Posts

Another productive weekend for Canadian figure skaters in Europe

/0 Comments/in /by

OTTAWA, ON – Canadian figure skaters collected gold and silver this past weekend at European stops on the ISU Challenger Series and ISU Junior Grand Prix.

In Espoo, Finland at the third stop on the Challenger series, ice dancers Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., picked-up where they left off last season with a gold medal performance in their season debut on Saturday.  Weaver and Poje, who won five gold medals last season in international competition, totalled 161.67 points placing first in both the short dance and free skate.

“We had two great programs although there were some mistakes,” said Weaver, third with her partner at the world championships this past March. “But these events are an opportunity to see the areas we need to improve and get some important feedback.”

The next event for Weaver and Poje is Skate Canada International October 30 to November 1 in Lethbridge, Alta.

Brianna Delmaestro of Port Moody, B.C., and Timothy Lum of Burnaby, B.C., were seventh.

In men’s competition on Sunday, Liam Firus of North Vancouver produced the fifth best free skate to climb from ninth to seventh overall. Konstantin Menshov of Russia edged Adam Rippon of the U.S. by six points for the gold.

Meanwhile in Zagreb, Croatia at the seventh stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit which concluded Saturday, Nicolas Nadeau of Blainville, Que., was the Canadian star with a silver medal in men’s singles.  Nadeau bettered his personal best by nearly 50 points.

“My success was because I finally put together and strong short program and strong free program,” said Nadeau, 18. “Usually one or the other I tend to struggle with. I came into this competition with no hope of making the Grand Prix Final so I just wanted a strong international performance and impress the judges.”

Kim Decelles of Baie-Comeau Que., finished ninth in women’s singles and ice dancers Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve of Montreal and Jeff Hough of Russell, Ont., were also ninth.

The Grand Prix Final for the junior and seniors is December 10-13 in Barcelona.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/jgpcro2015/index.htm and http://www.figureskatingresults.fi/results/1516/CSFIN2015/index.htm

Ninth place finishes for Canadians at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/0 Comments/in /by

ZAGREB, Croatia – Kim Decelles of Baie-Comeau Que., finished ninth in women’s singles while ice dancers Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve of Montreal and Jeff Hough of Russell, Ont., produced the same result at the seventh stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

In women’s competition, Japan was 1-2 with Marin Honda and Wakaba Higuchi taking gold and silver. Diana Pervushkina of Russia was third.
Decelles was fifth after the short program on Friday but was unable to duplicate that strong performance in Saturday’s long.

In ice dancing, Rachael Parsons and Michael Parsons of the U.S. were the winners with Anastasia Skoptova and Kirill Aleshin of Russia second and their compatriots Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko third.

Croteau-Villeneuve and Hough, sixth at their previous assignment last month, were ninth after the short dance.

Nadeau excited about silver

Nicolas Nadeau was still excited about his silver medal performance on Friday where he smashed his previous personal best by almost 50 points.  He scored 223.46 and was less than half a point from gold. On Saturday, Nadeau said he just wanted a solid Grand Prix result on his resume.

“My success was because I finally put together and strong short program and strong free program,” said Nadeau, 18, the reigning Canadian junior champion. “Usually one or the other I tend to struggle with. I came into this competition with no hope of making the Grand Prix Final so I just wanted a strong international performance and impress the judges.”

The Grand Prix Final for the junior and seniors is December 10-13 in Barcelona.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/jgpcro2015/index.htm

Canada’s Nicolas Nadeau wins silver at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/0 Comments/in /by

ZAGREB, Croatia – Canadian junior champion Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., won the silver medal in a very close men’s competition on Friday at the seventh stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Alexander Samarin of Russia was the winner with 223.84 points edging the 18-year-old Nadeau who totalled 223.46. Tomoki Hiwatashi of Japan was third at 197.62.

Nadeau smashed his previous best international score by almost 50 points. He landed two triple Axels including one in combination with a triple toe to open the program.  He made an attempt at a quad toe but rushed it and stepped out in mid-flight.

In women’s competition, Wakaba Higuchi of Japan leads after the short program with Diana Pervushkina of Russia second and Marin Honda of Japan third.

Kim Decelles of Baie-Comeau, Que., is fifth less than six points behind Honda at 52.27.

In ice dancing after the short dance, Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve of Montreal and Jeff Hough of Russell, Ont., are ninth.

There is no pairs competition at this stop.

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

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/jgpcro2015/index.htm

Canadians stay put at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/0 Comments/in /by

LOGRONO, Spain – Canada’s two ice dancing entries at the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit placed sixth and seventh on Saturday.

Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of France won the gold medal with Betina Popova and Yuri Vlasenko of Russia second and Elliana Pogrebinsky and Alex Benoit of the U.S. third.

Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., were sixth and Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha seventh.

Bent and Razgulajevs, a new partnership this season, won the silver medal at the season’s second stop in Colorado.

“We achieved our goals this weekend,” said Bent, 17. “The result wasn’t what we had hoped for so we have to examine why that happened. But our goal for these junior Grand Prix is to show improvement and combined with our hard work in practice that is definitely happening.”

Lajoie and Lagha were pleased with their international debut. They produced the sixth best free dance of the day.

“It went super well, and I didn’t expect us to do this well,” said Lajoie, 14. “But we’ve been skating together for four years so I think that showed today. We weren’t as nervous as a couple which may have been together for a short time.”

Canada had no entries in men’s and women’s competition and there is no pairs event at this stop.  The seventh and last stop before the Final is this Thursday to Saturday in Zagreb, Croatia.

Full results: 2015 Logrono

Canadian ice dancers need to play catch-up at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/0 Comments/in /by

LOGRONO, Spain – Canada’s two ice dance entries at the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit are in sixth and seventh place after the short dance on Friday.

Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., silver medallists earlier this season, are in sixth place with 55.76 points while Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, at their first international assignment,  are seventh at 52.20.

Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of France lead with 61.83, Betina Popova and Yuri Vlasenko of Russia are second at 60.40 and Elliana Pogrebinsky and Alex Benoit of the U.S. third at 59.13.

Canada has no entries in men’s and women’s competition and there is no pairs event at this stop.
The free dance is on Saturday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/jgpesp2015/index.htm

Canadian skaters prepared for sixth stop on ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in Spain

/0 Comments/in /by

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have two entries, for a total of four skaters at the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in Logrono (La Rioja), Spain. The event takes place from September 30 – October 4, 2015, and will feature two Canadian teams in the ice dance category.

Mackenzie Bent, 17, Uxbridge, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs, 18, Ajax, Ont., are the first of two Canadian ice dance teams competing in Spain. This will be their second international assignment together. Earlier this season, they won silver at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Colorado Springs, USA. Training at Scarboro Ice Dance Elite, they are coached by Carol Lane, Jon Lane, and Juris Razgulajevs.

Marjorie Lajoie, 14, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 16, St.-Hubert, Que., will also represent Canada in ice dance. This will be their first international assignment. Last season, the representatives of CPA Boucherville and CPA St.-Lambert won the gold medal in the novice category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Lajoie and Lagha train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer and Pascal Denis.

Petra Burka of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Jodi Abbott of Edmonton, Alta., will be the only Canadian official 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 #6 – Logrono (La Rioja), Spain

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Ice dance Mackenzie Bent / Dmitre Razgulajevs 17/18 Uxbridge, Ont. / Ajax, Ont. Uxbridge SC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Jon Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Ice Dance Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha 14/16 Boucherville, Que. / St.-Hubert, Que. CPA Boucherville / CPA St.-Lambert Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer / Pascal Denis

Canada’s Roman Sadovsky lands bronze at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/0 Comments/in , , , , , , , , , , /by

TORUN, Poland – Canadian Roman Sadovsky ended a rough day on the podium Saturday finishing third in men’s competition at the fifth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Sota Yamamoto of Japan took the gold with 232.42 points, Dennis Vasiljevs of Latvia was second at 207.83 and the 16-year-old Sadovsky from Vaughn, Ont., followed in third at 198.38.

Sadovsky, the gold medallist at the season opening event in Slovakia last month, was second after the short program but had a rough start to his day on Saturday.

“I had a terrible warm-up,” he said. “I fell on jumps I usually never fall on.  It was a real roller coaster of a day.”

If that wasn’t bad enough, Sadovsky broke the tongue in his skate boot just before executing his program.

“I didn’t have much confidence going into the long program and the skate felt different,” he said. “Still I was happy to show I could perform under pressure and I got the medal which was my objective here.”

After falling on his quad Salchow to open the long program, Sadovsky was able to regroup and produce a clean skate the rest of the way.  While it wasn’t his smoothest skate he continued to impress with his flexibility, spins and overall performance.

His two results this season put him in strong contention to compete at the ISU Grand Prix Final in December.

In ice dancing, American couples finished 1-2 with Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal fourth, less than a point from third spot with a personal best 140.80. Payten Howland and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette of Montreal were sixth.

“It was our best skate in competition,” said Andrew Meng. “We gave everything we had on the ice and had personal best scores in both the short and long programs. After the first Grand Prix we worked a lot on our footwork and choreography.”

The sixth stop is this Thursday to Saturday in La Rioja, Spain.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/jgppol2015/index.htm

Canadian pairs nears podium at ISU Junior Grand Prix

/0 Comments/in /by

TORUN, Poland – Bryn Hoffman and Bryce Chudak of Calgary came within five points of the podium in pairs competition on Friday at the fifth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Russians swept the podium. Ekaterina Borisova and Dmitry Sopot took the gold with 158.82 points, Amina Atakhanova and Ilia Spiridonov second at 149.52 and Anastasia Gubanova and Alexei Sintsov were third at 147.03.

Hoffman and Chudak reached major goals for this season surpassing 50 points for Thursday’s short program, 90 for the free skate and 140 points overall – all personal bests. They finished at 142.33. They were also fourth earlier this season at the third stop in Colorado Springs.

“We improved at all levels in our skating today,” said Hoffman. “We were much more together and we repeated what we had been doing in practice. It’s really encouraging for us to reach those point levels this early in the season. Our next big objective is to win a medal at nationals.”

Hope McLean of Newbury, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Strathroy, Ont., took sixth spot in their international debut.

Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal are in the medal hunt in ice dancing standing fifth less than a point from third place. Payten Howland and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette of Montreal are sixth, just three points from third. Both couples set personal bests at 57.61 and 54.15.

In men’s competition, Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., is second after Thursday’s short program. Sadovsky won gold last month at the season opening stop in Slovakia.

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s free skate and the free dance. Canada is not entered in women’s singles.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/jgppol2015/index.htm

ISU Junior Grand Prix Torun marks fifth event of season for Canadian junior skaters

/0 Comments/in /by

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five entries, for a total of nine skaters to Torun, Poland, for the fifth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. Canada will have one entry in men’s and two entries per discipline in pair and ice dance at the event which takes place from September 23-27, 2015.

Roman Sadovsky, 16, Vaughan, Ont., will be Canada’s sole entry in men’s. Earlier this season, he won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovakia. Last season he placed fifth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, 14th at the 2015 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships and fourth in the senior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Tracey Wainman at the YSRA Winter Club.

Bryn Hoffman, 18, Calgary, Alta., and Bryce Chudak, 20, Calgary, Atla., will be one of two Canadian pair entries. This season, they placed fourth at their first international assignment in the United States. Last season, the representatives of Calalta FSC placed seventh at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Hoffman and Chudak are coached by Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay.

Hope McLean, 16, Newbury, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 19, Strathroy, Ont., will also represent Canada in pair. This will be their first international assignment. Last season, the representatives of Mount Brydges SC and Prince Edward SC placed fourth at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. McLean and Michaud are coached by Alison Purkiss at the London Competitive Skating Centre.

Melinda Meng, 16, Montreal, Que., and Andrew Meng, 18, Montreal, Que., are the first of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Earlier this season, they placed fifth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Latvia. Last season, the representatives of CPA Laval placed seventh at their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment in France, and won bronze in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The Mengs are coached by Shawn Winter in Pierrefonds, Que.

Payten Howland, 16, St. Louis, MO, USA, and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette, 17, Montreal, Que., are Canada’s second entry in ice dance. This will be their second international assignment, having placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in the United States. earlier this season. Last season, the representatives of CPA Lorraine placed 10th in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Igor Shpilband, Fabian Bourzat, and Greg Zuerlein and train in Novi, MI, USA.

Carolyn Allwright of Kitchener, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Erika Persson of Edmonton, Alta., and physiotherapist Karen Seymour of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Debbie Islam of Barrie, Ont., and Susan Blatz of Burlington, 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 #5 – Torun, Poland

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Roman Sadovsky 16 Vaughan, Ont. YRSA Winter Club Tracey Wainman
Pair Bryn Hoffman / Bryce Chudak 18/20 Calgary, Alta. / Calgary, Alta. Calalta FSC / Calalta FSC Anabelle Langlois / Cody Hay
Pair Hope McLean / Trennt Michaud 16/19 Newbury, Ont. / Strathroy, Ont. Mount Brydges SC / Prince Edward SC Alison Purkiss
Ice Dance Melinda Meng / Andrew Meng 16/18 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA Laval / CPA Laval Shawn Winter
Ice Dance Payten Howland / Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette 16/17 St. Louis, MO, USA / Montreal, Que. CPA Lorraine / CPA Lorraine Igor Shpilband / Fabian Bourzat / Greg Zuerlein

Brasseur and Ostiguy place fifth at junior Grand Prix

/0 Comments/in /by

LINZ, Austria – Justine Brasseur of Brossard, Que., and Mathieu Ostiguy of Ste-Angele-de-Monnoir, Que., placed fifth in pairs on Saturday to conclude the fourth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Amina Atakhanova and Ilia Spiridonov of Russia took the gold with Anna Duskova and Martin Bidar of the Czech Republic second and Renata Oganesian and Mark Bardei of Ukraine third.

Brasseur and Ostiguy were sixth at the second stop in Riga, Latvia last month.

‘’We trained really hard after the last Grand Prix and it has really paid off,’’ said Brasseur, 14. ‘’We improved in all areas and had our best score.’’

In ice dancing, Alla Loboda and Pavel Drodz of Russia were the winners with Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of France second and Julia Biechler and Damian Dodge of the U.S. third.

Haley Sales of Burnaby, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C., were sixth and Ashlynne Stairs of Calgary and Lee Royer of St. Albert, Alta., eighth.

‘’Today we had a nice free dance even though we had a tough week,’’ said Sales, who became ill after landing in Europe after her first overseas trip. ‘’We had to make some adjustments because we didn’t get all our training in but we were able to put in a good performance.’’

It was also a first Junior Grand Prix experience for Stairs and Royer.

‘’We have to thanks our coaches for preparing us so well for this competition,’’ said Royer. ‘’We didn’t feel as nervous as I thought we would. We went in to do our best and got our highest scores.’’

In the men’s final, Dmitri Aliev of Russia won gold, Ivan Pavlov of Ukraine was second and Vincent Zhou of the U.S. was third.

Edrian Paul Celestino of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., produced he ninth best long program to climb from 17th to ninth overall.

‘’I definitely need to be more consistent with my jumping,’’ said Celestino. ‘’But this was better than my short program so it’s nice to leave here with some confidence.’’

The next stop on the circuit is in two weeks in Torun, Poland.

