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Charlie Bilodeau retires from competitive skating

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OTTAWA, ON: Olympian and national medallist Charlie Bilodeau, 26, Trois-Pistoles, Que., announced his retirement from competitive skating today.

Bilodeau has been a competitor in the pair discipline for over a decade for Canada. His competitive highlights include competing at three world championships, winning four national medals and competing at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

Bilodeau competed at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games with partner Julianne Séguin. The two had a successful junior career winning the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in 2014 and silver at the 2015 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Most recently in 2019, Bilodeau partnered with Lubov Ilyushechkina, 28, Toronto, Ont. During their short partnership, they won two international medals and took home bronze at the national championships.

Ilyushechkina will be evaluating her opportunities in the coming months.

Skate Canada thanks and wishes Charlie the best of luck with his future endeavors.

Lubov Ilyushechkina and Charlie Bilodeau to compete in pairs together

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OTTAWA, ON: Lubov Ilyushechkina, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Charlie Bilodeau, 25, Trois-Pistoles, Que., have formed a new skating partnership and will compete for Canada in the pairs discipline. Both skaters have previously been on the Canadian national team and have competed internationally with different partners.

“I’m looking forward to our partnership with a lot of enthusiasm, inspiration and excitement. I’m thankful for being given this opportunity to realize my stored potential. Figure skating and performing fulfills my life with joy, satisfaction, personal growth, and ambition. Combining our personalities and experiences will help us grow into a powerful and competitive pair team with its own unique style and image. Charlie and I are now connected through figure skating, it’s a fresh start and a new chapter in our lives,” said Ilyushechkina.

“Teaming up with Lubov allows me to finally return to competition which makes me excited. I truly believe in our potential and our chemistry on the ice. Our partnership is exactly what I needed to motivate me to pursue my dreams and to keep working hard until the 2022 Olympics Games in Beijing. It’s a new start that fuels my ambitions,” explained Bilodeau.
Ilyushechkina has relocated to Montreal where she and Bilodeau will train with coaches Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte.

Ilyushechkina and Bilodeau both did not compete this season. Ilyushechkina recently finished a contract with Cirque du Soleil as an on-ice performer. Her previous skating partner was Dylan Moscovitch, whom retired in April 2018. Bilodeau was previously partnered with Julianne Séguin, with whom he finished in ninth place at the 2018 Olympic Games. The couple ended their partnership in the summer of 2018.

Please note that Ilyushechkina and Bilodeau will take the next few weeks to practice together and will be available for the media on Monday, April 1st. Footage of them training on-ice as well as individual interviews will then be possible. More information (and confirmation) will be sent to media in due time.

For more information about the new pair, please contact:

Camille Asselin
[email protected]
514 507-6299

Marie-Anik L’Allier
[email protected]

Canadian pair skaters Séguin and Bilodeau end skating partnership

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OTTAWA, ON:  Following a ninth-place finish at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, the pair team of Julianne Séguin, 21, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 24, Trois-Pistoles, Que., have decided to end their skating partnership. Séguin and Bilodeau teamed up in November of 2012 and quickly ascended national and international pair rankings.

Early in their partnership, Séguin and Bilodeau became Canadian junior silver medallists in 2014, won the ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in 2014, and became world junior silver medallists in 2015.

At the senior level, the pair were three-time Canadian medallists (silver in 2016 and 2018 and bronze in 2015), two-time medallists on the ISU Challenger Series (gold in 2016 and bronze in 2017 – both at Autumn Classic International), and three-time medallists on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit (bronze at 2015 Skate America, bronze at 2015 Trophée Éric Bompard and gold at 2016 Skate America). They also competed at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships three times, with their best result, an eighth-place finish, coming in 2015.

As of now, Séguin and Bilodeau have not announced any further plans and will be taking time to reflect on their future paths.

Liam Firus, Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau withdraw from 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON: Canadian skaters Liam Firus, Julianne Séguin and Charlie Bilodeau have withdrawn from the 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. The event is scheduled to take place form March 28 – April 3, 2016 in Boston, MA, USA.

In the men’s category Liam Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C., has withdrawn. “Making this decision was extremely difficult. However, I feel that withdrawing from the World Championships is vital for our team,” said Firus.

