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Kevin Reynolds climbs six spots for seventh overall at ISU 4 Continents

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TAIPEI CITY – Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C. soared to seventh spot to lead a trio of Canadians into the top-10 in men’s competition on Saturday to conclude the ISU 4 Continents Figure Skating Championships.

Boyang Jin of China won the gold medal with Shoma Uno of Japan second and Jason Brown of the U.S. third.

Reynolds was 13th after Thursday’s short program but rebounded with a powerful performance which brought a huge ovation from the crowd and tears to his coach Joanne McLeod. He opened with solid quad Salchow and delivered a clean program which included a quad-triple-double combo. He showed his emotion on the ice when he fist pumped after landing his final triple Salchow.

‘’Amazing,’’ said Reynolds. ‘’It was everything I could have asked for in what could be my last performance. I laid it all on the ice. Regardless of what the marks were I was thrilled to perform in front of all my fans here and I felt the joy that they felt.’’

Elladj Baldé of Montreal was eighth and Nam Nguyen of Toronto ninth.

Canada ends the competition with silver medal earned by ice dancers Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver.

Full results: ISU Four Continents Championships 2018

Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch take fourth spot at ISU Four Continents

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TAIPEI CITY – Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto ranked fifth in both programs but it was worth fourth overall in pairs on Friday at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

The U.S. was 1-2 with Tarah Kane and Danny O’Shea first at 194.42 and Ashley Cain and Timothy Leduc second at 190.61. Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim of North Korea were third at 184.98. The Canadians followed at 179.00.

‘’It was a rough one,’’ said Moscovitch. ‘’It was a lot of work. It seemed like we couldn’t get fully in synch with each other but we did a good job fighting until the end.’’

Camille Ruest of Rimouski, Que., and Drew Wolfe of Calgary moved from ninth to seventh and Sydney Kolodziej of Montreal and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., were ninth.

In women’s competition, Kaori Sakamoto led Japan to a medal sweep.

Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., was eighth, Alicia Pineault of Varennes, Que., 13th and Michelle Long of Newmarket, Ont., 15th.

‘’I really enjoyed skating that program,’’ said Chartrand, who posted the sixth best free skate. ‘’Starting with a strong triple-triple combo gave me a lot of confidence. I’m proud of what I put out after the disappointment of two weeks ago.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s free skate.

Full results: ISU Four Continents Championships 2018

Soucisse and Firus win silver at ISU Four Continents

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TAIPEI CITY – Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver smashed their personal best score en route to the silver medal in ice dancing on Thursday at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. won the gold medal with 174.29 points. Soucisse and Firus, third after the short dance, followed at 164.96 bettering their previous best of 154.60 set this past October. They overtook Kana Muramoto and Chris Reed of Japan, third at 163.86

‘’We’re pretty ecstatic,’’ said Firus. ‘’The goal coming in was a medal and we accomplished that. We’re psyched and super pumped right now.’’

Sarah Arnold and Thomas Williams of Vancouver were eighth and Haley Sales of Burnaby, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C. ninth.

In men’s competition after the short program, Nam Nguyen of Toronto is the top Canadian in seventh spot. Elladj Baldé of Montreal is 12th and Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C. 13th.

‘’I felt really good with the skate,’’ said Nguyen. ‘’The practices have been a little bit rocky this week so to put out such a solid performance for everybody is a great feeling and I hope to continue this for the long program.’’

Shoma Uno of Japan is first.

Competition continues Friday with the pairs and women’s free programs. The men’s free skate is Saturday.

Full results: ISU Four Continents Championships 2018

Personal best puts Soucisse and Firus third after short dance at ISU Four Continents

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TAIPEI CITY – Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver produced a personal best score to stand in third place after Wednesday’s short dance at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker of the U.S. lead the 14-couple field with 69.08 points followed by Kana Muramoto and Chris Reed of Japan at 65.27 while the Canadians scored 65.11.

‘’We did what we had to do today,’’ said Soucisse. ‘’We are just coming from nationals and we were ready and pumped to go. It was a short turnover time but I think we delivered.’’

Haley Sales of Burnaby, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker of Langley, B.C. are eighth and Sarah Arnold and Thomas Williams of Vancouver are ninth.

In pairs, Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are fifth after the short at 64.50 but only 2.26 points from top spot held by Ashley Cain and Timothy Leduc of the U.S.

‘’Our goal was to go out there and have fun today,’’ said Moscovitch. ‘’We kept an upbeat feeling throughout the program. We really committed ourselves to the choreography and the characters and we felt that came out.’’

Sydney Kolodziej of Montreal and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., are eighth and Camille Ruest of Rimouski, Que., and Drew Wolfe of Calgary are ninth.

In the women’s short, Japan is 1-2-3 with Satoko Miyahara in first. Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., is eighth, Alicia Pineault of Varennes, Que., 14th and Michelle Long of Newmarket, Ont., 17th.

‘’It wasn’t perfect but I was happy with my fight,’’ said Chartrand. ‘’It’s good to have that kind of feeling in my last short program of the season.’’

On Thursday, the men’s competition gets underway followed by the free dance.

