Canadian Junior skaters continue to bring home the hardware on the ISU Grand Prix circuit

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Canadian skaters have never dominated a Junior Grand Prix event the way they did in Ostrava, Czech Republic last week.

The youth of Canada proved so compelling that the senior skaters attending the national team training camp in Mississauga, Ontario gathered en masse around a couple of laptops, watching magnificence unfold in Europe.

The youngsters won gold in three of the four events, a first for the land of the maple leaf. In most seasons since the Junior Grand Prix circuit started 18 years ago, Canada has done well to win as many as four gold medals during the entire string of seven or eight qualifying events. (This year there are seven.)

In only five of those 18 years, Canada has won four gold medals during the entire season. Last year, Canadian skaters won two gold medals over eight events, and none qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final.

It’s not something that Canadian officials worry about too much. The Junior Grand Prix circuit is an important step, meant chiefly to develop future champions. “You see such a wide range of abilities on the circuit,” said Michael Slipchuk, director of high performance for Skate Canada. “Especially in singles and pairs, there’s always a clear break between the top skaters and the next group. Our guys are definitely pushing to be up there, but we’re more looking at our skaters to go out, learning to compete in that environment under those conditions, and skate at that level, and just continue in their development. So finally when they come to the Canadian championships, they are strong, and when they get to junior worlds, we can field a strong team.”

Witness Nam Nguyen, who stumbled his way through the Junior Grand Prix season last year as he went through a growth spurt. “I don’t think many people would have given him a shot to win junior worlds last year,” Slipchuk said. “But at Canadians, we knew he was moving in the right direction, and he won junior worlds. I think it’s a testament that if you keep progressing and doing things your way, things will work out. We leave it to our coaches to build a plan for their skaters and they know what’s best, and we’ll give the best support we can to get there.”

So far, Canada has won a total of five medals already: three gold and two silver in the first three Junior Grand Prix events. “We felt coming into this year that we had a strong group of dancers coming out,” Slipchuk said. Pair skating is another strength. Skate Canada is also looking to Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau to have a strong season, too. Seguin and Bilodeau, making their first Junior Grand Prix start of the season won gold with a dynamic routine to Peter Gabriel by almost 15 points over a Russian team in Ostrava.

Canada had already started off with two silver medals in dance in the first two events: Madeline Edwards and ZhaoKai Pang got off to a fast start in Courcheval, France the first week, and Brianna Delmaestro and Timothy Lum charmed their way to a silver in Ljubljana, Slovenia the next week.

In Ostrava, Canada’s junior champions Mackenzie Bent and Garrett MacKeen won gold in their fourth Junior Grand Prix season, blasting their previous personal best for their free skate by 7 ½ points, finishing up with 82.42 for a routine that looks more mature than last year.

And 15-year-old Roman Sadovsky won gold in the men’s event, also decimating his personal best with a “Les Miserables” program. His free skate score of 124.57 was almost seven points better than his previous best and although he was third in the free skate, his component score was the highest. And he has room to grow. He fell on a triple loop as he dealt with a new experience: being first after the short program in an international competition.

There are four events left: Nagoya, Japan this week, Tallinn, Estonia from September 24 -28; Dresden, Germany from October 1-5 and Zagreb, Croatia from October 8-12. Not all events feature pair events. Seguin and Bilodeau are out again at Dresden. So are Sadovsky and Delmaestro and Lum.

The Junior Grand Prix will feature Canadians that haven’t been out in the world before: a couple of 13-year-olds (Grace Lin from Yvan Desjardins’ stable in Montreal and Sarah Tamura who skates with Joanne MacLeod in British Columbia) will compete in Japan this week, where there will be no pair competition. Edwards and Pang will show their wares again in dance.

As the season wears on, Slipchuk says it will be interesting to see how Sadovsky, still young, fares. “He just keeps improving,” Slipchuk said. “I think he’ll be in the mix in the men.” He also looks to a new Canadian on the scene, Selena Zhao, who has a triple flip – triple toe loop (“It’s what the junior ladies are doing now,” Slipchuk said) in her arsenal, as a skater with the skills to be in the top half.

“We would like to see a fair amount of our skaters get into the top 10 or top eight,” Slipchuk said. “I think a few of them have a chance, given the event and the field. Some could be in the top five.”

