SAINT JOHN, N.B.– Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., broke the Canadian ice dance record and Alaine Chartrand made a comeback for the ages for the women’s gold to highlight Saturday’s action at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Not to be outdone, Nam Nguyen of Toronto returned to the top in the men’s event while Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., dominated in pairs.

In ice dancing, Weaver and Poje won the gold medal with 213.78 points and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto were second at 212.31. Both scores were over the previous Canadian record of 209.82 set by Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at last year’s nationals.

The top-two couples not only wowed the crowd with excellence but moved them with emotional routines.

“It’s a different kind of year for us,” said Poje. “We want to do what pleases us and show what we’ve learned throughout our entire career with all the ups and downs.”

It was a third career national crown for Weaver and Poje, world championship bronze medallists last year. They also won in 2015 and 2016.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal were third at 198.41.

Chartrand soared from fifth place to win the women’s gold. She opened with a triple-triple combo and never looked back en route to a total score of 185.91 points. Aurora Cotop of Thornhill, Ont., was also on the comeback train jumping from sixth to second with 169.35. Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., was third at 168.53.

Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., and Larkyn Austman of Vancouver, 1-2 after the short, had rough free skates. Austman was fourth and Daleman, the defending champ, fifth.

It was a second career national crown for Chartrand and first since 2016. Her free skate on Saturday was 16 points better than her closest pursuer.

“Today was the redemption I was looking for,” said Chartrand. “It felt really special. I was working through being methodical and not looking too far ahead. It worked well  for me. Once I was done all the jumps I could really let it go and hear the crowd roar as I came around the end.”

In the men’s event, Nguyen landed his seven jumps which included two quad Salchows to open his free skate for 258.01 points. Stephan Gogolev of Toronto, looking to become the youngest Canadian men’s champion ever at 14, followed at 253.56. Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., was third at 247.44.

“I was so nervous,” said Nguyen, whose previous national title was in 2015 at age 16. “My first thought before the first quad was don’t have any regrets. That helped me push through. The take off was shaky, I didn’t know where I was in the air.”

“I just thought: ‘Please help me.”

There was no surprise in pairs as Moore-Towers and Marinaro placed first with 202.75. Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., followed at 189.87 and Camille Ruest of Rimouski Que., and Drew Wolfe of Calgary were third at 166.84.

“It was a little bit harder out there than we anticipated,” said Marinaro. “We laboured from the starting pose to the ending pose. Evelyn and Trennt laid it down before us and put some pressure on us.”

Full results: 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

SAINT JOHN, N.B. – Hannah Dawson of Ottawa improved from 15th place last year to top spot on Thursday in junior women’s competition at the 2019 Canadian Tire Nationals Skating Championships being held this week at Harbour Station.

Dawson was standing third after the short progam, but produced a powerful free skate to take the title with 140.92 points. Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., also made a nice comeback climbing from sixth to second with 134.59. In third was Reagan Scott of Lancaster, Ont., at 134.46.

“It’s so unreal,” said Dawson. “I’ve had a lot of rough skates and reflecting back those really helped me become mentally strong. You can’t take things for granted. You still have to go out and attack. You can’t let one mistake affect you. You rally have to bring it back.”

In junior men, Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., placed first with 199.10. Beres Clements of Richmond, B.C., surged from fourth for the silver at 191.02 and Corey Circelli of Toronto, the leader after the short, was third at 181.98.

In junior pairs, Chloe Chouinard of Frankford, Ont., and Mathieu Ostiguy of St-Angele-de-Monnoir, Que., fifth last year, took the gold with 142.03. Brooke McIntosh and Brandon Toste of Toronto followed at 137.91 and Gabrielle Levesque of Bridgewater, N.S. and Pier-Alexandre Hudon of St.-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Que., were third at 135.67.

“We said we were going to have fun with that program and took one element at a time,” said Chouinard. “We had a blast. This is like a dream.”

In novice pairs, Quebec teams were 1-2 with Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier of Rosemere first, Jamie Fournier and Gabriel Farand of Brossard second while Mackenzie Ripley and Owen Brawley of Kitchener, Ont., third.

“It’s good to see all the hard work pay off at the final competition of the year,” said Ethier. “This is our first year together and we really wanted to go out there and enjoy the moment.”

