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Canadians continue on ISU Grand Prix circuit in France

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have two entries, for a total of three skaters, competing at the 2016 Trophée de France. The event takes place from November 11-13, 2016, at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, France. Canada will have one entry in ladies and one entry in ice dance.

Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ladies. Last season, she placed sixth at this event. This season, Daleman won bronze at the Nebelhorn Trophy and placed fourth at her first ISU Grand Prix event of the season, Skate America. The 2016 Canadian silver medallist is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser in Toronto, Ont.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 25, Unionville, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event three times, winning the silver medal in both 2014 and 2015, and placing sixth in 2012. This season, Gilles and Poirier won the bronze medal at the Nebelhorn Trophy and also won bronze at their first ISU Grand Prix assignment, Skate Canada International. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, will be the Canadian team leader at the event and physiotherapist Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Jodi Abbott of Edmonton, Alta., will be the sole Canadian official at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 TROPHÉE DE FRANCE

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman 18 Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Brian Orser
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/25 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs

Canadians spin more gold at Skate Canada International

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MISSISSAUGA, Ont. – Patrick Chan of Toronto and ice dancers Tessa Virtue of London, Ont., and Scott Moir of Ilderton, Ont., won gold medals on Saturday evening to conclude Skate Canada International.

In men’s competition, Chan posted the second best free skate but hung on to top spot with 266.95 points. He edged Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan who won the free skate to climb from fourth to second at 263.06.

Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., landed three of his four quad jumps and took the bronze medal at 245.06. It is his first Grand Prix medal in his career.

Chan entered his highly anticipated free skate which was scheduled to include three quad jumps. He landed one, fell on the quad Salchow, which he was attempting for the first time in competition, and tripled the last one. Still he got strong scores from the judges for his artistic performance.

‘’It was a bit rough,’’ admitted Chan, a three-time world champion. ‘’I had a great opening but anytime you put in a new quad it feels different. The additional pressure of having it tired me out and you could see I faded as the program went along.

‘’Still it’s a great start to the season and I feel it’s a well deserved win.’’

Reynolds was at his first Grand Prix since 2012.

‘’It’s great to be on the podium in my first Grand Prix in many years,’’ he said. ‘’And to do it in such a high pressure environment with skaters like Patrick and Yuzuru makes feel really confident going forward.’’

Liam Firus of North Vancouver was ninth.

In ice dancing, Virtue and Moir ranked second in the free dance and held on to first with 189.06. Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S., took silver at 188.24 while Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto were third at 182.57.

‘’It was mixed emotions out there for us,’’ said Moir. ‘’It wasn’t kind of the moment we really wanted but the fans really helped us through that one. At the end we were proud of it.’’

Virtue said they rejigged the program after the Autumn Classic event in Montreal earlier this month. The couple are back in action this season for the first time since the 2014 Olympic Games.

“We’ve made some great strides with this free dance,’’ she said. ‘’Both technically and emotionally we went back to the drawing board and really got back to the intention of each movement and we made a lot of improvements.’’

Alexandra Paul of Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam of Barrie, Ont., were eighth.

Canada ends the competition with seven medals. Earlier Saturday, Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., won the pairs event with Lubov Ilyushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto third. Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. won silver in women’s competition.

Full results: 2016 Skate Canada International

Skaters from around the world headed to Mississauga, Ontario, for 2016 Skate Canada International

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada’s top figure skaters are headed to Mississauga, Ont., this week to compete against some of world’s best at the 2016 Skate Canada International. The event takes place October 28-30, 2016, at the Hershey Centre. Canada will have 11 entries (three entries per discipline in men, pairs and ice dance, and two entries in ladies) for a total of 17 skaters.

Skate Canada International is the second of six competitions on the International Skating Union (ISU) Grand Prix of Figure Skating circuit, which qualifies skaters for the ISU Grand Prix Final, taking place December 8-11 in Marseille, France.

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., is the first of three Canadian entries in men’s. This will be his eighth time competing at this event, having previously won the gold medal five times and the silver medal once. Chan won silver at his first event this season, the Finlandia Trophy. The eight-time Canadian champion is coached by Marina Zoueva, Oleg Epstein and Johnny Johns and trains in Canton, MI, USA.

Canadian silver medallist Liam Firus, 24, North Vancouver, B.C., is the second Canadian entry in men’s. He placed 11th at this event in 2014 and 10th in 2012. This season, Firus placed fifth at his first event, the Nebelhorn Trophy. Firus is coached by Bruno Marcotte in Sainte-Julie, Que.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kevin Reynolds, 26, Coquitlam, B.C., rounds out the Canadian entries in the men’s discipline. Reynolds previously competed at this event in 2010 and placed fourth. This season, Reynolds won the silver medal at his first event, the Ondrej Nepela Trophy. He is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand, 20, Prescott, Ont., is the first of two Canadian entries in the ladies’ category. Chartrand previously competed at this event in 2014 and placed seventh. She began this season winning the silver medal at the 2016 Autumn Classic International. Chartrand is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta., will be the second Canadian entry in the ladies’ discipline. Osmond won this event in 2012 and placed 11th at this event last season. This season, she won the gold medal at her first event, the Finlandia Trophy. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallist is coached by Ravi Walia and trains in Edmonton, Alta.

Two-time World Champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., lead the Canadian pair entries. This will be their seventh time competing at this event, having won gold in 2014 and 2015 and medalled five years consecutively. Duhamel and Radford won their first event this season, the Finlandia Trophy. The five-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum in Saint-Léonard, Que.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 32, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian pair entry, and will be competing at this event for the first time. The 2016 Canadian bronze medallists won the silver medal at their first event this season, the Nebelhorn Trophy. Ilyushechkina and Moscovitch are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson in Toronto, Ont.

Brittany Jones, 20, Toronto, Ont., and Joshua Reagan, 26, Toronto, Ont., will be the third Canadian entry in pair. Jones and Reagan placed seventh at this event in 2014. This season, they won the gold medal at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. Jones and Reagan are coached by Bryce Davison in Hamilton, Ont.

Olympic and World champions Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont., and Scott Moir, 29, Ilderton, Ont., are the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event six times, winning the gold medal on five occasions and the silver medal once. Virtue and Moir returned to international competition at the 2016 Autumn Classic International where they won the gold medal. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. They have previously competed at this event twice, winning the silver medal in 2014 and placing fourth in 2012. Gilles and Poirier won the bronze medal at their first event this season, the Nebelhorn Trophy. They are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs in Scarborough, Ont.

Alexandra Paul, 25, Midhurst, Ont., and Mitchell Islam, 26, Barrie, Ont., are the third Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fourth time competing at this event, having placed sixth in 2015, fifth in 2013 and fourth in 2010. This season, Paul and Islam won the bronze medal at the 2016 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic. They train in Montreal, Que., with coaches Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Carolyn Allwright of Kitchener, Ont., and Manon Perron of Boucherville, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Julia Alleyne of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Karen Howard of Regina, Sask., Sylvain Guibord of Brossard, Que., Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., and Andrea Derby of Windsor, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Practices will be streamed live on the Skate Canada Dailymotion page.

For results and full entries please visit www.sc3staging.skatecanada.ca or www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 SKATE CANADA INTERNATIONAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Marina Zoueva / Oleg Epstein / Johnny Johns
Men Liam Firus 24 North Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver SC Bruno Marcotte
Men Kevin Reynolds 26 Coquitlam, B.C. Vancouver SC Joanne McLeod
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 20 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh/ Brian Orser
Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 20 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pairs Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 24/32 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Pairs Brittany Jones / Joshua Reagan 20/26 Toronto, Ont. / Toronto, Ont. Hamilton SC / Hamilton SC Bryce Davison
Ice Dance Tessa Virtue / Scott Moir 27/29 London, Ont. / Ilderton, Ont. Ilderton SC / Ilderton SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/24 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Ice Dance Alexandra Paul / Mitchell Islam 25/26 Midhurst, Ont. / Barrie, Ont. Barrie SC / Barrie SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Week in Skating Photos: New Beginnings

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Canada kicked off the first skating event of the 2016/2017 season with the Autumn Classic International #ACI16

Meanwhile Piper and Paul sees Uniqlo’s thread that connects us all, at the first Canadian store.

Lacing up our skates for another week

With great friends to share the ice with.

#canskate #skatemom #threeamigos

A photo posted by Dana (@sneekydd) on

Look both ways then stop, turn or spin.

