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

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five entries, for a total of eight skaters, to Moscow, Russia, for the 2015 Rostelecom Cup. Canada will have one entry per discipline in men’s, ladies and ice dance, and two entries in pair at the event which takes place from November 20-22, 2015.

Canadian champion Nam Nguyen, 17, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in men’s. This will be his first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, Nguyen won silver at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International and placed fifth at Skate Canada International. He is coached by Brian Orser and Ernest Pryhitka at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club.

Canadian silver medallist Alaine Chartrand, 19, Prescott, Ont., will be Canada’s entry in the ladies category. Last season, she won the bronze medal at this event. Earlier this season, she placed fourth at the Nebelhorn Trophy and 12^th at Skate America. The representative of the Nepean Skating Club is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 23, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 23, Sarnia, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in pair. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, Moore-Towers and Marinaro won bronze at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and also won bronze at Skate Canada International. The representatives of Kitchener-Waterloo SC and Point Edward SC are coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier, Sylvie Fullum, Julie Marcotte and Cynthia Lemaire at CPA Saint-Léonard.

Hayleigh Bell, 19, Acton, Ont., and Rudi Swiegers, 28, Kipling, Sask., will be Canada’s second entry in the pair category. This will be their second international assignment since teaming up this summer. Earlier this season, they placed fifth at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International. Representing Skate Regina, the pair train in Calgary, Alta., with coaches Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay.

Canadian champions and 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 third time competing at this event, having won silver in 2011 and 2013. Earlier this season, they won gold at the Finlandia Trophy and gold at Skate Canada International. The representatives of Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC are coached by Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo and Shae-Lynn Bourne in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Bev Viger of Abbotsford, B.C., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Lee Schofield of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Scott Fraser of Kingston, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Leanna Caron of Timmins, Ont., and Reaghan Fawcett of Aurora, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2015 ROSTELECOM CUP