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Silver and bronze for Canadian ice dancers at U.S. International Figure Skating Classic

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SALT LAKE CITY – Ice dance teams Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., and Nicole Orford of Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams of Okotoks, Alta., earned silver and bronze medals on Saturday to conclude the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic.

Two-time world champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the U.S., won the gold medal with 183.69 points. Weaver and Poje followed at 161.99 and Orford and Williams were third at 137.60.

Weaver and Poje`s season was shortened in 2012-13 when Weaver broke her ankle. However they came back a few weeks later to place an impressive fifth at the world championships. Weaver had successful surgery this past summer on her foot to remove a plate and five screws used to repair the ankle.

‘’This competition was a test for my foot and it felt great,’’ said Weaver. ‘’We’ve never competed this early in the season so it’s nice to get these programs out there. Now we have five weeks before our next competition to clean up the programs.’’

‘’Last year we had some bumps in the road,’’ added Poje. ‘’Those challenges have actually made us a stronger team., It showed us what we are capable of.’’

Orford and Williams are only in their second season at the senior level but they’ll take a stab at trying to gain an Olympic spot.

‘’We are very happy with this kind of start to the season,’’ said Williams. ‘’The performance level was there. We stayed engaged with the judges and ourselves. We know we are going to have to push harder against a very deep field if we want to earn that chance to wear the Canadian uniform.’’

In women’s singles, Courtney Hicks led an American medal sweep with 171.88 points. Amélie Lacoste of Delson, Que., ranked fourth in both the short program and Saturday’s long program for fifth overall at 147.88.

Lacoste introduced her new routine which she will use in her bid to land a spot on the Olympic team. It is choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne.

‘’It’s a good start to the season,’’ said Lacoste, 24, the 2012 Canadian champion. ‘’I lost my focus at the end of my program and that hurt my standing. But this is a program I love and right now I need to gain more confidence on my jumps.’’

On Friday, Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto successfully defended their pairs title.

Louis Daignault

Moore-Towers and Moscovitch win gold at U.S. International Figure Skating Classic

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SALT LAKE CITY – Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto successfully defended their pairs title on Friday at the U.S., International Figure Skating Classic.

Moore-Towers and Moscovitch totalled 201.30 points for the gold with Caydee Denney and John Coughlin of the U.S. second at 188.47 and their compatriots Tarah Kayne and Daniel O’Shea third at 167.27.

“We made it exciting with some trouble on our last lift but Dylan showed great strength to pull us through,” said Moore-Towers, fourth with her partner last season at the world championships.  “It’s only the second time we had performed this program and our performance tonight bodes well for the rest of the season.”

Paige Lawrence of Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., were fifth at 155.00.

In men’s singles, Max Aaron led a U.S. medal sweep.  Andrei Rogozine of Richmond Hill, Ont., was seventh.

In ice dancing, Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the U.S., are first after the short dance with Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., second and Nicole Orford and Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams of Okotoks, Alta., third.

In women’s singles, the U.S. holds the top-three spots with Amélie Lacoste of Delson, Que., fourth.

The free dance and women’s singles final are on Saturday.

Canadians Head to Salt Lake City for U.S. International Figure Skating Classic

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada will send six entries to the 2013 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, a senior international competition. The event runs from September 11-15, 2013, in Salt Lake City, UT. Canada will have entries in all four disciplines: men’s, ladies, pair, and ice dance.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 21, St. Catharines, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch, 28, Toronto, Ont, are the first of two Canadian pair teams at this event. Moore-Towers and Moscovitch are defending pair champions at this event. Last season, the Canadian silver medalists also won silver at the NHK Trophy in Japan and the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and placed fourth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.  The pair trains with Kris Wirtz and Kristy Wirtz at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club.

Paige Lawrence, 23, Kennedy, Sask., and Rudi Swiegers, 25, Kipling, Sask., are the second entry in pair for Canada. Lawrence and Swiegers won silver at this event in 2012. The 2013 Canadian bronze medalists also placed fourth at Skate Canada International and the Cup of Russia, as well as sixth at the 2013 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships last season. Lawrence and Swiegers train in Melville, Sask., and Virden, Man., and are coached by Patricia Hole and Lyndon Johnston.

Kaitlyn Weaver, 24, Waterloo, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 26, Waterloo, Ont., will lead the way for Canada in the ice dance category. Last season, Weaver and Poje placed fifth at the 2013 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. They also won bronze at both of their assignments on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, Cup of China and Skate America. They are coached by Pasquale Camerlengo and Angelika Krylova in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Canadian bronze medalists Nicole Orford, 20, Burnaby, B.C., and Thomas Williams, 22, Okotoks, Alta, will also represent Canada in ice dance. Last season, they placed eighth at the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow, and fourth at the NHK Trophy in Japan. They are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the B.C. Centre of Excellence.

Canadian bronze medallist Andrei Rogozine, 20, Richmond Hill, Ont, will represent Canada in men’s. The 2011 World Junior Champion placed 10th at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and 13th at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships last season. He is coached by Inga Zusev and Andrei Berezintsev and trains at the Richmond Hill Figure Skating Club.

Amélie Lacoste, 24, Delson, Que., is the sole entry in the ladies category for Canada. Lacoste earned a bronze medal at this event in 2012. She also placed eighth at Skate Canada International, sixth at the Cup of China, and ninth at the 2013 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships last season. Lacoste is coached by Nathalie Martin, Sylvie Fullum, and Denis Beaudoin at CPA Saint-Léonard in Montreal, Que.

Petra Burka of Toronto, Ont., will be travelling with the team as team leader, and Agnes Makowski, also of Toronto, Ont., will be the team physiotherapist. Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., and Nicole Leblanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., will be the Canadian officials at the event.