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Canadian ice dancers snare silver in international debut

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COLORADO SPRINGS – Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., won the silver medal in ice dancing on Saturday at the third stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Both Canadians have previous Junior Grand Prix experience but it was their first competition as a team.

Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter of the U.S. won the gold medal with 159.31 points, the Canadians followed at 133.27 and Sofia Polischuk and Alexander Vakhnov of Russia were third at 129.83.

‘’It’s very exciting to have such a great start,’’ said Bent. ‘’We had no expectations. Our main focus was to just stick to our plan on the ice.’’

While the two skaters hooked up this past April, they have actually known each other for 10 years having both trained at the Scarborough Figure Skating Club.

‘’I think knowing each other so well really helped us adapt quickly,’’ said Razgulajevs. ‘’We both have similar skating style.’’

Payten Howland, a St.Louis native, and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette were sixth only six points from third place.

In pairs, Bryn Hoffman and Bryce Chudak of Calgary came within less than five points of the podium placing fourth. Anastasia Gubanova and Alexei Stintsov of Russia were the winners.

Emy Decelles of Baie-Comeau, Que., was 12th in women’s competition. On Friday, Antony Cheng of Richmond Hill, Ont., was 13th in men’s singles.

The fourth stop on the circuit is this Thursday to Saturday in Linz, Austria.

Full results: 2015 Colorado Springs

Canadian ice dancers chase medal

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COLORADO SPRINGS – Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont. and Dmitre Razgulajevs of Ajax, Ont., are in second place after the short dance at the third stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter of the U.S. are first at 66.25 followed by the Canadians at 54.88. Chloe Lewis and Logan Bye of the U.S. are third. Payten Howland, a St. Louis native, and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette of Montreal are seventh.

In men’s competition, Nathan Chen of the U.S. took the gold with Daniel Samohin of Israel second and Sota Yamamoto of Japan third. Antony Cheng of Richmond Hill, Ont., was 13th.

In pairs after the short program, Bryn Hoffman and Bryce Chudak of Calgary are fifth. In women’s competition after the short Emy Decelles of Baie-Comeau, Que., is 12th.

Competition ends Saturday.

Full result: 2015 Colorado Springs

Canadian skaters continue on ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit in Colorado Springs, USA

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada will have five entries, for a total of eight skaters at the third ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating of the season. The event takes place in Colorado Springs, USA from September 2-6, 2015, and Canada will have one entry per category in men’s, ladies, and pair, and two entries in ice dance.

Antony Cheng, 17, Richmond Hill, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in the men’s division. Representing Thornhill FSC, Cheng is the 2015 Canadian silver medallist in the junior category. This will be Cheng’s first international assignment. He is coached by Katerina Papafotiou and Joanne McLeod.

Emy Decelles, 17, Baie-Comeau, Que., will be the sole Canadian entry in the ladies category. Last season, she placed 19th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Tallinn, Estonia. The representative of CPA Baie-Comeau also placed 10th in the junior women’s competition at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Karen Sauvageau and Fanny Jean at CPA Baie-Comeau.

Bryn Hoffman, 18, Calgary, Alta., and Bryce Chudak, 20, Calgary, Atla., will be the sole Canadian pair entry. This will be the first international assignment for the representatives of Calalta FSC. Last season, they placed seventh at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The pair are coached by Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay.

Mackenzie Bent, 17, Uxbridge, Ont., and Dmitre Razgulajevs, 18, Ajax, Ont., are one of two Canadian ice dance teams at the competition. This will be their first international assignment, having teamed up in the spring of 2015. Training at Scarboro Ice Dance Elite, they are coached by Carol Lane, Jon Lane, and Juris Razgulajevs.

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 first international assignment. 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.

Scott Rachuk of Strathroy, Ont., will be the Canadian team leader. Dr. Ed Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and physiotherapist Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., will be the Canadian medical team onsite. Lorna Schroder of Georgetown, 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 #3 – Colorado Springs, USA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Antony Cheng 17 Richmond Hill, Ont. Thornhill FSC Katerina Papafotiou / Joanne McLeod
Ladies Emy Decelles 17 Baie-Comeau, Que. CPA Baie Comeau Karen Sauvageau / Fanny Jean
Pair Bryn Hoffman / Bryce Chudak 18/20 Calgary, Alta. / Calgary, Alta. Calalta FSC / Calalta FSC Anabelle Langlois / Cody Hay
Ice dance Mackenzie Bent / Dmitre Razgulajevs 17/18 Uxbridge, Ont./ Ajax, Ont. Uxbridge SC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Jon Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
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

Meng and Meng stay in top-five at Junior Grand Prix

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RIGA, Latvia – Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal produced the third best free dance on Saturday to finish fifth overall in ice dancing at the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Betina Popova and Yuri Vlasenk of Russia won the gold medal, Angelique Abachkina and Louis Tauron of France were second and Sofia Evdomikova and Egor Bazin of Russia third.

The Mengs were fifth after the short program. While they didn’t advance in the standings after their standout performance Saturday they were only 2.06 points out of third spot. They scored an international personal best of 130.51 points.

Hannah Whitley of Creemore, Ont., and Elliott Graham of Angus, Ont., were seventh.

In men’s competition, Canadian junior champion Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., struggle in his long program and placed fifth overall. He was second after the short program on Thursday.

‘’It’s disappointing,’’ said Nadeau. ‘’One of my goals this year was to go to the Junior Grand Prix Final and that won’t happen now. Now my focus is going to be on competing at the nationals for the first time at the senior level.’’

Dmitri Aliev of Russia took the gold, Deniss Vailjevs of Latvia second and Alexei Krasnozhon of the U.S. third.

The third stop on the circuit is next weekend in Colorado Springs.

Full results: 2015 Riga Cup

Canadian skaters gain valuable experience at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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RIGA, Latvia – Justine Brasseur of Brossard, Que., and Mathieu Ostiguy of Ste-Angèle-de-Monnoir, Que., took sixth spot in in pairs to complete their international debut on Friday at the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit.

Renata Oganesian and Mark Bardei of Ukraine won gold with 144.29 points, Anastasia Poluianova and Stepan Korotkov of Russia were second at 138.75 and their compatriots Ekaterina Borisova and Dmitry Sopot were third at 135.42.

‘’We made two mistakes that cost us a higher placing,’’ said Brasseur, 14. ‘’Still we are very pleased with our first showing at the Junior Grand Prix. We have some goals we want to meet in terms of our scoring this season and we know what we need to do to improve.’’

In women’s competition, Maria Sotskova of Russia was the winner with Kaori Skamoto of Japan second and Da Bin Choi of South Korea third.

Sarah Tamura of Burnaby, B.C., produced the eighth best long program to jump from 21st to 13th overall.

‘’I had a disastrous short program and I wanted to bounce back from that,’’ said Tamura, 14. ‘’I wanted to go out there and skate my long program like I do every day in training and I achieved that.’’

In ice dancing earlier Friday, Melinda Meng and Andrew Meng of Montreal are fifth after the short dance and Hannah Whitley of Creemore, Ont., and Elliott Graham of Angus, Ont., sixth.

Men’s competition got underway Thursday. Canadian junior champion Nicolas Nadeau of Boisbriand, Que., stands second after the short program.

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

Full results: 2015 Riga Cup

Canadian skaters head to Latvia for second stop on ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send eight skaters, for a total of five entries to Riga, Latvia, for the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Canada will have one entry per category in men’s, ladies and pair, and two entries in ice dance. The competition takes place from August 26-30, 2015.

Canadian Junior Champion in 2015, Nicolas Nadeau, 17, Boisbriand, Que., is Canada’s sole entry in men’s. Last year, Nadeau placed fifth and 10th respectively at his ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments in Japan and Croatia. He also placed 25th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Nadeau trains at École Excellence Rosemère and is coached by Yvan Desjardins.

Sarah Tamura, 14, Burnaby, B.C., is Canada’s lone entry in ladies. Last season, she placed 14th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Japan and 13th in Croatia. The representative of Burnaby FSC also placed sixth in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Tamura is coached by Joanne McLeod, Jill-Marie Harvey, and Neil Wilson 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. Representing CPA Brossard and CPA Saint-Césaire, the 2015 Canadian novice champions will be competing at their first international assignment. Brasseur and Ostiguy train in Chambly, Que., with coaches Josée Picard and Marc-André Craig.

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

Hannah Whitley, 15, Creemore, Ont., and Elliott Graham, 17, Angus, Ont., are the second Canadian entry in ice dance. Last season, they placed 10th at their international assignment in Croatia and placed fifth in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Whitley and Graham are coached by David Islam and Kelly Johnson at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ont.

Bev Viger of Abbotsford, B.C., will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Ed Pilat of Winnipeg, Man., and physiotherapist Mireille Landry of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., and Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

Live streaming will be available through the ISU’s YouTube channel.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #2 – Riga, Latvia

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men’s Nicolas Nadeau 17 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand Yvan Desjardins
Ladies Sarah Tamura 14 Burnaby, B.C. Burnaby FSC Joanne McLeod / Jill-Marie Harvey / Neil Wilson
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 Melinda Meng / Andrew Meng 16/18 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA Laval / CPA Laval Shawn Winter
Ice Dance Hannah Whitley / Elliott Graham 15/17 Creemore, Ont. / Angus, Ont. Barrie SC / Barrie SC David Islam / Kelly Johnson

Canada’s Roman Sadovsky wins gold at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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Roman Sadovsky Junior Grand Prix gold.BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Roman Sadovsky of Vaughn, Ont. won the gold medal in men’s competition on Saturday to conclude the season-opening stop on the ISU figure skating circuit.

The 16-year-old Sadovsky totalled 203.72 points for his second career victory on the circuit.

His jump filled long program featured a quadruple Salchow which he landed successfully for the first time, at the opening. Near the end he dug deep to produce a triple-triple-double combo to cap the competition with two clean programs.

“This is an amazing experience,” said Sadovsky, visibly spent at the end of his performance. “After the quad Salchow I knew I had to calm down and not let the excitement get to me. I did a pretty good job handling that.”

Another goal the young Canadian achieved was surpassing the 200 point total.

“I want to keep getting that score higher,” he said. I left the triple toe out of the program and lost a lot of points there. Next time I want to get the toe done and get a higher score.”

Vincent Zhou of the U.S. was second at 200.85 and Denis Margaluk of Argentina third at 191.72.

In ice dancing, Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve of Montreal and Jeff Hough of Russell, Ont., were sixth and Valerie Taillefer of Montreal and Jason Chan of St-Laurent, Que., ninth.

Rachel Parsons and Michael Parsons of the U.S. won the gold.

Full results: 2015 Bratislava

Canada’s Roman Sadovsky leads after short program at ISU Junior Grand Prix opener

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BRATISLAVA, Slovakia – Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., is in first place after the men’s short program Friday at the season opening competition on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

The 16-year-old Sadovsky delivered a clean program that featured his amazing flexibility. He landed his four jumps including a triple-triple combo and produced a personal best international score of 68.49 points. Vincent Zhou of the U.S. is second at 68.07 and Alexander Samarin of Russia third at 67.87.

“I felt really comfortable on the ice,” said Sadovsky, who won the Junior Grand Prix event in the Czech Republic last season. “That allowed me to be more aggressive on my jumps and I didn’t hold back. It obviously worked out for me and I got all my levels and now I’m looking forward to the long program.”

In ice dancing after Thursday’s short dance, Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve of Montreal and Jeff Hough of Russell, Ont., are sixth and Valerie Taillefer of Montreal and Jason Chan of St-Laurent, Que., are seventh.

There is no pairs competition at this event and Canada is not entered in women’s singles. The men’s free skate and the free dance are on Saturday.

Full Results: 2015 Bratislava

ISU Junior Grand Prix Bratislava marks start of 2015-2016 skating season

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send five skaters, for a total of three entries to Bratislava, Slovakia, for the first stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Canada will have one entry in men’s, and two entries in ice dance at the competition which will run from August 19-23, 2015. There will be no pair competition at the event.

Roman Sadovsky, 15, Vaughan, Ont., will be Canada’s sole entry in men’s. Last season he won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in the Czech Republic and placed fourth in Germany. He qualified for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, placing fifth, and the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, placing 14th. Sadovsky also finished in fourth in the senior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski at the YSRA Winter Club.

Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve, 18, Montreal, Que., and Jeff Hough, 19, Russell, Ont., are one of two Canadian entries in ice dance. Last season, the representatives of the Town of Mt. Royal FSC and Minto SC placed 7th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Estonia, and 6th in Croatia. The duo trains at Minto SC with coaches Darryl VanLuven and Jamie Britton.

Valerie Taillefer, 16, Montreal, Que., and Jason Chan, 19, Saint-Laurent, Que., will also represent Canada in ice dance. The team from Club de Patinage des Deux-Rives and Saint-Laurent FSC placed 9th last year at their sole ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment in Slovenia. They also placed sixth in the junior category at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Taillefer and Chan are coached by Élise Hamel and Shawn Winter at Sportplexe 4 Glaces Pierrefonds.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be the Canadian team leader, and physiotherapist Sylvia Ciurysek of Berwyn, Alta., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., and Ron Conacher of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #1 – Bratislava, Slovakia

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Ramon Sadovsky 16 Vaughan, Ont. YRSA Winter Club Tracey Wainman / Gregor Filipowski
Ice dance Audrey Croteau-Villeneuve / Jeff Hough 18/19 Montreal, Que. / Russell, Ont. Town of Mt. Royal FSC / Minto SC Darryl VanLuven / Jamie Britton
Ice dance Valerie Taillefer / Jason Chan 16/19 Montreal, Que./ Saint-Laurent, Que. Club de Patinage des Deux-Rives / Saint Laurent FSC Élise Hamel / Shawn Winter