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Stairs and Royer take fifth spot on ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit

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SALZBURG, Austria – World junior team members Ashlynne Stairs of Calgary and Lee Royer of St. Albert, Alta., were fifth in ice dancing on Friday at the second stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Christina Carreirra and Anthony Ponomarenko of the U.S. won the gold medal with 145.39 points, Ksenia Konkina and Grigory Yakushev of Russia were second at 139.80 and Nathacha Lagouge and Corentin Rahier of France third at 129.90.

Stairs and Royer, also fifth after the short program, scored 121.71 to equal their best ever showing on the circuit in four career appearances.

‘’We know we could have done better,’’ said Stairs. ‘’Our technical showing wasn’t what we wanted in the short dance and our footwork was below par in the free dance.’’

The couple know they need to eliminate mistakes at the international level.

‘’When we get back home we are going to make sure we work really hard on the key points,’’ said Royer. ‘’Making sure we are hitting every single one.’’

Irina Galiyanova of Ajax, Ont., and Tommy Tang of Toronto were ninth.

‘’We need to review all our elements in the free dance,’’ said Galiyanova. ‘’Look at all the levels, exits and entries and all the little features we have and see what we’ve missed.’’

In men’s competition, Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., singled his triple Lutz at the end of an otherwise strong short program to stand sixth. The free skate is on Saturday.

Full results: ISU JGP Cup of Austria 2017

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

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send three entries, for a total of five skaters to Salzburg, Austria, for the second stop on the 2017-2018 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating. Canada will have one entry in men and two entries in ice dance at the competition which takes place from August 31-September 2, 2017.

Canadian junior silver medallist Conrad Orzel, 17, Woodbridge, Ont., will be the sole Canadian men entry. Last season on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, Orzel placed 10th in France and won the silver medal in Germany. He also won the silver medal in junior at the 2017 Bavarian Open and placed 13th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. He is coached by Eva Najarro and trains in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Canadian junior silver medallists Ashlynne Stairs, 17, Calgary, Alta. and Lee Royer, 19, St. Albert, Alta., are the first of two Canadian ice dance entries at the event. Stairs and Royer finished seventh and fifth respectively at their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments in France and Slovenia last season. They also won the bronze medal in junior at the 2017 Bavarian Open and placed 14th at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships. Stairs and Royer are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe in Burnaby, B.C.

Irina Galiyanova, 15, Ajax, Ont., and Tommy Tang, 18, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian ice dance entry. Last season, they placed 11th at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Estonia and placed sixth in junior at the 2017 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Galiyanova and Tang are coached by Carol Lane, Jon Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Toronto, Ont.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, and Danielle Williams of Surrey, B.C., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Susan Morriss of Victoria, B.C., and Patty Klein of Mt. Royal, Que., 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 – SALZBURG, AUSTRIA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Conrad Orzel 17 Woodbridge, Ont. York Region Skating Academy Eva Najarro
Ice Dance Ashlynne Stairs / Lee Royer 17/19 Calgary, Alta. / Ft. St. Albert, Alta. Champs International SC / Champs International SC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
Ice Dance Irina Galiyanova / Tommy Tang 15/18 Ajax, Ont. / Toronto, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Jon Lane / Juris Razgulajevs

Canadian ice dancers win silver at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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BRISBANE, Australia – Marjorie Lajoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Que., won the silver medal in ice dancing on Saturday to conclude the first stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Sofia Polishchuk and Alexander Vakhnov of Russia took the gold with 145.86 points followed by the Canadians at 138.92. Elizaveta Khudaiberdieva and Nikita Nazarov of Russia were third at 131.80.

‘’It was stressful,’’ said Lajoie. ‘’But we are happy with what we accomplished. We’ve never competed at a Grand Prix this early in the season, so considering the circumstances, it’s good.’’

It was the best Junior Grand Prix performance in four career appearances for the couple, sixth at last season’s world junior championships.

‘’When you start focusing on results, it never works,’’ added Lagha. ‘’We just wanted to do well and build from here because we know we can do better.’’

Natalie d’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto were sixth in their junior Grand Prix debut.

‘’For us it was about the experience,’’ said Waddell. ‘’Just go out there and have fun. But competing internationally, we were more nervous than usual.’’

In women’s competition, Canadian junior champion Aurora Cotop of Toronto climbed from ninth to seventh overall producing the sixth best free skate of the day.

The second stop on the circuit is next Friday and Saturday in Salzburg, Austria.

Full results: ISU JGP Brisbane 2017

Phan fourth at ISU Junior Grand Prix opener

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BRISBANE, Australia – A rough start to his free skate landed Joseph Phan of Laval, Que., in fourth place in men’s singles on Friday at the opening stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Alexei Krasnozhon of the U.S. won the gold medal with 209.37 points followed by two Russians: Roman Savosin in second at 196.20 and Egor Rukhin third at 185.12.

The 16-year-old Phan was second after the short program on Thursday but ranked seventh for his long.

‘’I was too hesitant in my free skate,’’ said Phan, fifth and sixth in his junior Grand Prix performances last season. ‘’When things started not to go right I was changing my plan on the fly.’’

Phan fell on his opening quad in his free skate performed to The Godfather soundtrack. He stood on his triple Axel after missing it in the short but fell on his triple Lutz which blew the wind out of his sails.

‘’I was landing my quad and Axel consistently in practice,’’ he said. ‘’I think those jumps are getting better and better. But tonight the quad toe I didn’t feel stable. I’ve got five weeks until my next  Grand Prix and I want to correct those errors.’’

Canada is in medal contention in ice dancing with Marjorie Lavoie of Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha of Greenfield Park, Que., second after the short dance with 58.55. Sofia Polishchuk and Alexander Vakhnov of Russia lead at 61.08.

Natalie d’Alessandro and Bruce Waddell of Toronto are sixth.

In women’s competition, Canadian junior champion Aurora Cotop of Toronto is ninth after the short program.

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and women’s free skate.

Full results: ISU JGP Brisbane 2017

Canadian skaters set to begin 2017-2018 ISU Junior Grand Prix season in Australia

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send six skaters, for a total of four entries to the first stop on the 2017-2018 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Brisbane, Australia. Canada will have one entry per discipline in men’s and ladies, and two entries in ice dance at the competition which will run from August 23-26, 2017. There will be no pair competition at the event.

Joseph Phan, 16, Laval, Que., will represent Canada in men’s. Last season on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit, he placed sixth at the event in the Czech Republic and fifth at the event in Slovenia. He also placed 11th in the senior category at the Canadian championships, and won the bronze medal at the Bavarian Open in the junior level. Phan is coached by Yvan Desjadrins in Rosemère, Que.

Canadian junior champion Aurora Cotop, 15, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in ladies. This will be her first ISU Junior Grand Prix Assignment. Last season she won the junior category at the 2016 Autumn Classic International and placed fourth in junior at the Bavarian Open. Cotop is coached by Jonathan Mills and Myke Gillman in Thornhill, Ont.

Canadian junior champions Marjorie Lajoie, 16, Boucherville, Que., and Zachary Lagha, 18, Greenfield Park, Que., are the first of two Canadian ice dance entries. Last season, they finished fourth at both of their ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments (Japan and Germany), placed sixth at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships, and won the silver medal in junior at the Bavarian Open. They train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer and Pascal Denis.

Canadian novice champions Natalie D’Alessandro, 13, Toronto, Ont., and Bruce Waddell, 15, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in ice dance, at their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Last season, they placed fourth at the Bavarian Open in the novice category. They are coached by Andrew Hallam and Siobhan Karam in Toronto, Ont.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event and physiotherapist Mireille Landry of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Susan Blatz of Burlington, Ont., and Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #1 – BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Joseph Phan 16 Laval, Que. CPA Laval Yvan Desjardins
Ladies Aurora Cotop 15 Toronto, Ont. Thornhill FSC Jonathan Mills / Myke Gillman
Ice Dance Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha 16/18 Boucherville, Que. / Greenfield Park, Que. CPA De Boucherville / CPA St. Lambert Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer / Pascal Denis
Ice Dance Natalie D’Alessandro / Bruce Waddell 13/15 Toronto, Ont. / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Andrew Hallam / Siobhan Karam