The senior competition gets underway Friday with the four short programs. The free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

SAINT JOHN, NB: The nation’s best figure skaters are headed to Saint John, N.B. for the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The week-long championships held at Harbour Station from January 14-20, 2019 will feature approximately 250 skaters in the men, women, pairs, ice dance disciplines, competing in three levels: senior, junior, and novice.

“Every year, this event continues to showcase Canada’s brightest skaters and this year will be no different,” said Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “We are excited to be in Saint John for this important event and look forward to having the support of the community as skaters strive for gold at Harbour Station.”

The all-Canadian competition will begin with the novice and junior events taking place from Monday, January 14 to Thursday, January 17, followed by the senior events beginning on Friday, January 18 to Saturday, January 19, and finishing with an Exhibition Gala on Sunday, January 20. Athletes will aim for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and 2019 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

The senior events will be the highlight of the week as Canada’s top skaters will look to add to their resume’s. Keegan Messing, 26, Sherwood Park, Alta./Brantford, Ont., earned a silver medal at last year’s Nationals and will be aiming for a gold medal finish this year. Nam Nguyen, 20, Ajax, Ont., will also be looking to make the podium after winning the bronze medal in 2018 and previously winning the national title in 2015. Stephen Gogolev, 13, Toronto, Ont., is coming off a gold medal finish at ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in Vancouver and will be looking to continue that momentum into Nationals.

Gabrielle Daleman, 20, Newmarket, Ont., 2018 National Champion, will be looking to keep her spot on top of the podium. Larkyn Austman, 20, Coquitlam, B.C., will also be looking to medal after finishing third last year.

Senior ice dancers Piper Gilles, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 27, Unionville, Ont., finished second in 2018 and will be aiming for the top spot this year. They will be challenged by three-time World medalists Kaitlyn Weaver, 29, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 31,Waterloo, Ont.

Bronze medalists at last year’s event, senior pair Kirsten Moore-Towers, 26, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 27, Sarnia, Ont., will also have their eyes set on the gold medal spot.

The junior and novice categories will display Canada’s emerging talent as they look to make their statement at the national level. All novice and junior competition, and select senior events, will be live streamed on the Skate Canada Dailymotion page. For full entries and the event start orders, please click here.

Off the ice, three-time World champion, two-time Olympic silver medalist and seven-time Canadian champion, Elvis Stojko, will be this year’s Athlete Ambassador. During the event, Stojko will handle speaking engagements, media interviews, make appearances on behalf of the competing athletes and interact with his fans.

Tickets are available and single event ticket prices for the senior events are priced $25-$65. Novice and junior as well as senior practice tickets are $10 per day. Fans will be able to choose from four levels of all-event ticket packages that are only available by phone, they are priced at $125, $165, $195 and $295, plus applicable surcharges and taxes. All tickets are subject to applicable taxes and venue/Ticketmaster surcharges.

Tickets can be purchased online at harbourstation.ca, by phone at 1-800-267-2800 and in person at the Harbour Station Box Office.

This will be Saint John’s first time hosting this event. The city has previously hosted Skate Canada International three times (2013, 1999 and 1995). They have also hosted the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in December of 1997.

SAINT JOHN, N.B: Single event tickets for the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships go on sale this Thursday, October 18 at 10:00 a.m. (AT). The event will be held in Saint John, New Brunswick, from January 13-20, 2019, at Harbour Station. The championships will feature approximately 250 of the nation’s best skaters in the men, women, pairs, and ice dance disciplines, competing in three levels: senior, junior, and novice.

Single event ticket prices for the senior events are priced $25-$65. Novice and junior as well as senior practice tickets are $10 per day. All tickets are subject to applicable taxes and venue and Ticketmaster surcharges.

Tickets can be purchased online at harbourstation.ca, by phone at 1-800-267-2800 or in person at the Harbour Station box office.

Fans not seated in the Super Fan Section but wishing to purchase the Super Fan Bag can buy the bag for an additional $60 each, plus applicable taxes and surcharges. This offer is available until November 5, 2018.

EVENT INFO
This will be Saint John’s first time hosting this event. The city has previously hosted Skate Canada International three times (2013, 1999 and 1995). They also hosted the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships® in December of 1997.

The pre-eminent all-Canadian competition will see athletes will vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and 2019 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

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