Nam Nguyen, 17, Toronto, Ont., will replace Firus on the Canadian Team. “My teammates Patrick Chan and Nam Nguyen are among the top men in the world. I have full faith in their abilities. This decision is about performance and giving our country the best opportunity to obtain three spots for the World Championships next year,” explained Firus. “I am extremely proud of the strides I’ve made this year; skating truly is a passion of mine. I look forward to coming back even stronger next season to help Canada obtain the three spots needed for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.”

Skate Canada’s High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk added, “I have a lot of respect for Liam and his decision on Worlds.  We have confidence in Liam being a strong part of our team leading to 2018.”

In pairs Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., sustained a minor injury in training earlier this year causing the withdrawl of her and partner Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que. “Due to injury last month, which is not fully healed, Charlie and I had to make a heartbreaking decision to not participate at Worlds. We missed a lot of practices and during competition we want to give our best for our satisfaction and for the people around us. We are unfortunately not ready for this event. We will take the time to heal and work to come back stronger for the future. We want to thank everyone for their support,” explained Séguin.

Séguin and Bilodeau will be replaced by Kirsten Moore-Towers, 23, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 24, Sarnia, Ont.

“Julianne and Charlie have had a great season this year and it is unfortunate they won’t be able to compete at Worlds. Full recovery for Julianne is the priority and they will return stronger for next season,” said Slipchuk.

Canadian Skaters in Barcelona for ISU Grand Prix Final

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have five entries at the 2015 ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Barcelona, Spain, taking place from December 9-13, 2015. Canada will have one entry in men’s, two entries in pair, one entry in ice dance and one entry in synchronized skating.

The ISU Senior Grand Prix Final is the concluding event of the ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit. The series hosts six stops: United States (Skate America), Canada (Skate Canada International), China (Cup of China), France (Trophée Eric Bompard), Russia (Rostelecom Cup), and Japan (NHK Trophy). Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their assigned two events and the top six in each of the four disciplines advance to the Final.

In senior, Canada will be represented by Patrick Chan, 24, Toronto, Ont., in men’s, Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 30, Balmertown, Ont., and Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que., in the pair category, as well as Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 28, Waterloo, Ont., in ice dance.

For the first time in the event’s history, the ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final will also include synchronized skating. One entry was assigned to each of the top five ranked ISU members in synchronized skating; Canada being represented by Nexxice. The synchronized skating competition will consist of free skating, which will take place on Saturday, December 12, 2015. The teams will not perform a short program.

Earlier this season, Canada qualified one entry, Roman Sadovsky, 16, Vaughan, Ont., to the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, also taking place in Barcelona, Spain from December 9-13, 2015. Similar to the senior qualification, juniors are assigned two events on the seven-event series, with the top six in each category advancing to the Final.

ISU Senior Grand Prix Final

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 24, Toronto, Ont., will represent Canada in men’s. Chan won gold at Skate Canada International and placed fifth in the short program at Trophée Éric Bompard to earn a berth at the ISU Grand Prix Final. The representative of the Granite Club has previously competed at this event six times, medalling four times and winning gold on two occasions (2010 and 2011). He is coached by Kathy Johnson and trains at the Detroit Skating Club.

World champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 30, Balmertown, Ont., are the first of two Canadian pair entries. The representatives of CPA Saint-Léonard have previously competed at this event four times and are the defending champions. This season on the grand prix circuit, they won gold at Skate Canada International and at the NHK Trophy, qualifying in first place for this competition. Duhamel and Radford are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum.

Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que., are the second Canadian pair entry at the event. Last year, they won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final; this will be their first time competing in this event at the senior level. The representatives of CPA Longueuil and CPA Chambly won bronze at Skate America and placed third in the short program at the Trophée Éric Bompard to qualify for this competition. Séguin and Bilodeau are coached by Josée Picard in Chambly, Que.

Nexxice.

Nexxice

Two time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 28, Waterloo, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fifth time competing at this event and they are the defending champions. Weaver and Poje won gold at Skate Canada International and the Rostelecom Cup to qualify first for this competition. The representatives of Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC are coached by Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo and Shae-Lynn Bourne in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Two-time world champions, Nexxice, will be the Canadian entry in synchronized skating. The nine-time consecutive Canadian champions most recently won the 2015 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships. Representing the Burlington Skating Centre, Nexxice is coached by Shelley Simonton Barnett and Anne Schelter.

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final

Roman Sadovsky Junior Grand Prix gold.

Roman Sadovsky

Roman Sadovsky, 16, Vaughan, Ont., will be Canada’s sole entry in men’s. Earlier this season, he won gold at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Slovakia and bronze at the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Poland. Last season he placed fifth at this event. Sadovsky is coached by Tracey Wainman at the YSRA Winter Club.

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event. Dr. Ghislaine Robert of Montreal, Que., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Diane Kamagianis of Mission, Ont., Leanna Caron of Timmins, Ont., and Jeff Lukasik of Calgary, Alta., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Emma Bowie, Skate Canada Communications Manager, will be the media contact at the event. To arrange onsite interviews please contact her by email at [email protected].

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

 

 

 

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2015 ISU SENIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Patrick Chan 24 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Kathy Johnson
Pair Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/30 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pair Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 19/22 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA Chambly Josée Picard
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 26/28 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Angelika Krylova / Pasquale Camerlengo / Shae-Lynn Bourne
Synchronized Skating Nexxice N/A N/A Burlington Skating Centre Shelley Simonton Barnett / Anne Schelter

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2015 ISU JUNIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Roman Sadovsky 16 Vaughan, Ont. YRSA Winter Club Tracey Wainman

Canada’s Seguin and Bilodeau win silver at ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships

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TALLIN, Estonia – Canada’s Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau won the silver medal in pairs on Thursday at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Xiaoyu Yu and Yang Jin of China successfully defended their world junior crown with 178.79 points. The Canadians followed with a personal best 176.32 and Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin of Russia were third at 154.33.

‘’We came out here and did what we had to do and it is a very satisfying performance,’’ said Séguin, from Longueuil, Que. ‘’We are proud of ourselves.’’

Séguin and Bilodeau will also compete at the world seniors-set for later this month in Shanghai. They’ve had a super season winning their three ISU Junior Grand Prix assignments including the Final in December and placing third in senior pairs at nationals in January.

In their skate to “In Your Eyes” and “Wallflower” by Peter Gabriel, Seguin and Bilodeau produced a side by side triple Salchow, double Axel-double toe combination, throw triple Salchow and toeloop as well as six level-four elements.

‘’This is a marvelous end to our junior season,’’ said Bilodeau from Trois-Pistoles, Que. ‘’The go out there at every event and deliver clean performances was a big thrill for us

Shalena Rau of Waterloo, Ont., and Sébastian Arcieri of Montreal were ninth and Mary Orr of Brantford, Ont., and Phelan Simpson of Lunenberg, N.S., 10th.

Canada appears on track for another medal in ice dancing. Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen of Oshawa, Ont., are in second spot after the short dance with 61.09 points, also a personal best. Anna Yanovskaya and Sergey Mozgov of Russia hold a slight lead at 62.22 and Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter of the U.S., are third at 59.10.

Bent and Mackeen’s smooth dance to “Vida Loca” and “Straight to Memphis” was highlighted by precise footwork and a straight line lift. The Canadians picked up a level four for the lift, the twizzles and both Samba sequences.

“The skate – we couldn’t have asked for much more”, Bent commented. “For us, this season was just a bunch of different stepping stones. Our first Junior Grand Prix Final, was also a big learning lesson and as well senior nationals which was a big part of this season.

Madeline Edwards of Port Moody, B.C., and ZhaoKai Pang of Burnaby, B.C., are sixth at 52.34.

Competition continues Friday with the women’s free skate and men’s short program. The free dance is Saturday.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/wjc2015/index.htm

Canadian juniors win Grand Prix gold

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BARCELONA – Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau Trois-Pistoles, Que., broke their Canadian record and won the gold medal in junior pairs on Friday at the ISU Grand Prix final figure skating competition.

Séguin and Bilodeau, only in their second season together, totalled a national junior mark 175.57 points to remain undefeated this season in three competitions. They finished ahead of four Russian pairs including Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin in second at 165.78.

‘’We’ve paid attention to the small details in our skating and that’s made a big difference,’’ said Séguin.  ‘’It’s a program that we’ve worked hard on and we can just let ourselves be carried by the music once we get on the ice.’’

In the senior short dance, Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., posted a season’s best score for 71.34 for first spot.  Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. are second at 65.06 and their compatriots Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani third at 63.90.

‘’We nailed our levels and the performance aspects,’’ said Weaver.  ‘’Everything from our last competition (two weeks ago at the Grand Prix in Japan) improved.  We still left points on the table and have room to grow for the second half of the season.’’

Poje sees the Final as a mid-term exam.

‘’We are looking to get momentum going into the second half of the season by bettering our performances every time out,’’ said Poje.  ‘’We want to get everything solidified for the second half of the season and we achieved that with the short dance.’’

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are fourth after a season’s best 62.49.

‘’This program just keeps getting better with every outing,’’ said Poirier.  ‘’It’s really nice for us at the last two competitions to not have any major mistakes.  We are really comfortable with it and we just need to polish it up some more.’’

In junior ice dancing, Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen of Oshawa, Ont.,took fourth while Madeline Edwards of Port Moody, B.C., and ZhaoKai Pang of Burnaby, B.C., were fifth. Anna Yanovskaya and Sergey Mozgov led a Russian medal sweep.

Bent and Uxbridge were just over three points from the podium.

‘’We felt really strong with every step we took and that was our goal,’’ said Bent.  ‘’There was nothing to lose for us and we wanted to fight for that medal.  It was a great experience for us.’’

In men’s junior competition, Shoma Uno led Japan to a 1-2 finish while Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., produced a clean free skate which received a rousing ovation from the crowd.  He climbed from sixth to fifth overall.

‘’I felt like I redeemed myself after a rough short progam,’’ said Sadovsky.  ‘’I think I learned that I need to relax more during my skate and take one element at a time and not let any mistakes affect me.  I started with a clean slate today.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the four free skates for seniors.

NOTE:Skate Canada Communications Director, Barb MacDonald, will be the media contact at the event.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/gpf1415/

Séguin & Bilodeau golden in Dresden

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DRESDEN, Germany– Julianne Seguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., delivered a flawless free skate on Saturday to win the gold medal in pairs at the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

SeguinBilodeau Dresden GoldThe second-year Canadian pair collected gold at their two Junior Grand Prix assignments and have qualified for the Junior Grand Prix final set for December 11-14 in Barcelona.

Séguin and Bilodeau scored a personal best and Canadian junior record 174.10 points with Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin of Russia second at 162.12 and Chelsea Liu and Brian Johnson of the U.S. third at 132.15.

‘’We approached this season ready to work very hard and that’s allowed us to have this success,’’ said Séguin, 17.  ‘’One of our goals this season was to reach the final so this is a big step in our career.’’

The pair showed their expressive and athletic skills to music by Peter Gabriel (In Your Eyes).  In particular their endurance was impressive as they landed back-to-back side-by-side jumps and two throws and lifts in the second half of the program.

‘’We’re known for our chemistry on the ice and we always try to put the emphasis on that in our performances,’’ said Bilodeau, 21.  ‘’Today we were in the zone and the program felt very natural.  It’s a more elaborate program than last year and we’ve shown we’ve done our homework.’’

Not too be discounted was a fine performance for Hope McLean of Glencoe, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont. The new pair produced the fourth best free skate of the day to climb from seventh to fifth overall to conclude an impressive international debut.

In men’s competition, Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., scored the second best free skate of the day to climb from eighth to fourth overall with 192.44 points to remain in contention for a spot in the Grand Prix Final.   Andrei Lazikin of Russia took the gold at 202.68, He Zhang of China was second at 196.20 and Yaroslav Paniot of Ukraine third at 194.60.

The 15-year-old Sadovsky, a gold medallist last month,  executed a clean program that showcased his incredible flexibility.  He scored a personal best 132.54 for the free skate.

‘’It was a big challenge to come back from the short program,’’ said Sadovsky, who fell on his triple Lutz in the short then landed it twice in the free skate.  ‘’I knew there there was no room for error.  I liked everything about my performance today.  It was the best I’ve ever done it.’’

Mitchell Gordon of Vancouver was 10th.

The last stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit before the final is October 9-11 in Zagreb, Croatia.

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpger2014/

Two golden skates for Canada at ISU Junior Grand Prix

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OSTRAVA, Czech Republic – Canada won the gold medal in pairs and ice dancing on Friday at the third stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

The winners were Mackenzie Bent of Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen of Oshawa, Ont., in ice dancing and Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., in pairs.

In ice dancing, Bent and MacKeen collected their second career junior Grand Prix win and fourth podium overall with a 138.17 score. The overall and free program scores were international bests for the Canadians. Betina Popova and Yuri Vlasenko of Russia were second at 131.42 and Lorraine McNamara and Quinn Carpenter of the U.S., third at 130.79.

‘’We delivered what we’d been doing in training and that’s very pleasing,’’ said Bent, 17. ‘’It wasn’t a perfect skate but we headed into this competition confident with both programs.’’

Last year, the couple saw a super season end on a sour note with a 12th place finish at the junior world championships.

‘’Obviously it was important for us to get off on the right track this season,’’ said MacKeen, 20. ‘’We’ve come in this season with some changes including two different programs and so far it’s really worked out.’’

Danielle Wu and Spencer Soo of Burnaby, B.C., were sixth.

In pairs, Séguin and Bilodeau delivered a near-flawless performance to music from Peter Gabriel to win the gold with 159.40 points.  Lina Fedorova and Maxim Miroshkin of Russia were second at 144.62 and their compatriots Kamilla Gainetdinova and Sergei Alexeev third at 134.43.

‘’We worked really hard for this so we are not totally surprised,’’ said Séguin, 17. ‘’We knew we had improved a lot from last season. We felt in control of our program and landing the side-by-side jump early in the program gave us a lot of confidence.’’

The pair joined forces last season and produced two top-five finishes in the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit and were second at junior nationals. This season they want to start making noise at the senior level nationally.

‘’We want to skate like a senior pair team this year,’’ said Bilodeau, 21. ‘’Last year, we focused on developing chemistry on the ice. Now we’ve expanded to display emotion and maturity as well, and this program helps us do that.’’

Canada has another medal contender in men’s competition as Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., grabbed the lead after an excellent short program on Friday earning 67.51 points. Alexander Samarin of Russia is second at 62.42 and Sei Kawahara of Japan stands third at 60.55.

In women’s competition after Thursday’s short program, Kim DeGuise-Léveillée of Sorel-Tracy, Que., is 10th.

Competition ends Saturday with the men’s and women’s free skates.

Videos of routines available on the ISU YouTube channel

Full results: http://www.isuresults.com/results/jgpcze2014/index.htm

Pair team Julianne Seguin & Charlie Bilodeau skating through life’s lessons together

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After only nine months together, Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau left a lasting impression at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They were a dynamic, exciting pair with a world of potential (And doesn’t the world need pairs?).

First after the short program at the junior level at the Canadian championships last January, and, finally (after a few bobbles in the long), silver medalists, Seguin and Bilodeau were set to represent Canada at the junior world figure skating championships in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Then life happened. Like John Lennon once warbled:  “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans.” This spring, Seguin and Bilodeau have had to face the toughest lessons of all.

They missed the world junior championships.

But after what followed, their inability to go turned out to be a good thing. Hard to believe, but true.

They had to withdraw after Seguin injured her lower back while creating some programs for shows two weeks before the championships. It was bad. Seguin couldn’t even bend forward. She had done a move with her partner, going up into the air, and her back locked. “I think the year was long and I had to get a break,” she said. “I had to stop. My body wasn’t following me.”

She rested the back, and did some physiotherapy. The worst part was breaking it to Bilodeau that they would have to pull out of the world junior championships, but Bilodeau was magnificent. He showed no wrath at chances missed. “Well, we just have to learn something else,” he told her. “We just have to go with it. I’m not going to be angry at you.”

“I was like, ‘oh my god, thank you,” Seguin recalled. “I was happy about that. That is a nice partner.”

With possible changes in age minimums coming for junior international events, Seguin and Bilodeau might not have another chance at competing at junior worlds. Seguin is only 17, but Bilodeau is already 20. If the age limit drops to 19, they will have to look at senior events only. That would affect their Junior Grand Prix career, too.

No matter. This is a good team, with strong connections. “I really like to skate with him,” Seguin said. “We like each other. And we have a nice friendship.” She illustrates this by interlacing her fingers together. They fit each other. They complement each other. Seguin, too, is a people person. She loves people. She’s not difficult.

But what they faced was.
Bilodeau’s grandfather died. Then his father, Robert, was found in a diabetic coma. Bilodeau rushed to be by his side in intensive care, but it was in a town four hours away. Gradually, his condition weakened, and he died April 11.