Currently the Russians and Japanese are dominating the Junior Grand Prix circuit. Last year the Russians swept all four gold medals at the Junior Grand Prix Final and they also took over the entire pairs podium. The United States has always been a strong contender in the past. Canada has hovered between third and fifth place in the standings over the years. “We always look at longevity,” Slipchuk said. “We’ve never been a country that has been dominant on the circuit, but we transition well to senior and I’ve always felt that it is something that we don’t want to lose sight of. We want our skaters to keep improving.”

Canadian Skaters ready to compete in Salt Lake City for the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada will send eight skaters, for a total of five entries to the 2014 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, a senior international competition which is the first event on the International Skating Union’s (ISU) new Challenger Series. The event runs from September 10-14, 2014, in Salt Lake City, UT. Canada will have one entry per discipline in men’s, ladies, and pair, and two entries in ice dance.

Andrei Rogozine, 21, Newmarket, Ont., will represent Canada in men’s. Last year, he placed seventh at this event, and eighth at Skate Canada International. Representing Richmond Hill Figure Skating Club, Rogozine also placed seventh at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Tom Zakrajsek and trains in Colorado Springs, CO, USA.

Alaine Chartrand, 18, Prescott, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in the ladies category. Last season, she placed seventh at the 2014 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and fifth at the 2014 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Chartrand also placed fifth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Michelle Leigh and Leonid Birinberg, and trains at the Nepean Skating Club.

In the pair category, Brittany Jones, 18, Toronto, Ont., and Joshua Reagan, 24, Dallas, TX, USA, – Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada. Both skaters have competed internationally with past partners, but this will be their first international assignment together since teaming up in October 2013. Last season, they placed seventh at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Jones and Reagan are coached by Kristy Wirtz and Kris Wirtz at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club.

Nicole Orford, 21, Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams, 23, Okotoks, Alta., are one of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Representing Inlet SC and Calalta Community FSC, they won the bronze medal at this event last year. Orford and Williams also placed fifth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and fifth at the 2014 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships last season. They are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Mariève Cyr, 19, Île Bizard, Que., and Benjamin Brisebois-Gaudreau, 22, Montreal, Que., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance. Last season, they placed ninth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. This will be the second international assignment of their career, having placed seventh at the 2012 ISU Junior Grand Prix in Chemnitz, Germany.  They train in Pierrefonds, Que., with coaches Élise Hamel and Shawn Winter.

Petra Burka of Toronto, Ont., will be travelling with the team as team leader, and Siobhan Karam of Ottawa, Ont., will be the team physiotherapist. Susan Morriss of Victoria, B.C., and Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For more information and full entries please visit www.usfigureskatingclassic.com or www.isu.org.

Canada will also host an event on the ISU’s Challenger Series, the inaugural 2014 Skate Canada Autumn Classic International in Barrie, Ontario, from October 14-17, 2014 at the Allandale Recreation Centre.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2014 U.S. INTERNATIONAL FIGURE SKATING CLASSIC

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Andrei Rogozine 21 Newmarket, Ont. Richmond Hill FSC Tom Zakrajsek
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 18 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh / Leonid Birinberg
Pair Brittany Jones / Joshua Reagan 18/24 Toronto, Ont. / Dallas, TX, USA – Toronto, Ont Kitchener-Waterloo SC/ Kitchener-Waterloo SC Kristy Wirtz / Kris Wirtz
Ice Dance Nicole Orford / Thomas Williams 21/22 Burnaby, B.C. / Okotoks, Alta. Inlet SC / Calalta Community FSC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
Ice dance Mariève Cyr / Benjamin Brisebois-Gaudreau 19/22 Île Bizard, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA des Deux-Rives / CPA Ahuntsic Élise Hamel/ Shawn Winter

Canadian Skaters En Route to ISU Junior Grand Prix Japan

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five entries, for a total of seven skaters to the fourth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in Aichi, Japan, from September 10-14, 2014. Canada will have one entry in men’s, two entries in ladies, and two entries in ice dance. There will be no pair competition at the event.

World junior bronze medalists Madeline Edwards, 18, Port Moody, B.C., and ZhaoKai Pang, 19, Burnaby, B.C., will lead the way for Canada in ice dance. Edwards and Pang won silver at the first ISU Junior Grand Prix this season in Courchevel, France. Last season, they placed seventh at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in the senior category. The representatives of Burnaby FSC are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Lauren Collins, 18, Minesing, Ont., and Shane Firus, 20, North Vancouver, B.C., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance. Both Collins and Firus have previously competed for Canada on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, but the representatives of Barrie SC and Vancouver SC will be making their international debut together, having teamed up in early 2014. They are coached by David Islam and Kelly Johnson at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.

Nicolas Nadeau, 16, Boisbriand, Que., will be the sole Canadian entry in the men’s division, making his ISU Junior Grand Prix debut. Last season, the representative of CPA Boisbriand placed fourth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in the junior category. He is coached by Yvan Desjardins at the École Excellence Rosemère.

Sarah Tamura, 13, Burnaby, B.C., is one of two Canadian entries in ladies. This will be her first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Representing Burnaby FSC, she is the 2014 Canadian novice women’s champion. Tamura is coached by Joanne McLeod, Jill-Marie Harvey, and Neil Wilson at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Grace Lin, 13, Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Que., will also represent Canada in ladies, and will also be competing at her first international assignment. Last season, representing Dollard FSC, she placed 12th at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in the novice category. She is coached by Yvan Desjardins and Violaine Emard in Rosmere, Que.

Cynthia Ullmark of Canmore, Alta., will be the Canadian team leader and physiotherapist Karen Seymour of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Glenn Fortin of Aurora, Ont., and Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., are the Canadian officials at the event.

The ISU will be live streaming the competition via the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel. For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #4 – Aichi, Japan

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Nicolas Nadeau 16 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand Yvan Desjardins
Ladies Sarah Tamura 13 Burnaby, B.C. Burnaby FSC Joanne McLeod / Jill-Marie Harvey / Neil Wilson
Ladies Grace Lin 13 Dollard-Des-Ormeaux, Que. Dollard FSC Yvan Desjardins / Violaine Emard
Ice Dance Madeline Edwards / ZhaoKai Pang 18/19 Port Moody, B.C. / Burnaby, B.C. Inlet SC / Inlet SC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
Ice dance Lauren Collins / Shane Firus 18/20 Minesing, Ont./ North Vancouver, B.C. Barrie SC/ Vancouver SC David Islam / Kelly Johnson

“Les Miserables” performance brings gold to Canada’s Roman Sadovsky

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OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., earned Canada’s third gold medal at the third stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit on Saturday winning the men’s singles competition.

Sadovsky interpreted his long program to music from Les Miserables to finish atop the standings with 192.08 points. Alexander Samarin of Russia was second at 188.69 and Sei Kawahara of Japan third at 184.69.

For Sadovsky it was his first gold and second career medal on the circuit. He led after a superb short program Friday and his long skate scored third best but was still enough to keep him first overall.

“It’s amazing to get the victory,” said Sadovsky, 15. “It was a real nerve-wracking experience. I had never gone into a long at this level standing in first place. The mistakes I did make I was able to quickly put them behind me.”

Sadovsky executed seven triple jumps and demonstrated amazing flexibility in his free skate. His only mishap was not hanging on to a triple toe-loop jump in the middle of his program.

“My goal for this year is to eventually have a solid triple Axel in the long program,” he said. “The speed and flow of the routine are also improving. I’m not sure what happened with the toe-loop today. It’s usually a sure jump for me.”

In women’s competition, Kim DeGuise-Léveillée of Sorel-Tracy, Que., delivered two clean programs in her international debut, including Saturday’s free skate, to place eighth overall. She ranked sixth for the long to climb from 10th spot after the short.

The 16-year-old also landed a triple Lutz in competition for the first time in her career.

“I skated very well,” she said. “The hard work paid off. Landing the Lutz was one of my big objectives at this event. I also felt strong at the end of the program and improved the artistic aspects of my skating.”

Canada ends the competition with three gold. On Friday, victories were earned by Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen of Oshawa, Ont., in ice dancing and Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., in pairs.

The fourth stop on the circuit is Thursday to Saturday (September 11-13) in Aichi, Japan.

Videos of routines available on the ISU YouTube channel

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpcze2014/index.htm

 

Two golden skates for Canada at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Canada won the gold medal in pairs and ice dancing on Friday at the third stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

The winners were Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen of Oshawa, Ont., in ice dancing and Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., in pairs.

In ice dancing, Bent and MacKeen collected their second career junior Grand Prix win and fourth podium overall with a 138.17 score. The overall and free program scores were international bests for the Canadians. Betina Popova and Yuri Vlasenko of Russia were second at 131.42 and Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter of the U.S., third at 130.79.

‘’We delivered what we’d been doing in training and that’s very pleasing,’’ said Bent, 17. ‘’It wasn’t a perfect skate but we headed into this competition confident with both programs.’’

Last year, the couple saw a super season end on a sour note with a 12th place finish at the junior world championships.

‘’Obviously it was important for us to get off on the right track this season,’’ said MacKeen, 20. ‘’We’ve come in this season with some changes including two different programs and so far it’s really worked out.’’

Danielle Wu and Spencer Soo of Burnaby, B.C., were sixth.

In pairs, Séguin and Bilodeau delivered a near-flawless performance to music from Peter Gabriel to win the gold with 159.40 points.  Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin of Russia were second at 144.62 and their compatriots Kamilla Gainetdinova and Sergei Alexeev third at 134.43.

‘’We worked really hard for this so we are not totally surprised,’’ said Séguin, 17. ‘’We knew we had improved a lot from last season. We felt in control of our program and landing the side-by-side jump early in the program gave us a lot of confidence.’’

The pair joined forces last season and produced two top-five finishes in the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit and were second at junior nationals. This season they want to start making noise at the senior level nationally.

‘’We want to skate like a senior pair team this year,’’ said Bilodeau, 21. ‘’Last year, we focused on developing chemistry on the ice. Now we’ve expanded to display emotion and maturity as well, and this program helps us do that.’’

Canada has another medal contender in men’s competition as Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., grabbed the lead after an excellent short program on Friday earning 67.51 points. Alexander Samarin of Russia is second at 62.42 and Sei Kawahara of Japan stands third at 60.55.

In women’s competition after Thursday’s short program, Kim DeGuise-Léveillée of Sorel-Tracy, Que., is 10th.

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s and women’s free skates.

Videos of routines available on the ISU YouTube channel

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpcze2014/index.htm

Skate Canada launches revitalized CanSkate program

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OTTAWA, ON: In rinks all across the country this fall, Canadians will experience the revitalized CanSkate program. Using every inch of the ice surface, skaters will learn the basics of skating through a complete series of balance, control and agility skills taught in six stages. CanSkate uses tested and proven new curriculum and delivery methods that guarantee skater success in developing stronger basic skills and developing them faster.

Skate Canada clubs and skating schools will implement the new CanSkate program beginning September 1, 2014. The trademark learn-to-skate program was updated to reflect the principles in Sport Canada’s long-term athlete development plan (LTAD).

“For decades CanSkate has been teaching the best skaters in Canada how to skate. The program which has produced such great skaters as Patrick Chan, Tessa Virtue, Scott Moir and also hockey players like Jeff Skinner and Nathan MacKinnon has a proven track record of success,” said Dan Thompson, Skate Canada Chief Executive Officer. “The new CanSkate program will continue to offer all the components to create great skaters with fundamental skating skills that will transfer to all ice sports.”

The new program includes specific skills that pertain to hockey, ringette, speed skating and figure skating.  The result is a dynamic new program that prepares any skater for every ice sport. CanSkate is also modeled for the recreational skater to learn an active lifestyle activity.

Along with the new curriculum, other features include a fresh new look, new awards and great tools for coaches. Skate Canada is proud to have all its programs taught by professional coaches who are specially trained and certified through the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP).

CanSkate: Only The Best Can Bring Out Their Best

Action, movement and fun! Lessons are given in a group format with a coach-to-student ratio of a maximum 1:10. Skaters progress at their own rate and coaches make sessions active using teaching aids, upbeat music and a wide variety of activities that create a motivational environment and promote learning.  Badges, ribbons and other incentives are used to benchmark skaters’ progress and reward effort and participation.

Skate Canada clubs from across Canada are excited as they prepare to deliver the new CanSkate and welcome all Canadians to learn the joy of skating. Please visit the Skate Canada website to find a club in your area.

ISU Junior Grand Prix Circuit Continues as Canadian Team Heads to Czech Republic

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send eight skaters, for a total of five entries to Ostrava, Czech Republic, from September 3-7, 2014, for the third ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating of the season. Canada will have one entry per category in men’s, ladies, and pair, and two entries in ice dance.