Full results: ISU Four Continents Championships 2018

Canadian skaters in Taiwan for 2018 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have 12 entries, for a total of 18 skaters, competing at the 2018 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taipei City, Taiwan. Competition begins January 24 and runs through to January 27, 2018. The Canadian team will have three entries per discipline in men, ladies, pairs and ice dance.

Canadian bronze medallist Nam Nguyen, 19, Toronto, Ont., will be the first of three Canadian men’s entries. Last year, he placed eighth at this event. The three-time Canadian medallist is coached by Robert Burk in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Elladj Baldé, 27, Montreal, Que., is the second Canadian men entry. Baldé has previously placed 11th at this event in 2014 and 18th in 2013. This season, he placed fourth at the 2018 Canadian championships. Baldé trains in Montreal, Que., with Bruno Marcotte.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kevin Reynolds, 27, Coquitlam, B.C., is the third Canadian men’s entry. This will be his seventh time competing at this event, having won in 2013. Reynolds placed fifth at the 2018 Canadian championships. The four-time Canadian silver medallist is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Alaine Chartrand, 21, Prescott, Ont., is the first of three Canadian entries in ladies. This will be her fifth time competing at this event; she placed 11th last year. Chartrand placed fourth at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The four-time Canadian medallist is coached by Joanne McLeod.

Michelle Long, 25, Newmarket, Ont., is the second Canadian entry in the ladies discipline. She will be competing at this event for the first time. Long placed fifth at the 2018 Canadian Championships. She is coached by Robert Burk and Danielle Rose in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Alicia Pineault, 18, Varennes, Que., is the final Canadian entry in the ladies category. This will also be her first time competing at this event. Most recently, she placed eighth at the 2018 Canadian championships. Pineault is coached by Stéphane Yvars in Boucherville, Que.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Dylan Moscovitch, 33, Toronto, Ont., will be the first of three Canadian pairs entries. This will be their fourth time competing at this event; last year they won the bronze medal. Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch placed fourth at the 2018 Canadian championships. The three-time Canadian medallists are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.

Camille Ruest, 24, Rimouski, Que., and Drew Wolfe, 22, Calgary, Alta., will be the second Canadian entry in pairs. This will be their first time competing at this event. This season, they placed sixth at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Ruest and Wolfe are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Que.

Sydney Kolodziej, 24, Montreal, Que., and Maxime Deschamps, 26, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., will also represent Canada in pairs. This will also be their first time competing at this event. This season, they placed seventh at the 2018 Canadian Championships. Kolodziej and Deschamps are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte in Montreal, Que.

Carolane Soucisse, 22, Châteauguay, Que., and Shane Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C., will represent Canada in ice dance. This will be their first time competing at this event. This season, they placed fourth at the 2018 Canadian championships. Soucisse and Firus are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Sarah Arnold, 27, Vancouver, B.C., and Thomas Williams, 26, Vancouver, B.C., will also represent Canada in ice dance. This will be their first time competing at this event. This season, they placed fifth at the 2018 Canadian championships. Arnold and Williams are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe in Burnaby, B.C.

Haley Sales, 21, Burnaby, B.C., and Nikolas Wamsteeker, 21, Langley, B.C., will be the final Canadian ice dance entry at the event, and will also be competing at this event for the first time. This season, they placed sixth at the 2018 Canadian championships. Sales and Wamsteeker are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe in Burnaby, B.C.

Bev Viger of Abbotsford, B.C., and Cynthia Ullmark of Canmore, Alta., will be the Canadian team leaders at this event. Dr. John Philpott of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Paige Larson of North Vancouver, B.C., will be the team medical staff onsite.

Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., Reaghan Fawcett-Fortin of Aurora, Ont., Andrea Derby of Windsor, 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 2018 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Nam Nguyen 19 Toronto, Ont. Richmond Training Centre Robert Burk
Men Elladj Baldé 27 Montreal, Que. CPA Anjou Kinsmen Bruno Marcotte
Men Kevin Reynolds 27 Coquitlam, B.C. Vancouver SC Joanne McLeod
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 21 Prescott, Ont. Prescott FSC Joanne McLeod
Ladies Michelle Long 25 Newmarket, Ont. Richmond Training Centre Robert Burk / Danielle Rose
Ladies Alicia Pineault 18 Varennes, Que. CPA Varennes Stéphane Yvars
Pairs Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 26/33 Toronto, Ont. / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Pairs Camille Ruest / Drew Wolfe 24/22 Rimouski, Que. / Calgary, Alta. CPA De Rimouski / Glencoe Club Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Pairs Sydney Kolodziej / Maxime Deschamps 24/26 Montreal, Que. / Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. CPA St. Léonard / CPAR Vaudreuil Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus 22/23 Châteauguay, Que. / North Vancouver, B.C. CPA Repentigny / CPA Ahuntsic Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon
Ice Dance Sarah Arnold / Thomas Williams 27/26 Vancouver, B.C. / Vancouver, B.C. Champs International Skating Centre / Calalta FSC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
Ice Dance Haley Sales / Nikolas Wamsteeker 20/20 Burnaby, B.C. / Langley, B.C. Kelowna SC / Champs International Skating Centre Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe