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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