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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

Canadian team en route to 2016 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Chinese Taipei

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada will send 12 entries, for a total of 18 skaters, to the 2016 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Taipei City, Chinese Taipei. The event takes place from February 16-21, 2016, at the Taipei Arena. The Canadian team will have three entries per category in men’s, ladies, 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 three Canadian entries in men’s. This season, 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, where he placed fourth. The representative of the Granite Club has previously competed at this event twice, winning it on both occasions (2009 and 2012). He is coached by Kathy Johnson and trains at the Detroit Skating Club.

Canadian silver medallist Liam Firus, 23, North Vancouver, B.C., is the second Canadian entry in men’s. Last year, he placed 15th at this event. This season, the representative of Vancouver SC placed seventh at the Finlandia Trophy and eighth at the Golden Spin of Zagreb. Firus is coached by Christy Krall and Damon Allen in Colorado Springs, CO, USA.

Olympic silver medallist (team) Kevin Reynolds, 25, Coquitlam, B.C., is the final Canadian entry in the men’s discipline. Also representing Vancouver SC, Reynolds has previously competed at this event four times, winning bronze in 2010 and gold in 2013. This season, Reynolds returned to competition after a year off to win the bronze medal at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. He is coached by Joanne McLeod at the Champs International Skating Centre in Burnaby, B.C.

Newly-crowned Canadian champion Alaine Chartrand, 19, Prescott, Ont., is one of three Canadian entries in the ladies category. She placed 10th at this event last year and seventh in 2014. This season, she placed fourth at the Nebelhorn Trophy and 12th at Skate America, and sixth at the Rostelecom Cup. The representative of the Nepean Skating Club is coached by Michelle Leigh and Brian Orser.

The second Canadian entry in ladies is two-time Canadian champion and Olympic silver medallist (team) Kaetlyn Osmond, 20, Marystown, Nfld./Edmonton, Alta. She previously competed at this event in 2013, placing seventh. This season, she won gold at the Nebelhorn Trophy, placed 11th at Skate Canada International and placed sixth at the NHK Trophy. She is coached by Ravi Walia and represents the Ice Palace Figure Skating Club.

Véronik Mallet, 21, Sept-Îles, Que., is the final Canadian entry in the ladies division. This will be her third time competing at this event, having placed 13th in 2014 and 14th in 2015. Earlier this season, the representative of CPA Sept-Îles placed ninth at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, 10th at Skate Canada International and fourth at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Mallet is coached by Annie Barabé at CTC Varennes.

In pair, world champions and Olympic silver medallists (team) Meagan Duhamel, 30, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 31, Balmertown, Ont., lead off the Canadian entries. The representatives of CPA Saint-Léonard have previously competed at this event four times winning gold last year and in 2013. This season, they won gold at Skate Canada International and at the NHK Trophy, and won silver at the ISU Grand Prix Final, as well as their fifth consecutive Canadian title. Duhamel and Radford 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 competition. Last year, they placed sixth at this event. Earlier this season, the representatives of the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club placed fourth at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, seventh at the Cup of China and fifth at the NHK Trophy. The two time Canadian medallists are coached by Lee Barkell, Bryce Davison and Tracy Wilson.

Vanessa Grenier, 23, Johnville, Que., and Maxime Deschamps, 24, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que., will also represent Canada in pair. Grenier and Deschamps will be competing at this event for the first time. This season, the representatives of CPA Sherbrooke and CPAR Vaudreuil placed fourth at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, seventh at Skate Canada International and eighth at the Cup of China. Most recently, they placed fifth at the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte at CPA Saint-Léonard.

Two time world medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 26, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 28, Waterloo, Ont., are the first of three Canadian entries in ice dance. They are the 2015 and 2010 champions of this competition and will be competing at this event for the seventh time. This season, the representatives of Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC have won gold at all of their events: Finlandia Trophy, Skate Canada International, Rostelecom Cup and the ISU Grand Prix Final. Most recently, they won their second consecutive Canadian championship. Weaver and Poje 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 won the silver medal in 2014. This season, they have medalled at all of their competitions: gold at the Ondrej Nepela Trophy, bronze at Skate America and silver in the short program at Trophée Éric Bompard. 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, 23, Laval, Que., are the third Canadian ice dance entry. This will be their first time competing at this event. Earlier this season, they won bronze at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic and placed eighth at Skate Canada International. The representatives of CPA Loretteville and CPA Les Lames D’Argent De Laval Inc., are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer.

