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Brasseur and Ostiguy place fifth at junior Grand Prix

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

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

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