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Canada wins two bronze at Skate America

MILWAUKEE – Pairs skaters Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., and ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto won bronze medals on Saturday at Skate America.

The competition is the first stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

In pairs, Séguin and Bilodeau were the only entry to skate clean in the final flight and produced a personal best 189.49 points. It was their first international medal at the senior level.  Last winter they took silver at the world juniors.

‘’We didn’t expect to win a medal so early in our senior careers,’’ said Bilodeau, 22, fifth with his partner at the Nebelhorn Trophy last month in Germany. ’’But I think we realized after Germany we had to be more solid in order to compete at this level.’’

Their program was highlighted by remarkable lifts.

‘’We’ve put a lot of focus on improving our lifts,’’ said Séguin, 18. ‘’We’ve worked at making them more challenging and original as well.’’

In ice dancing, Gilles and Poirier notched a second international medal this month earning 157.58.  Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. took the gold at 173.22 and Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia were second at 162.21.

‘’Our goal this year is to make the Grand Prix Final so that result will make it more difficult for us,’’ said Gilles. ‘’Still we were very happy with the performance and we felt it was a step-up from Slovakia.’’

Three weeks ago, Gilles and Poirier won gold at an international event in Bratislava.

‘’It’s a big boost for us to see our scores higher than at this point last season,’’ said Poirier. ‘’We’ve been really consistent so far and we’ve got two programs that really work us.’’

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China took the gold at 202.00 and Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the U.S., who each fell in the free skate, were second at 191.91.

In women’s competition, world junior champion Evgenia Medvedeva of Russia won the gold medal with Gracie Gold of the U.S. second and Satoko Miyahara of Japan third. Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was 12th.

The next stop on the circuit is Skate Canada International this Friday and Saturday in Lethbridge, Alta.

Full results: ISU GP 2015 Progressive Skate America

Gilles and Poirier stand third after short dance

MILWAUKEE – Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are in third place after the short dance at Skate America, the first stop on the ISU Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

World championship silver medallists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. stand first at 70.56, Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia second at 62.76 and Gilles and Poirier follow at 61.33.  Earlier this month the Canadians won gold at an international event in Slovakia.

‘’It was important for us to come into this season competition ready,’’ said Poirier. ‘’So far we’ve shown that this season. I was pleased with how we made the necessary adjustments with the event in a smaller rink and it worked out really well.’’

In pairs, world junior silver medallists Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., are in the medal mix.  They produced clean short program standing fourth with 64.85 points which bettered their score from the world juniors.

Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the U.S. lead at 69.69, Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are second at 68.28 and their compatriots Xuehan Wang and Lei Wang third at 64.95.

Séguin and Bilodeau opened their senior level international career at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany last month placing fifth.

‘’We showed what we can achieve at this level today,’’ said Séguin, 18. ‘’Over the past three weeks we’ve worked really hard in training and have regained our confidence. We did really well and we are very pleased.’’

Bilodeau says entering the senior circuit has forced them to elevate their game.

‘’It’s super exciting to compete at this level,’’ he said. ‘’Definitely we’ve increased the difficulty of our two programs in put a lot more detail into our choreography as well.’’

In women’s competition, Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., stands sixth after a clean short program. Evgenia Nedvedeva of Russia leads with Gracie Gold of the U.S. second and Satoko Miyahara of Japan third.

‘’It didn’t go exactly the way I wanted,’’ said Chartrand, 19. ‘’I thought my combination jump in particular could have been better. Still it’s a good start to the Grand Prix season and I want to show more improvement in the long.’’

Canada is not entered in men’s singles.  All four free skates are on Saturday. Live streaming is available at cbc.ca starting at 2:20 p.m.(EDT)

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1516/gpusa2015/index.htm

Canadian skaters kick off ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Season at Skate America

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send three entries, for a total of five skaters to the first event on this season’s ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, Skate America. Canada will have one entry per category in ladies, pair and ice dance. The competition is the first of six ISU Senior Grand Prix stops, and will take place from October 23-25, 2015, at the UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena Centre in Milwaukee, WI, USA.

Canadian silver medallist Alaine Chartrand, 19, Prescott, Ont., will be Canada’s entry in the ladies category. This will be her first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, she placed fourth at the Nebelhorn Trophy. Last season on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, she placed seventh at Skate Canada International and won bronze at the Rostelecom Cup. She also placed tenth at the 2015 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and 11th at the 2015 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. Chartrand is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser and represents the Nepean Skating Club.

Canadian bronze medallists Julianne Séguin, 18, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que., will be the Canadian pair entry at the event. This will be their first assignment on the ISU Senior Grand prix circuit. Earlier this season, they placed fifth at the Nebelhorn Trophy on the ISU Challenger Series. Last season, they won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, silver at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and placed eighth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. They are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 23, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 23, Unionville, Ont., will represent Canada in ice dance. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, they won gold at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy. Last season, they won silver at Skate Canada International and Trophée Eric Bompard, placed fifth at the ISU Grand Prix Final, fourth at the Four Continents Championships and sixth at the World Championships. The representatives of Scarboro FSC are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ont.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be the Canadian team leader and physiotherapist Mike McMurray of Oak Bluff, Man., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Nicole Leblanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., and Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2015 SKATE AMERICA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 19 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh / Brian Orser
Pair Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 18/22 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 23/23 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs