Posts

Lubov Ilyushechkina and Charlie Bilodeau to compete in pairs together

/0 Comments/in /by

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]

Behind The Blades With Lubov Ilyushechkina

/0 Comments/in /by

Welcome to my second blog!

The Grand Prix season has started and the second stop is already over. Amazing how quickly the time is passing by. It feels like the summer was just yesterday but you see people wearing their topcoats. Very useful at the rink though!

Well, enough of the small talk – let’s get to the main topic.

lubov2It was my third Skate Canada Grand Prix, and second at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. We are quite familiar with this arena as every year the High Performance Camp is held there in the smaller community rinks. The camp this is also where we film our fun videos and take our team photographs. You will see many of the videos on the Jumbotron at Skate Canada International and the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Actually, it was fun to watch myself do something else rather than skating.

There was a clip played where Meagan was hosting our game “How Well Do You Know Your Partner?”

“Who is more tired after your long program run through?”

I said “The coach!”

These videos give the fans a little insight into our lives beyond our skating. It brings out more of an open view of what our personalities are like off the ice. And they keep you entertained during the flood or breaks in between the events.

I really hope that you enjoyed watching the competition. It is still the beginning of the season, and not all the athletes are at their peak yet. When you come out to compete, you want to bring all your focus, strength, passsion and love of figure skating to the highest level and show a beautiful performance.

But falls and failures still happen. Of cource, it is always disappointing, but the errors show the areas you need to strenghthen. Competing at the highest level requires us to have a certain set of elements. Most of the athletes are usually very capable to perform at a high quality, and some athletes even do more elements than they need in their programs.. It always comes down to delivering, under pressure, at the right moment.

lubov1During the competition you always have a chance to see all the skaters and all your skating friends that you don’t see during the training year. I was happy to meet my old teammates, spend some time with them and tell about my life in Canada.

I was glad to compete at home in front of the Canadian fans, seeing a lot of Maple Leafs in the arena. This event was successful for Canada, with our athletes on the podium in all disciplines. Dylan and I got our first Grand Prix medal together – and my first Grand Prix medal for Canada !!!

Last year, we had three trips to Asia, each  flight lasting 12 hours or more. Now we only had a 30-minute car ride from home. It’s a noticeable difference!

We still have one assignment coming up, and my next blog will be after Cup of China!

I hope this colorful autumn will bring you a lot of joy and peace.

Always yours,
Lubov Ilyushechkina

Behind the Blades with Lubov Ilyushechkina: Nebelhorn Trophy 2016

/0 Comments/in /by

Hi everyone!

I’m excited to announce my first blog. Here I’d like to share with you some inside information about being a figure skater, sharing moments from our routine, memorable events and so forth.

Germany was the only country left, on the places I wanted to visit. Either a big city or a small town I was looking forward to complete my wish-to-visit-countries list.

Dylan and I stayed in a sophisticated european style hotel in the centre of Obersdorf. The impression of the town was positive, from the old-fashioned architectural buildings, friendly windows sprinkled by flowers to the winding streets paved by massive rocks. Men of all ages dressed up as cowboys as they followed the herd of cows from the mountain across the town. The enviroment was breathing by a charm and an antiquity brought through the time.

The weather was very nice. You know that feeling when you wake up, open the window, slowly breath in the fresh morning air, raise your hands up and your lips start stretching in the joyful smile? That’s how four of my mornings had started except the last one, when we left before the sunrise. That definitely set the mood to enjoy every single day.

I’m already missing you, Obersdorf! @NebelhornTrophy2016 @lindamoscovitch thanks for the picture!

A photo posted by Lubov Ilyushechkina (@lubov_ilyushechkina) on

With all of this positive and relaxing enviroment, I did not feel nervous or worried. The practices went well – we were consistent with our elements, trusted our training and all our hard work. Our coach Lee Barkell, said: “Nothing more, nothing less. You dont need an extra effort.” Isn’t that great advice?

We went to do the run through with the feeling of lightness and enjoyment from the beginning to the end of each program. The goal was to make all the elements look like one action with the choreography, transitions and emotions. Training does not compare to the experience you’ll get from competition, considering the adrenaline rush and unexpected change of plans.  So we wanted to see how all the patterns, tricks and skating worked under the pressure. Here is a good thing, it didn’t change much. Each program felt like one motion with it’s own character. We were happy about our performance and received a lot of positive feedback about the elements, programs and outfits. Of course there is always more to improve. But this is the beginning of the season, and I’m sure that the next time you will see a better version of ourselves.

One more thing I want to mention that is very important to me is our award. We had our award ceremony after the long program and then we had a team award. In total with the overall score, #TeamCanada came first in this competition. I’m so proud to know I was  part of this great success! The country I love, won!

I was honored to go to the team award ceremony and to hold the Trophy. I was glowing of triumph while listening to “O, Canada.” And this is only the beginning.

I hope my little story lasted some tender emotions in your hearts like Obersdorf left in mine. Wish you only the best and positive emotions, just like Germany gave me.

Take care!
Always yours,

Lubov Ilyushechkina

New Canadian Pair team to debut in Poland

/0 Comments/in , /by

OTTAWA, ON:  A newly formed pair team will represent Canada at the Warsaw Cup this week.  Lubov Iliushechkina, 23, Moscow, Russia and Dylan Moscovitch, 30, Toronto, Ontario will make their international debut at the Torwar Ice Rink in Warsaw, Poland. The competition, which runs November 20-23, is part of the International Skating Union’s (ISU) Challenger Series.

After success with other partners, Iliushechkina & Moscovitch teamed up in the spring of 2014. She had competed for her native Russia, and received her clearance certificate from the ISU this fall, allowing her to skate for Canada alongside Moscovitch. The duo will represent the Toronto Cricket Skating and Curling Club, where they train. They are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson.

Iliushechkina & Moscovitch are the only Canadian entry at the Warsaw Cup. This will be their first international event, although the two did compete at Skate Canada Central Ontario’s Octoberfest earlier this fall in Barrie, Ont.