Full results: 2015 Cup of Austria

Canadian pair stands fourth after short program

/0 Comments/in /by

LINZ, Austria – Justine Brasseur of Brossard, Que., and Mathieu Ostiguy of Ste-Angele-de-Monnoir, Que., are in medal contention after Friday’s pairs short program at the fourth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Amina Atakhanova and Ilia Spiridonov of Russia are first at 56.11, Anna Duskova and Martin Bidar of the Czech Republic second at 55.76 and Renata Oganesian and Mark Bardei of Ukraine third at 53.17. Brasseur and Ostiguy, sixth at the second stop in Latvia last month, follow in fourth at 48.57.

The women’s competition concluded Friday with Maria Sotskova of Russia winning gold. Mai Mihara of Japan was second at Da Bin Choi of South Korea was third.

Megan Yim, a 13-year-old from Vancouver, completed her international debut in 12th place.

‘’It was a great learning experience,’’ said Yim, seventh a t the junior nationals last season. ‘’I didn’t have my finest skate today because I think the nerves got the best of me. My big goal is really to see improvement in all aspects of my skating by the end of the season.’’

In ice dancing after the short dance, Haley Sales of Burnaby, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C., are sixth and Ashlynne Stairs of Calgary and Lee Royer of St. Albert, Alta., seventh.

Edrian Paul Celestino of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., is 17th after the men’s short program. Competition ends Saturday.

Full results: 2015 Cup of Austria

ISU Junior Grand Prix Circuit Continues as Canadian Team Heads to Austria

/0 Comments/in /by

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five entries, for a total of eight skaters to the fourth competition on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, taking place in Linz, Austria, from September 9-13, 2015. Canada will have one entry per discipline in men’s, ladies and pair, and two entries in ice dance.
Canadian junior bronze medallist Edrian Paul Celestino, 17, Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que., will represent Canada in men’s. Last season, the representative of Saint Laurent FSC placed 11th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Tallinn. He is coached by Daniel Beland at the Dollard Civic Centre.

Megan Yim, 13, Vancouver, B.C., is Canada’s lone entry in ladies. Last season, she placed seventh in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. This will be her first international assignment. Yim is coached by Joanne McLeod at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Justine Brasseur, 14, Brossard, Que., and Mathieu Ostiguy, 18, Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, Que., are the Canadian pair entry at the event. Earlier this year, they placed sixth at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Latvia. Last season, the representatives of CPA Brossard and CPA Saint-Césaire won gold in the novice category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Brasseur and Ostiguy train in Chambly, Que., with coaches Josée Picard and Marc-André Craig.

Haley Sales, 18, Burnaby, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker, 18, Langley, B.C., are one of two Canadian ice dance entries at the event. Last season, the representatives of Kelowna SC and Champs International Skating Centre placed ninth in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. This will be their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. They are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe in Burnaby, B.C., at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Ashlynne Stairs, 15, Calgary, Alta., and Lee Royer, 17, St. Albert, Alta., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance and will also be competing at their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Last season, they placed fourth in the novice category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are also coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Petra Burka of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader. Dr. Ghislaine Robert of Montreal, Que., and physiotherapist Meghan Buttle of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical team onsite. Glenn Fortin of Aurora, Ont., and Janice Hunter of West Vancouver, B.C., will be 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 – Linz, Austria

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Edrian Paul Celestino 17 Dollard-des-Ormeaux, Que. Saint Laurent FSC Daniel Beland
Ladies Megan Yim 13 Vancouver, B.C. Champs International Skating Centre Joanne McLeod
Pair Justine Brasseur / Mathieu Ostiguy 14/18 Brossard, Que. / Sainte-Angèle-de-Monnoir, Que. CPA Brossard / CPA Saint-Césaire Josée Picard / Marc-André Craig
Ice dance Haley Sales / Nikolas Wamsteeker 18/18 Burnaby, B.C. / Langley, B.C. Kelowna SC / Champs International Skating Centre Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
Ice Dance Ashlynne Stairs / Lee Royer 15/17 Calgary, Alta. / St. Albert, Alta. Champs International Skating Centre / Champs International Skating Centre Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe