OTTAWA, ON: After a remarkable season, eight Canadian figure skating coaches received the 2014 Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award over the weekend. The awards were presented Friday, November 7th by the Coaching Association of Canada at the annual Sport Leadership Awards ceremony, during the Petro-Canada Sport Leadership conference in Ottawa, Ont.

The Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Awards recognize coaches whose athletes excelled at world championships, Olympic and Paralympic Games, and at the Special Olympics World Games.

“These coaches each represent the commitment and dedication that goes into every day of training and preparing our athletes to compete at the highest level,” said Dan Thompson, CEO, Skate Canada. “Their passion for sport and for making a positive impact on the lives of their athletes is remarkable. I’d like to thank the more than 5,000 certified professional coaches across the country who inspire Canadians to skate every day, and in particular to congratulate these eight coaches who have taken their athletes to the pinnacle of our sport.”

All of the coaches honoured had Canadian athletes or teams win gold, silver or bronze on the world stage. The figure skating coaches who received awards for their outstanding work with their athletes are:

• Richard Gauthier, Montreal, Quebec
  Athletes: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford
• Bruno Marcotte, Montreal, Quebec
  Athletes: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford
• Joanne McLeod, Vancouver, British Columbia
  Athlete: Kevin Reynolds
• Shelley Simonton-Barnett, Burlington, Ontario
  Athletes: Nexxice Synchronized Skating Team
• Anne Schelter, Carlisle, Ontario
  Athletes: Nexxice Synchronized Skating Team
• Ravi Walia, Edmonton, Alberta
  Athlete: Kaetlyn Osmond
• Kris Wirtz, Kitchener – Waterloo, Ontario
  Athletes: Kirsten Moore-Towers, Dylan Moscovitch
• Marina Zoueva, Canton, Michigan
  Athletes: Scott Moir, Tessa Virtue

Fifty coaches from a variety of sports in Canada were honoured at the banquet in Ottawa.