#CanSkate starts tonight @ #Rec Complex

A photo posted by Selkirk Skating Club (@selkirk_skating_club) on

Ice skating is beaver tested and approved.

The next step is to join the parachute bubble with our CanSkaters.

Thank you to all the #ACI16 volunteers, we could not have done it without you.

#skatecanada #kissandcry #volunteering #alwaysbusy

A photo posted by Sandra Ercoli (@s.ercoli2909) on

Like Tessa and Scott, you don’t have to cool to rule our world.

Welcome back. #tessaandscott #danielleearlphotography

A photo posted by Danielle Earl (@danielleearlphotography) on

We hope to see you again at future events.

More greatness at #aci16 @meaganduhamel @ericradford85 @jayde0425 @skate_canada

A photo posted by Maria Gilker (@mgilker0202) on

Have you seen last week’s Week in Skating Photos: “Thanks Coach” blog? Tag #SkateCanada and #CanSkate to be featured in our next blog.

Follow Skate Canada on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for more pics all week long!

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier win Bronze at Nebelhorn Trophy

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OBERSTDORF, GERMANY: Ice dancers Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., started off the 2016-2017 season with a bronze medal win at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, Germany. The team skated two strong programs, scoring 70.32 points in the short dance and 106.52 points in the free dance for a total of 176.84 points.

“We can look back on this competition and really say mission accomplished. Our goal for this season is to close the gap between us and the teams that are getting on the world podium. To be within two points of two past world medalists is a really big step up for us. We are already matching, if not beating our scores from the end of last season and it’s only September,” said Poirier.

Italians Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte took the gold with 180.50 points and Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates scored 179.18 for the silver medal.

In men’s, Liam Firus, 24, North Vancouver, B.C., finished in fifth place. He scored 74.57 points in the short and 135.52 points in the free for a total of 210.09.

Alexander Petrov of Russia won the gold with 232.21 points, the silver went to Jorik Hendrickx of Belgium with 223.04 points and American Grant Hochstein took bronze with 217.25 points.

In the women’s discipline, Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., sits in third with 60.15 points after the short program.

“I’m very happy with how it went. It was not only my fist competition of the season but my first international of the season and my goal was to get the Lutz toe, which I did. I was really happy with that,” said Daleman.

Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia is in first after the short with 65.20 points and Mai Mihara of Japan is in second with 63.11 points.

In pair, Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont., competed their short program on Thursday and are in second place going into the free with 65.98 points.

“Very happy for our first time out for the season. It’s a new program, a challenging one, it’s been a lot of work just to get it to this point. We are very pleased on how we came out the first time around,” said Moscovitch.

The German team of Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot are in first with 74.24 points and Mari Vartmann and Ruben Blommaert, also of Germany, are in third with 57.74 points.

The pair and women’s competitions will conclude tomorrow with the free programs.

Full results: http://www.deu-event.de/results/Nebelhorn_2016/index.html.

 

Canadian skaters in Germany for Nebelhorn Trophy

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send four entries, for a total of six skaters to Oberstdorf, Germany, for the Nebelhorn Trophy, the third stop on the 2016-2017 ISU Challenger Series. Canada will have one entry in each discipline (men’s, ladies, pair and ice dance) at the event which takes place September 22-24, 2016.

Canadian silver medallist Liam Firus, 24, North Vancouver, B.C., is the Canadian entry in men’s. In 2014, he placed ninth at this event. Last season, the representative of Vancouver SC won the Triglav Trophy, placed seventh at the Finlandia Trophy, eighth at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, and 13th at the ISU Four Continents Championships. Firus is coached by Bruno Marcotte in Sainte-Julie, Que.

Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ladies and will be competing at this event for the first time. Last season, she placed fifth at Skate Canada International, sixth at Trophée Éric Bompard, ninth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships and won silver at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Daleman is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont., are the Canadian pair entry, and will also be competing at this event for the first time. Last season, they placed seventh at the Cup of China, fifth at the NHK Trophy, fifth at the ISU Four Continents Championships and seventh at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. The two-time Canadian medallists are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., will be the Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their first time competing at this event. Last season, they won bronze at Skate America, silver at Trophée Éric Bompard, placed fifth at the ISU Four Continents Championships and eighth at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships. The representatives of Scarboro FSC are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs.

Skate Canada High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk will be travelling with the Canadian team as team leader and Shirley Kushner of Westmount, Que., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Reaghan Fawcett-Fortin of Aurora, Ont., and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit 2016 Nebelhorn Trophy.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 NEBELHORN TROPHY

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Liam Firus 24 North Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver SC Bruno Marcotte
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman 18 Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Brian Orser
Pair Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 24/31 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/24 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs

Skate Canada Announces 2016-2017 National Team

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada is pleased to announce the 2016-2017 National Team. The team is comprised of 28 senior members, which includes five men, five women, four pair teams and five ice dance teams.

To be named to the National Team a skater must finish in the top five in senior singles, pair and ice dance disciplines at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, or be added at the discretion of the Skate Canada. These skaters may be considered to represent Canada at international competitions.

Their appointment to the national team is effective from June 1, 2016 through to April 30, 2017. Skate Canada also announced the three teams that will make up the Skate Canada Synchronized Skating National Team.

MEN
Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont.
Liam Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C.
Kevin Reynolds, 25, Coquitlam, B.C.
Nam Nguyen, 18, Toronto, Ont.
Nicolas Nadeau, 18, Boisbriand, Que.

WOMEN
Alaine Chartrand, 20, Prescott, Ont.
Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont.
Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld. & Sherwood Park, Alta.
Véronik Mallet, 22, Sept-Iles, Que.
Michelle Long, 24, Newmarket, Ont.

PAIR
Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont. & Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont.
Julianne Séguin, 19, Longueuil, Que. & Charlie Bilodeau, 22, Trois-Pistoles, Que.
Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia & Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont.
Kirsten Moore-Towers, 24, St. Catharines, Ont. & Michael Marinaro, 24, Sarnia, Ont.

ICE DANCE
Kaitlyn Weaver, 27, Waterloo, Ont. & Andrew Poje, 29, Waterloo, Ont.
Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont. & Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont.
Élisabeth Paradis, 23, Loretteville, Que. & François-Xavier Ouellette, 23, Laval, Que.
Alexandra Paul, 24, Midhurst, Ont. & Mitchell Islam, 26, Barrie, Ont.
Tessa Virtue, 27, London, Ont. & Scott Moir, 28, Ilderton, Ont.

SYNCHRONIZED SKATING
Les Suprêmes, of CPA Saint-Léonard
NEXXICE, of the Burlington Skating Centre
Meraki, of the Leaside Skating Club

Weaver and Poje place fifth at ISU World Championships

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BOSTON – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., took fifth place in ice dancing on Thursday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France successfully defended their world title winning the gold medal with 194.46 points. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. followed for silver at 188.43 and Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. were third at 185.77.

Weaver and Poje, third at last year’s worlds, earned a season’s best 182.01. It was the first time in 10 years Canada’s has not reached the world podium in ice dancing.

“We felt really prepared for the competition,“ said Poje. “But that didn’t come through in the performance. We are still proud of the effort we put into it and the growth we still have to push into the future.”

Weaver says the couple must keep pushing the envelope.

“It took us a long time to master (the free dance),” she said. “Unfortunately the past two outings we haven’t shown what we are capable of. These are the programs that will push us to a new level and make us even better next year.”

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto were eighth, with a personal best 173.07.

“We gave it a little too hard at the beginning and we both felt tired at the end,” said Poirier. ‘’We are so proud how we’ve been able to push the programs the last few weeks and to finish the season with two personal bests is really exciting.’’

In women’s competition after the short program, Gracie Gold of the U.S. is first at 76.43, Anna Pogorilaya of Russia second at 73.98 and her compatriot Evgenia Medvedeva third at 73.76.

Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., produced a clean program and is eighth at 67.38.  It wasn’t as smooth for Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., who ranked 17th at 55.67.

The 18-year-old Daleman raised her arms triumphantly after her performance.

“I’ve had trouble with my short program this season,” said Daleman, a 2014 Olympian. “Just to finally lay a clean short program and doing it that well I was so overwhelmed.  On the ice, I just told myself: breathe, confident and comfortable.”

Chartrand, the Canadian champion, didn’t mince words with her performance. She stumbled on the second part of her opening combo jump and fell on the all-important double Axel.

“I just rushed it a little bit, got ahead of myself,” said Chartrand, 20, about her fall. “It was a costly mistake. Things were going pretty good up to that point. I wasn’t satisfied with my combo either. I did a perfect one in the warm-up. It should be an easy combination.”

Competition continues Friday with the pairs short program and men’s free skate.

Full results: ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2016

Patrick Chan stands third after short program at ISU Worlds

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BOSTON – Canada’s Patrick Chan is in third place after the men’s short program on Wednesday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan neared his world record score totalling 110.56 points to give himself a 12-point cushion heading into the free skate.  Defending champion Javier Fernandez of Spain is second at 98.52 and Chan follows at 94.84.

Chan, a three-time world champion from Toronto, opened with a perfect quad-triple toe combination but did fall on his triple Axel.

‘’I’m not disappointed at all,’’ said Chan, who sat out last season and hadn’t competed at the previous two worlds. ‘’It was a great achievement to do that quad-triple opening. I felt great going into the Axel but I just rushed it a little bit. I know what I did wrong.’’

At the ISU Four Continents Championships last month, Chan roared from fifth after the short to the gold.

‘’Third is a great spot going into the long program,’’ he said. ‘’The Four Continents is a great example of not being on top after the short and focusing on the long.’’

Seventeen-year-old Nam Nguyen of Toronto was 27th and did not qualify for the free skate set for Friday.

Logjam at top of ice dance standings

In ice dancing, less than six points separate the top-six after the short dance.

Defending champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France lead at 76.29, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. are second at 74.70 and their compatriots Madison Chock and Evan Bates are third at 72.46.

Grand Prix Final champions Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are fourth at 71.83 and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto fifth with a personal best 70.70.

“We skated really well it was one of our best short dances this season,” said Weaver. “Where the disconnect was between that and our score I am not sure. But that’s not under our control and we gave it everything we had.”

Poje says the result won’t alter their free dance on Friday.

“We have a game plan for these worlds and that’s going out there and doing two solid performances.”

Gilles and Poirier tinkered with their Beatles-themed music after their fifth place finish at the ISU Four Continents last month.

“That was a big risk,” said Poirier. “It only gave us three and half weeks to get this program together. The choices we made all paid off and we got straight level fours. It’s been a roller coaster season and we’ve shown a lot of resiliency.”

Gilles said the previous short dance wasn’t connecting with the judges.

“We weren’t getting the levels we wanted all season,” she said. “We kept getting different feedback so we went back to music that was more fluid. We really want to end this season on a happy note.”

Elisabeth Paradis of Loretteville, Que., and François Xavier-Ouellette of Mascouche, Que., were 23rd. The top-20 from the short dance advanced to the free skate.

Competition continues Thursday with the free dance and women’s short program.

Full results: ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2016

MEET CANADA’S WORLD TEAM: ICE DANCE

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Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje

Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje

In January, Kaitlyn and Andrew captured their second straight national title at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships and will look to ride that momentum right into Boston. The two-time world medallists were riding a perfect season a year ago before settling for bronze at worlds. In 2014, they took silver at the world championships, missing gold by less than a point.

Kaitlyn and Andrew are ambassadors for Right to Play, an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world

DID YOU KNOW: Kaitlyn and Andrew are both taking classes at the University of Waterloo – Kaitlyn is studying public relations and media, and Andrew is focused on biomedical science.

Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier

Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier

Always entertaining, artistic crowd pleasers, Piper and Paul notched their fourth Canadian podium finish, and second straight silver, at the Canadian championships in January. Together since 2011, Piper and Paul display a high level of artistry in their programs and despite facing injury issues in recent seasons, remain crowd favourites with creative lifts and extraordinary performance ability. Away from the rink, Piper is immersed in the fashion world, and does much of the outfit design for their programs. One day, she hopes to launch her own line of sports clothing.

FUN FACT: Piper was an extra in a Simple Plan music video; Paul, meanwhile, admits he is “really bad” at parking cars.

Elisabeth Paradis/Francois-Xavier Oullette

Élisabeth Paradis / François-Xavier Ouellette 

Slowly making their way up the ice dance ranks, the Quebec tandem had their unofficial coming out party in January with a bronze at the Canadian championships.  After their moving free program to Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, Tessa Virtue called it “one of the highlights of the season” for her.  Displaying profound emotion and elegance in their programs, Elisabeth and François-Xavier seem destined to only get better as they continue to train under former Olympians and two-time ice dance world silver medallists Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon.

DID YOU KNOW: Élisabeth plays the tenor saxophone in her spare time while François likes to do heavy lifting by renovating houses.

Canadian team prepared for 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send 10 entries for a total of 16 skaters to the 2016 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, MA, USA, from March 28 – April 3. Canada will have two entries per category in men’s and ladies and three entries per category in pair and ice dance.

Three-time World Champion and double Olympic silver medallist (men’s and team) Patrick Chan, 25, Toronto, Ont., is the first of two Canadian entries in men’s. Chan returns to the world championships for the first time since 2013, when he won gold. In his return to competition this season, the representative of the Granite Club won gold at Skate Canada International, placed fifth at Trophée Éric Bompard, fourth at the ISU Grand Prix Final, and won gold at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The eight time Canadian champion is coached by Kathy Johnson and trains at the Detroit Skating Club.

Nam Nguyen, 17, Toronto, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in men’s. Last season, he placed fifth at this event, and in 2014, he placed 12th. This season, Nguyen placed fifth at Skate Canada International, seventh at the Rostelecom Cup and fourth at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Brian Orser and Ernest Pryhitka at the Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club.

Canadian Champion Alaine Chartrand, 19, Prescott, Ont., is one of two Canadian entries in the ladies category. Last year, Chartrand placed 11th at this event. This season, she placed 12th at Skate America, sixth at the Rostelecom Cup and 11th at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The representative of the Nepean Skating Club is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

Gabrielle Daleman, 18, Newmarket, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ladies. Daleman placed 21st at this event in 2015 and 13th in 2014. Earlier this season, she placed fifth at Skate Canada International, sixth at Trophée Éric Bompard at won silver at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Daleman is coached by Lee Barkell and Brian Orser at the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club.

Defending World Champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., lead the Canadian entries in pairs. The representatives of CPA Saint-Léonard have previously competed at this event five times, winning medals the past three years. This season, they won gold at Skate Canada International and at the NHK Trophy, and won silver at the ISU Grand Prix Final. The five-time consecutive Canadian champions are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte, and Sylvie Fullum.

Lubov Ilyushechkina, 24, Moscow, Russia, and Dylan Moscovitch, 31, Toronto, Ont., are the second Canadian pair entry at the event. Last year, they placed 13th at the World Championships. Earlier this season, the representatives of the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club placed seventh at the Cup of China, fifth at the NHK Trophy and fifth at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The two time Canadian medallists are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson.

Kirsten Moore-Towers, 23, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 24, Sarnia, Ont., are the third Canadian entry in pair. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, Moore-Towers and Marinaro won bronze at Skate Canada International, placed seventh at the Rostelecom Cup and placed fourth at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The representatives of Kitchener-Waterloo SC and Point Edward SC are coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier, Sylvie Fullum, Julie Marcotte and Cynthia Lemaire at CPA Saint-Léonard.

Two-time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 29, Waterloo, Ont., are the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. This will be their eighth time competing at this event; last year, they won the bronze medal. This season, the representatives of Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC won gold at Skate Canada International, Rostelecom Cup and the ISU Grand Prix Final, and won bronze at the ISU Four Continents Championships. Weaver and Poje also won their second consecutive Canadian title. They are coached by Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo and Shae-Lynn Bourne in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Canadian silver medallists Piper Gilles, 24, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 24, Unionville, Ont., will be the second Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their fourth time competing at this event, at which they placed sixth in 2015. This season, they won bronze at Skate America, silver at Trophée Éric Bompard and placed fifth at the ISU Four Continents Championships. The representatives of Scarboro FSC also won their second consecutive Canadian silver medal. Gilles and Poirier are coached by Carol Lane and Juris Razgulajevs at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ont.

Canadian bronze medallists Élisabeth Paradis, 23, Loretteville, Que., and François-Xavier Ouellette, 24, Laval, Que., are the final Canadian entry in ice dance. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, the representatives of CPA Loretteville and CPA Les Lames D’Argent De Laval Inc. placed eighth at Skate Canada International, sixth at the ISU Four Continents Championships and won their first Canadian medal (bronze) at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Skate Canada High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk will be the team leader along with Cynthia Ullmark of Canmore, Alta. Dr. Bob Brock of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski, also of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Andrea Derby of Windsor, Ont., Jean Senft of West Vancouver, B.C., and Benoit Lavoie of Baie St-Paul, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Kathy Johnson
Mens Nam Nguyen 17 Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club Brian Orser / Ernest Pryhitka
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 19 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh / Brian Orser
Ladies Gabrielle Daleman 18 Newmarket, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Brian Orser
Pair Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 30/31 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. CPA Saint-Léonard / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte / Sylvie Fullum
Pair Lubov Ilyushechkina / Dylan Moscovitch 24/31 Moscow, Russia / Toronto, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club / Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club Lee Barkell / Bryce Davison / Tracy Wilson
Pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 23/24 St. Catharines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. Kitchener-Waterloo SC / Point Edward SC Inc. Bruno Marcotte / Richard Gauthier / Sylvie Fullum / Julie Marcotte / Cynthia Lemaire
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 26/29 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Angelika Krylova / Pasquale Camerlengo / Shae-Lynn Bourne
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 24/24 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs
Ice Dance Élisabeth Paradis / François-Xavier Ouellette 23/24 Loretteville, Que. / Laval, Que. CPA Loretteville / CPA Les Lames d’Argent de Laval Inc. Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Weaver and Poje in heated battle for ice dance gold at ISU Four Continents

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TAIPEI CITY – Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are in second place after the short dance at the ISU Four Continents Championships in figure skating which got underway Thursday.

World champions Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., are also in second after the pairs short program despite Duhamel skating with an illness.

In pairs, Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China are the surprise leaders with 78.51 points. Duhamel and Radford are second at 71.90 and Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim of the U.S. third at 67.71.

“Meagan was ill all day today heading into the short program,” said Radford. “It prevented us from having a really great skate which is what we were hoping for. But we still did some great elements out there. It’s unfortunate our Lutz was downgraded today and we lost a lot of points there.”

Lubov Iliushechkina and Dylan Moscovitch of Toronto are fifth at 61.97 and Vanessa Grenier of Johnville, Que., and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., are 10th.

“It was unfortunate about the mistake but I thought we collected ourselves really well,” said Moscovitch. “We skated well and improved a lot of areas.”

In ice dancing, Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani of the U.S. are first 72.86 followed closely by Weaver and Poje, the defending champions, at 72.48. Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the U.S. are third at 69.36 and world championship silver medallists Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the U.S. stand fourth at 67.05.

“We are very pleased with our short dance today,” said Poje. “We went out there and had a strong performance. We felt we captured the audience and captured the true feeling of our dance (a waltz). We did have a couple of level three’s that we want to address for the world championships.”

“Andrew and I are really happy,” added Weaver. “We felt really comfortable and enjoyed the moment which is always our goal for every competition. Right now it’s very close for the championship. We like our position heading into the free dance.”

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are fifth at 63.92 and Elisabeth Paradis of Loretteville, Que., and Francois Xavier-Ouellette of Laval, Que., are sixth at 60.15 out of 16 entries.

Paradis and Ouellette reached the qualifying score for the world championships and earned a ticket to Boston next month.

“We really concentrated on what we needed to do,” said Paradis. “We were pretty nervous about getting our technical scores. But we focused on skating like we normally do in training and we are super happy.”

Ouellette says being relaxed was the key to their success.

“We appreciated each moment and put together a really super performance. We are going to Boston,” he said.

Japanese skaters are 1-2 after the women’s short program. Satoko Miyahara leads at 72.48 and Kanako Murakami is second at 68.51.

Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand of Prescott, Ont., is seventh, Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L. 11th and Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., 15th.

‘’I wasn’t quite myself this time,’’ said Chartrand. ‘’I’m pretty disappointed. I had some issues with my combination and didn’t get my levels. All I can do is look forward to my free program.’’

Osmond, who missed all of last season with a broken leg, is pleased with her progress.

‘’I was happy with the program,’’ she said. ‘’It wasn’t perfect but I reached my objectives and it was another opportunity to get out and skate again. For me it’s a stepping stone kind of year.’’

Competition continues Friday with the free dance and the men’s short program featuring Canada’s Patrick Chan.

Full results: ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships