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Gilles and Poirier win silver at Grand Prix

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BORDEAUX, France – Canadian ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier won the silver medal on Saturday at the Eric Bompard Trophy figure skating competition which is the fifth stop on the ISU Grand Prix circuit.

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France were the winners with 166.66 points followed by Gilles and Poirier at 157.58, a season’s best.  Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S., were third at 152.11.

‘’For us it is mission accomplished,’’ said Poirier, who has won three silver medals with his partner in international competitions this season. ‘’While the score was similar to what we did at Skate Canada we felt we improved a lot. There’s still the issue of consistency we need to work on to help us move up another notch.’’

Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Toronto were sixth.

In pairs, Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia staved off two Chinese pairs for the gold.  Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., were seventh with a clean program that left the Canadians with big smiles upon completion and a season-best score.

In women’s competition, Elena Radionova led Russia to a 1-2 finish.  Véronik Maillet of Sept-Iles, Que., was 10th,  also with a season-best.

‘’Landing my first three jumps was a good way to start my free skate,’’ said Maillet, 20.  ‘’Coming back after a disappointing performance (in her short program Friday) is part of the learning process.’’

The sixth and last stop on the circuit before the Grand Prix final, is the NHK Trophy next weekend in Osaka, Japan.  The Grand Prix Final is December 11-14 in Barcelona.

Gold for Iliushechkina and Moscovitch

Meanwhile at the Warsaw Cup in Poland, new pairs partners Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto’s Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, won the gold medal in pairs in their international debut with 163.02 points.

‘’We are very happy and proud to have won Warsaw Cup. We didn’t have our best skate in the free but we are overall very happy with how the week went,’’ said Moscovitch. ‘’It is our first full competition together and are still finding our groove. As a team, with Lee, Tracy and Bryce, we are doing some great work and feel very optimistic about what lies ahead.’’

After success with other partners, Iliushechkina and Moscovitch teamed up in the spring of 2014. She had competed for her native Russia, and received her clearance certificate from the ISU this fall, allowing her to skate for Canada alongside Moscovitch.

Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin of Russia were second at 158.16 and Valentina Marchei and Ondrej Hotarek of Italy third at 154.60.

Iliushechkina and Moscovitch were the only Canadian entries in Warsaw.

Full results: 2014 Trophée Eric Bompard: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpfra2014/

2014 Warsaw Cup: http://www.pfsa.com.pl/warsawcup2014/

Gilles and Poirier in medal contention at Grand Prix

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BORDEAUX, France – Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier neared their personal best score for the short dance on Friday to stand second at the fifth stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France lead the field with 64.06 points just ahead of the Canadians at 61.90. The personal best for Gilles, from Unionville, Ont., and Poirier from Toronto, is 62.38 set at the Four Continents meet last season.  Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S., stand third at 60.19.

‘’Paul and I were really happy with our performance today,’’ said Gilles.  ‘’It is the first competition we felt really on and had no major mistakes.  Our energy level could still be a bit higher but we are happy where we stand heading into the free dance.’’

Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Toronto are sixth.

Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., are seventh after the pairs short program and Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., 11th after the women’s short.

Canada has no entries in men’s competition.  All free skates are on Saturday.

Strong start for Iliushechkina and Moscovitch

Meanwhile at the Warsaw Cup in Poland, new pairs partners Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto’s Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, made a scintillating debut on Friday and are in first place after the short program with 55.40 points.

‘’We are happy with tonight’s outcome,’’ said Moscovitch.  ‘’It wasn’t our best skate but we had some solid elements in the program that we are happy with.  It was our first international as a team and it was also the first time we competed with the triple twist.  Our skating is on track for where we need to be at this point and we are looking forward to the free program.’’

After success with other partners, Iliushechkina and Moscovitch teamed up in the spring of 2014. She had competed for her native Russia, and received her clearance certificate from the ISU this fall, allowing her to skate for Canada alongside Moscovitch.

Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin of Russia are second at 53.96 and their compatriots  Arina Cherniavskaia and Antonino Souza-Kordyeru third at 52.96.

The free skate is Saturday.  Iliushechkina and Moscovitch are the only Canadian entries in Warsaw.

Full results: 2014 Trophee Eric Bompard: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpfra2014/

2014 Warsaw Cup: http://www.pfsa.com.pl/warsawcup2014/

Canadians off to France for Trophée Eric Bompard

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OTTAWA, ON: Seven Canadians skaters are preparing to head to Bordeaux, France for the 2014 Trophée Eric Bompard competition this week from November 21-23, 2014. Canada will send one entry in ladies and pair and two in ice dance.

Trophée Eric Bompard is the fifth of six competitions on the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, which qualifies skaters for the ISU Grand Prix Final, taking place December 11-14 in Barcelona, Spain.

Alexandra Paul, 23, Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 24, Barrie, Ont., are one of two Canadian entries in the ice dance category. This will be their second stop on the grand prix circuit; they placed fifth at Cup of China at the start of November. Representing the Barrie SC, Paul and Islam train at the Detroit Skating Club with coaches Pasquale Camerlengo, Angelika Krylova, and Natalia Deller.

Piper Gilles, 22, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 22, Unionville, Ont., will compete in ice dance. They have captured two silver medals already this season, at the Skate Canada Autumn Classic International and then at their first grand prix stop in Kelowna, B.C., at Skate Canada International. Representing the Scarboro FSC they are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ont.

Véronik Mallet, 20, Sept-Îles, Que., is the only Canadian in the ladies division. The representative of CPA Sept-Îles placed 10th at Skate Canada International earlier this season and seventh at the Nebelhorn Trophy. She is coached by Annie Barabé and Maximin Coïa at CTC Contrecoeur.

In pair Kirsten Moore-Towers, 22, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 22, Sarnia, Ont., will represent Canada. This will only be their second completion together after teaming up in the spring. The representatives of Kitchener-Waterloo SC and Point Edward SC placed sixth at Skate Canada International, their international debut. Moore-Towers and Marinaro are coached by Kristy Wirtz and Kris Wirtz at the Kitchener-Waterloo Skating Club.

Carolyn Allwright of Kitchener, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader. Dr. Lee Schofield of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Scott Fraser of Kingston, Ont., will be the Canadian medical team onsite. Skate Canada President Leanna Caron will be the Canadian official at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2014 TROPHÉE ERIC BOMPARD

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Ice Dance Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam 23/24 Midhurst, Ont. / Barrie, Ont. Barrie SC / Barrie SC Pasquale Camerlengo / Angelika Krylova / Natalia Deller
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 22/22 Toronto, Ont. – Colorado Springs, CO, U.S.A. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 22/22 St. Catharines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. Kitchener-Waterloo SC / Point Edward SC Inc. Kristy Wirtz / Kris Wirtz
Ladies Véronik Mallet 20 Sept- Îles, Que. CPA Sept-Îles Annie Barabé / Maximin Coïa