March and April disappeared for the pair. For a month and a half, Bilodeau was caught up in things other than skating, really important events. “He would have missed that, if we had gone to the junior world championships,” said coach Josee Picard. “Luckily, we didn’t go.”

The team cancelled all shows. Robert Bilodeau’s funeral was on the Monday of the development camp for singles that Seguin attended. On the Tuesday, Bilodeau finally came back to the ice and Picard set about organizing all the music and the meetings with choreographers. In early May, it was to be Shae Zukiwsky, designing the short program. The week of May 12, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon were to come to work on their free skate. It will be an exciting time for these young pair skaters, working with ice dancers.

The creative work and the bustle will be good for Bilodeau, who says he will turn a page. “Let’s start a new life,” he said.

“You know you always wonder why something happens for a reason,” Picard said. “The injury allowed him to be at his father’s side.”

The team has done nothing since the injury. Seguin lost about six weeks of training. She started training again only one week before the development camp, not so sure she’d make it through all of the fitness testing.

Now, Seguin says her first priority is to ensure her back is sound. As a singles skater (at the senior level), she is keeping her long program and having Julie Marcotte design a new short program. Seguin is doing all triples, up to the triple Lutz. She’s doing triple toe loop- triple toe loop combinations and she’s working on a triple flip – triple toe loop, necessary to go toe-to-toe with the current high-flying Canadian female singles skaters.

Seguin and Bilodeau, uncertain about the junior age rules, are putting senior programs together. All these details will be healing for a pair with so much promise. And so much life knowledge.

Beverley Smith

Nicolas Nadeau leads after junior men’s short, Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau on top after junior pair short

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One frosty day in Boisbriand, Que., Nicolas Nadeau sat in front of the television set and found himself enthralled with the 2002 Olympic Games.

“I said to my mom: ‘I want to do that,’” said Nadeau, now 16.

His mother said: “Sure.”

Nadeau was good at all sports, but when his mother enrolled him in hockey, he found himself rolling over on early mornings and saying “Let me sleep.” Hockey was out. Figure skating for some reason, although it is known to have early mornings, too, was in.

All those years later, now Nadeau is leading the pack at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, scoring a decisive victory in the junior men’s short program. Nadeau finished with 65.60 points, while Denis Margalik, 16, of Mississauga, Ont., is second (after defeating him at Skate Canada Challenge in December.) Margalik, who fired off a beautiful triple Lutz – triple toe loop combo in the short, has 61.84 points. In third place is Bennet Toman with 57.76. The free skate is Wednesday.

“I was hoping to be in the top three,” Nadeau said. “And to do what I’m capable of.” He landed a triple toe loop – triple toe loop combination in the short.

Nadeau has always been a work in project for coaches in Quebec. Something like, shall we say, a curious sort, who was all over the place, some coaches didn’t want to teach him. “He needed a lot of attention,” said Yvan Desjardins, the brave one who took him on. “He’s a little bit better now.”

Already, Nadeau has a triple Axel and he’s working on a quad in the training harness. It’s only a matter of time.

Nadeau looks up to many skaters, but at first blush, he’ll tell you Patrick Chan. (“He’s pretty good.”) and Kurt Browning, because of his sense of humour, and his ability to portray any character. Nadeau loves to play a character.

In the past year, Nadeau has been training with more consistency, making the jumps happen when he wants.

He’ll have to be on his toes with skaters like 12-year-old Eric Liu on his heels. Liu, of Vancouver, showed up with his Dizzie Gillespie routine to “Salt Peanuts” and dazzled the small crowd with great speed and edges and fired off a triple Lutz – triple toe loop in the short program.

Last year he was second at the novice level and finished fourth in the junior men’s short program on Tuesday night. Two years ago, he competed at the pre-novice level.

In the junior pair short program, new pair Julianne Seguin, 17 of Montreal and Charlie Bilodeau, 20 of Rimouski, are enjoying a comfortable lead, with 56.54 points. In their only two competitions this year, they were fourth and fifth in Junior Grand Prix events.

Vanessa Grenier, 21, of Johnville, Que., and Maxime Deschamps,, 22, of Vaudreuil, Que., are in second place with 50.69 points.

Third are Dylan Conway, 16 of Toronto and Dustin Sherriff-Clayton  of Newmarket, Ont., with 43.77 points. Only eight pairs competed.

Beverley Smith