Roman Sadovsky, 15, Vaughan, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in the men’s division. Last season, Sadovsky placed 14th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Riga, Latvia, eighth in Minsk, Belarus, and 13th at the 2014 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. He also placed eighth at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in the senior category. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski at the YSRA Winter Club.

Kim DeGuise-Léveillée, 16, Sorel-Tracy, Que., will represent Canada in ladies. This will be her first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Representing CPA Sorel-Tracy, she is the 2014 Canadian junior champion. DeGuise-Léveillée is coached by Josée Picard and Marc-André Craig in Chambly, Que.

Julianne Séguin, 17, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 21, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the Canadian entry in the pair. Last season, they placed fourth at this event, and fifth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Minsk, Belarus. Séguin and Bilodeau, representatives of CPA Longueuil and CPA De Drummondville Inc., are the 2014 Canadian junior pair silver medallists. They are coached by Josée Picard and Patrice Archetto in Chambly, Que.

Mackenzie Bent, 17, Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen, 20, Oshawa, Ont., are the first of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Last season, they won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Riga, Latvia, placed seventh at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Kosice, Slovakia, and placed 12th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.Representing Uxbridge SC and Bowmanville FSC,Bent and MacKeen are the 2014 Canadian junior ice dance champions. They train at Scarboro Ice Dance Elite with coaches Juris Razgulajevs and Carol Lane.

Danielle Wu, 16, Burnaby, B.C., and Spencer Soo, 17, Burnaby, B.C., will also represent Canada in ice dance. Last season, they placed fifth at this event, and fourth in junior ice dance at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Wu and Soo are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the BC Centre of Excellence.

Carolyn Allwright of Kitchener, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader. Dr. Ed Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian medical team onsite. Cynthia Benson of Quispamsis, N.B., and Jacqueline Wickett Warren of Ottawa, Ont., are the Canadian officials at the event.

The ISU will be live streaming the competition via the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #3 – Ostrava, Czech Republic

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men’s Roman Sadovsky 15 Vaughan, Ont. YRSA Winter Club Tracey Wainman / Gregor Filipowski
Ladies Kim DeGuise-Léveillée 16 Sorel-Tracy, Que. CPA Sorel-Tracy Josée Picard / Marc-André Craig
Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 17/21 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA De Drummondville Inc. Josée Picard / Patrice Archetto
Ice Dance Mackenzie Bent / Garrett MacKeen 17/20 Uxbridge, Ont. / Oshawa, Ont. Uxbridge SC / Bowmanville FSC Juris Razgulajevs / Carol Lane
Ice dance Danielle Wu / Spencer Soo 16/17 Burnaby, B.C. / Burnaby, B.C. Burnaby FSC / Burnaby FSC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe

Silver Saturday for Canadian ice dancers at Junior Grand Prix

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Ice dancers Brianna Delmaestro of Port Moody, B.C., and Timothy Lum of Burnaby, B.C., earned their first career medal on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit on Saturday placing second overall.

Daria Morozova and Mikhail Zhirmov of Russia won the gold medal with 131.54 points just ahead of the Canadians at 131.30, a personal best score. Holly Moore and Daniel Klaber of the U.S., took third at 129.26.

‘’It was the presentation that really got us the medal,’’ said Lum, 19. ‘’We showed strong technical skills but it was the performance that made the difference. It feels great and now we can start thinking about potentially going to the Junior Grand Prix final and world juniors.’’

The couple have only been together for just over a year.

‘’We are both committed to the partnership and the programs and those are our strengths,’’ said Delmaestro, 18. ‘’Today we knew that a medal was a possibility if we skated our best.’’

Valerie Taillefer and Jason Chan of Montreal were ninth.

In women’s competition, Selena Zhao of Varennes, Que., took 10th spot overall in her international debut with Julianne Delaurier of Kelowna, B.C., 17th. Serafima Sakhanovich of Russia won the gold medal.

‘’I was O.K. with the performance but I had to fight through everything,’’ said Zhao, 16, seventh after the short program. ‘’I was happy that I didn’t give up. There are a lot of points that have the ability to go out there and get. My goal is to have two solid programs by the end of the season.’’

In Friday’s men’s competition, Anthony Kan of Richmond Hill, Ont., was sixth and Mitchell Gordon of Vancouver seventh.

Kan was third after the short program on Thursday and was hoping to fare better in the final.

‘’The long program didn’t start the way I started and I had a mental blockage from there on in particularly with the jumps,’’ said Kan, 19. ‘’I need to work on improving and refining my presentation and by the end of the season I would like to have a consistent triple Axel and quad toe.’’

Gordon roared from 13th place after the short.

‘’I’m not as comfortable with the short program as the long right now,’’ said Gordon. ‘’It was nice to come back in the long and I really stick with the plan from start to finish. Still, I need to get my triple Axel back working and work harder on that short program.’’

The next stop on the circuit is September 5-6 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpslo2014/index.htm

 

Anthony Kan takes sixth place at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Anthony Kan of Richmond Hill, Ont., showed great improvement over his previous ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating result but was probably hoping to fare better than sixth in men’s singles on Friday at the season’s second stop.

Boyang Jin of China took the men’s gold with 220.77 points, Alexander Petrov of Russia was second at 216.33 and his compatriot Dmitri Aliev was third at 185.84.

Kan, in only his second career Junior Grand Prix, was third after Thursday’s short program, but dropped to sixth with the 10th best free skate at 162.52. He delivered an inconsistent performance particularly in the second half of the program. Kan was 12th at his only other Junior Grand Prix appearance in 2012.

Mitchell Gordon of Vancouver did the complete opposite climbing from 13th after the short to seventh overall at 161.85 with an uplifting number to Irish music. It was the fifth best long program and he landed six of his seven triple jumps.

In ice dancing, Brianna Delmaestro of Port Moody, B.C., and Timothy Lum of Burnaby, B.C., are in second spot after the short dance at 49.14. Daria Morozova and Mikhail Zhirnov of Russia are slightly ahead at 49.80.

Canadian novice champions Valerie Taillefer and Jason Chan of Montreal, in their international debut, are ninth.

In women’s competition after Thursday’s short program, Selena Zhao of Varennes, Que., is seventh and Julianne Delaurier of Kelowna, B.C., 13th.

The free dance and women’s free skate are on Saturday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpslo2014/index.htm

World-class skaters headline Skate Canada’s first-ever Autumn Classic International

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will host the inaugural 2014 Skate Canada Autumn Classic International in Barrie, Ontario from October 14-17, 2014 at the Allandale Recreation Centre. This senior international competition is part of the International Skating Union’s (ISU) Challenger Series.

While skaters from 22 different countries have entered the event, Canada leads the way with 16 entries. Five members of the Canadian 2014 Olympic silver medal team, Meagan Duhamel, Eric Radford, Kirsten Moore-Towers, Kaetlyn Osmond and Kevin Reynolds headline the home entries. Other notable competitors include Narumi Takahashi of Japan (2012), who will compete with partner Ryuichi Kihara.

Barrie natives and Canadian world and Olympic team members Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam will return to their hometown to compete in ice dance. Also challenging for the ice dance title will be Canadian world team members Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier.

The 2014 Autumn Classic International is one of 11 competitions that will form the ISU’s new Challenger Series. Athletes have the opportunity to compete at the senior level and earn world standing points. Competitors are eligible to participate in up to three Challenger Series events.

The senior only competition will run in conjunction with the Skate Canada-Central Ontario Section Octoberfest competition. A full list of competitors has been posted on the ISU website.

Tickets are general admission and will be sold at the door only. Adult tickets are $6 per day, $4 for seniors and children under 12, and children under three are free.

MENS

Nam NGUYEN
Kevin REYNOLDS
Andrei ROGOZINE
Jeremy TEN

LADIES

Gabrielle DALEMAN
Kaetlyn OSMOND
Julianne SEGUIN

ICE DANCE

Piper GILLES / Paul POIRIER
Nicole ORFORD / Thomas WILLIAMS
Alexandra PAUL / Mitchell ISLAM
Andreanne POULIN / Marc-Andre SERVANT

PAIRS

Meagan DUHAMEL / Eric RADFORD
Vanessa GRENIER / Maxime DESCHAMPS
Kirsten MOORE-TOWERS / Michael MARINARO
Natasha PURICH / Andrew WOLFE

 

Canadian Skaters Headed to Slovenia for Second ISU Junior Grand Prix

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send eight skaters, for a total of six entries to Ljubljana, Slovenia for the second ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating of the season. Canada will have two entries in men’s, ladies, and ice dance. There will be no pair competition at the event, which takes place from August 27-31, 2014.

Mitchell Gordon, 18, Vancouver, B.C., is the first of two entries in men’s for Canada. Last season, he placed 11th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and also placed 11th at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, competing as a senior. In 2013, he placed 16th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Gordon is coached by Eileen Murphy and Keegan Murphy at the Connaught Figure Skating Club in Richmond, B.C.

Anthony Kan, 19, Richmond Hill, Ont., is the second entry for Canada in the men’s category. This will be his second time competing on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, having placed 12th in Chemnitz, Germany in 2012. Last season, the representative of York Region Skating Academy placed 14th at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, competing in the senior men’s category. He is coached by Heather Austman and Keegan Murphy and trains out of the Connaught Figure Skating Club.

Julianne Delaurier, 16, Kelowna, B.C., is one of two entries representing Canada in the ladies category. Last season, she placed ninth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Gdansk, Poland, and won silver in the junior category at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Karen Mongrain and Jason Mongrain at the Kelowna Figure Skating Club.

Selena Zhao, 16, Varennes, Que. – Colorado Springs, USA, will also represent Canada in the ladies division. Zhao will be making her international debut for Canada, representing CPA Varennes. She is coached by Christy Krall and Damon Allen in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Brianna Delmaestro, 18, Port Moody, B.C., and Timothy Lum, 19, Burnaby, B.C., are one of two entries in ice dance for Canada. Delmaestro and Lum placed fifth at both their ISU Junior Grand Prix Assignments last season in Gandsk, Poland, and Tallinn, Estonia. Representing Coquitlam SC and Burnaby FSC, they won the bronze medal in junior ice dance at the 2014 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the BC Centre of Excellence.

Valerie Taillefer, 15, Montreal, Que., and Jason Chan, 18, Saint-Laurent, Que., will be competing at their first international assignment, representing Canada in ice dance. The duo from Club de Patinage des Deux-Rives and Saint-Laurent FSC are the 2014 Canadian novice ice dance champions. Taillefer and Chan are coached by Elise Hamel and Shawn Winter at Sportplexe 4 Glaces Pierrefonds.

Petra Burka of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader. Dr. Ed Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and physiotherapist Paige Larson of North Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian medical team onsite. Debbie Islam of Barrie, Ont., and Ron Conacher of Toronto, Ont., are the Canadian officials at the event.

The ISU will be live streaming the competition via the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #2 – Ljubljana, Slovenia

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men’s Mitchell Gordon 18 Vancouver, B.C. Connaught Figure Skating Club Eileen Murphy / Keegan Murphy
Men’s Anthony Kan 19 Richmond Hill, Ont. York Region Skating Academy Heather Austman / Keegan Murphy
Ladies Julianne Delaurier 16 Kelowna, B.C. Richmond Training Centre Karen Mongrain / Jason Mongrain
Ladies Selena Zhao 16 Varennes, Que. – Colorado Springs, USA CPA Varennes Christy Krall / Damon Allen
Ice Dance Brianna Delmaestro / Timothy Lum 18/19 Port Moody, B.C. / Burnaby, B.C. Coquitlam SC / Burnaby FSC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
Ice dance Valerie Taillefer / Jason Chan 15/18 Montreal, Que. / Saint-Laurent, Que. Club de Patinage des Deux-Rives/ Saint Laurent FSC Elise Hamel / Shawn Winter

Nam Nguyen takes on the ISU Senior Grand Prix circuit for the first time

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Not only has Nguyen benefited from training alongside an Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu and a European champion Javier Fernandez, with high style and quad jumps peppering the practice sessions in Toronto, but the 16-year-old found himself invited to a skating show in Japan in early summer with some of the best skaters in the world.

There was Nguyen, 2014 world junior champion, world championship competitor, on the same ice with Stephane Lambiel, Daisuke Takahashi, Nobunari Oda and his training mate Yuzuru Hanyu, the reigning Olympic champion. “It’s humbling, but it’s good for him,” said coach Brian Orser.

“It was amazing,” Nguyen said. “The rink was really small and that didn’t really stop any of them doing quad toes. It was crazy. And Yuzu was just on fire. ” With Nguyen watching, Hanyu did a quad Salchow, a quad toe loop, a quad loop. And he landed a quad Lutz right in front of Nguyen. “It was pretty cool,” Nguyen said.

It was the perfect launch to Nguyen’s first season on the senior Grand Prix circuit. He’ll be competing at Skate America and Cup of China, although not Skate Canada in Kelowna, B.C. Wherever he skates, he’ll be stepping up what he did last year.

Although Nguyen got off to a slow and frustrating start last season, no doubt because of his incredible growth spurt, he ended the season increasing his technical content with each competition: triple Axel, triple Axel-double toe loop, triple Axel-triple toe loop. This year, he’s not slowing down, and has been tackling a quad Salchow. He fell at his first attempt at the Thornhill Summer Skate.

The good news? Coach Brian Orser has told Nguyen that he’s getting this quad more quickly than the triple Axel, which took him two years to master. “This one is less than a year,” Nguyen said. The quad is his third jump, and it will be an interesting mental exercise to do it. It’s preceded by two triple Axels. The trick, Orser said, is to keep Nguyen calm during the two Axels – when he knows that quad is coming.

“He’s been training it well,” Orser said. “It’s a little under-rotated, but it looks like one, and you can see that it’s going to be one.”

Nguyen is also wrestling with two new programs and he’s breaking loose with a new musical concept for skating with his short program to “The Sinnerman.” At first, choreographer Jeff Buttle wanted him to skate to classical music, but Nguyen didn’t like the idea that it was music from the same choreographer as last year’s long program (Bach). “I asked him for something a little more upbeat and more fun that I can skate to,” Nguyen said.

Buttle emerged with “The Sinnerman” and for the first few days, Nguyen was against this one, too, thinking he couldn’t skate to it. His parents told him to have faith in Buttle. But when Nguyen heard the first music cut, he fell in love with it. “I was wrong,” Nguyen said. “It was amazing when I heard it. It’s pretty cool and I have had a great time skating to it.”

The Sinnerman is an African American traditional spiritual song, and Buttle used the soundtrack from the 1999 movie “The Thomas Crown Affair” (starring Pierce Brosnan) about the theft of a valuable piece of art from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The routine is different for Nguyen because he’s never skated to vocals before. “Jeff took full advantage of that,” Nguyen said. “It was kind of weird doing it the first time, especially going into my first triple Axel. I’m not used to that, but it’s pretty cool and I’m sure I can quickly adjust to it.”

Choreographer David Wilson picked out “La Strada” for Nguyen’s long program. “I liked it because Daisuke Takahashi skated to it at the 2010 Olympics and also Jeff Buttle during the 2002 season,” Nguyen said. “I’ve watched their programs a lot and I wanted to not copy them, but get an idea of how they performed to the music so I can apply my own version to it. I like it a lot.”

What is his own version? Wilson and music maestro Hugo Chouinard were clever enough to pick some music cuts from the popular “La Strada” that other skaters haven’t used. To Nguyen, it’s like a new discovery. “So we have the more main stream music pieces, and we also have the more unknown pieces,” Nguyen said. “I think that will make my program interesting and very special.”

“La Strada is a nice segway into big boy skating,” Orser said. “We can’t do the cute. It doesn’t fly in senior. You need to have speed and power.” Nguyen has been working on increasing his speed going into his jumps, too.

When he performed the free at Thornhill, his score of 146.46 almost matched his personal best score set at the world championships last March. He’s off to a good start. “Usually my first competitions of the season are terrible,” Nguyen admitted. “And this year is the first time I’ve competed pretty late, and I think I did an excellent job, putting out my two new programs. They are not perfect yet, and I need to work much harder and improve every little detail in my program.”

He’s already had a taste of senior international championships last year, having finished 10th at the Four Continents and a very respectable 12th at the world championships in Japan, despite having grown at least a foot.

And he’s still growing – in every way. Since the world championships, he’s grown another two inches and now stands five feet, 8 ½ inches tall. “This time, I already know what it feels like and I wanted to face it head on and just continue my practice sessions normal, everyday,” Nguyen said. “And that worked. There are some days I have a lot of struggles, but I’m okay right now.”

At Thornhill Summer Skate, he sported a pair of size eight shoes. At home he has a pair that are size nine. Nguyen is prepared to grow into himself.