the Granite Club has previously competed at this event six times, medalling four times and winning gold on two occasions (2010 and 2011). He is coached by Kathy Johnson and trains at the Detroit Skating Club.

World champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 30, Balmertown, Ont., are the first of two Canadian pair entries. The representatives of CPA Saint-Léonard have previously competed at this event four times and are the defending champions. This season on the grand prix circuit, they won gold at Skate Canada International and at the NHK Trophy, qualifying in first place for this competition. Duhamel and Radford are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum.

Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que., are the second Canadian pair entry at the event. Last year, they won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final; this will be their first time competing in this event at the senior level. The representatives of CPA Longueuil and CPA Chambly won bronze at Skate America and placed third in the short program at the Trophée Éric Bompard to qualify for this competition. Séguin and Bilodeau are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Nexxice.

Nexxice

Two time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 28, Waterloo, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fifth time competing at this event and they are the defending champions. Weaver and Poje won gold at Skate Canada International and the Rostelecom Cup to qualify first for this competition. The representatives of Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC are coached by Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo and Shae-Lynn Bourne in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Two-time world champions, Nexxice, will be the Canadian entry in synchronized skating. The nine-time consecutive Canadian champions most recently won the 2015 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships. Representing the Burlington Skating Centre, Nexxice is coached by Shelley Simonton Barnett and Anne Schelter.

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final

Roman Sadovsky Junior Grand Prix gold.

Roman Sadovsky

Roman Sadovsky, 16, Vaughan, Ont., will be Canada’s sole entry in men’s. Earlier this season, he won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovakia and bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Poland. Last season he placed fifth at this event. Sadovsky is coached by Tracey Wainman at the YSRA Winter Club.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Ghislaine Robert of Montreal, Que., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Diane Kamagianis of Mission, Ont., Leanna Caron of Timmins, Ont., and Jeff Lukasik of Calgary, Alta., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Emma Bowie, Skate Canada Communications Manager, will be the media contact at the event. To arrange onsite interviews please contact her by email at [email protected].

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

 

 

 

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2015 ISU SENIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Patrick Chan 24 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Kathy Johnson
Pair Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/30 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pair Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 19/22 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 26/28 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Angelika Krylova / Pasquale Camerlengo / Shae-Lynn Bourne
Synchronized Skating Nexxice N/A N/A Burlington Skating Centre Shelley Simonton Barnett / Anne Schelter

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2015 ISU JUNIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Roman Sadovsky 16 Vaughan, Ont. YRSA Winter Club Tracey Wainman