Skate Canada High Performance Director Mike Slipchuk will be onsite with the Canadian team. Carolyn Allwright of Kitchener, Ont., and Bev Viger of Abbotsford, B.C., will be the Canadian team leaders at this event. Dr. Lee Schofield of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team doctor and Josiane Roberge of Sillery Que., will be the team physiotherapist.

Canadian officials at the event are Sally Rehorick of Vancouver, B.C., Nicole Leblanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., Cynthia Benson of Quispamsis, N.B., and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2016 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Patrick Chan 25 Toronto, Ont. Granite Club Kathy Johnson
Mens Liam Firus 23 North Vancouver, B.C. Vancouver SC Christy Krall / Damon Allen
Mens Kevin Reynolds 25 Coquitlam, B.C. Vancouver SC Joanne McLeod
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 19 Prescott, Ont. Nepean Skating Club Michelle Leigh / Brian Orser
Ladies Kaetlyn Osmond 20 Marystown, Nfld. & Edmonton, Alta. Ice Palace FSC Ravi Walia
Ladies Véronik Mallet 21 Sept- Îles, Que. CPA Sept-Îles Annie Barabé / Maximin Coïa
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 Vanessa Grenier / Maxime Deschamps 23/24 Johnville, Que. / Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. CPA Sherbrooke / CPAR Vaudreuil Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 26/28 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 23/23 Loretteville, Que. / Laval, Que. CPA Loretteville / CPA Les Lames d’Argent de Laval Inc. Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Meet the Senior Pairs

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MEAGAN DUHAMEL / ERIC RADFORD

Year in and year out, Duhamel and Radford continue to raise the bar for themselves and their sport. Showcasing signature elements, including stunning death spirals and a groundbreaking throw quad Salchow a year ago, the reigning world pair champions will go in search of their fifth consecutive Canadian title in Halifax. Radford loves music almost as much as he loves skating. He composed Tribute in 2006 after Paul Wirtz, his coach at the time, passed away from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Tribute continues to help in the fight against cancer and is available at www.cancer.ca/EricRadford, with fifty per cent of all net sales going to cancer research at the Canadian Cancer Society.
The pair also used Tribute in their short program in 2013-14.

FUN FACT: The last time Halifax played hosted to the Canadian championships, Meagan Duhamel placed sixth – in women’s singles. Months later, Meagan shifted to pair skating, and has never looked back. Meagan also claimed the 2004 Canadian junior women’s championship.

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LUBOV ILYUSHECHKINA/DYLAN MOSCOVITCH

Lubov and Dylan teamed up in 2014 and their first appearance at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships was certainly a rewarding one, as they took home silver. The combination of Lubov’s incredible flexibility and Dylan’s powerful strength means fans can often see unique lifts and creative tricks during their programs. In the future, Dylan says he would like to study business at the University of Toronto, while Lubov has an interest in economics and law.

FUN FACT: In her own words, Lubov is “obsessed with cheese.” Dylan is an accomplished martial artist, and a certified Krav Maga instructor.

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JULIANNE SÉGUIN/CHARLIE BILODEAU

Anyone who remembers Charlie’s moustache from their The Grand Budapest Hotel soundtrack short program last year probably figures the ‘stache was fake. Not so – he grew it for every short program, maintaining he wanted to “stay in character”, before shaving it off for the free program. The pair turned a lot of heads last year, winning two Junior Grand Prix events, the Junior Grand Prix Final, placing second at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships and, for good measure, taking bronze at the senior level at the 2015 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

FUN FACT: Charlie claims to be able to put a balloon up his nose and pull it out his mouth; Julianne is often offered a kid’s menu at restaurants.

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KIRSTEN MOORE-TOWERS / MICHAEL MARINARO

Remember that photo of 4’11” Kirsten and 6’9” Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara that went viral during the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games?

Well, a lot has changed since then. Kirsten and longtime partner Dylan Moscovitch parted ways after those Games, and KMT teamed up with Michael Marinaro. The duo earned their way onto the national team for the 2015-16 campaign, and earned their first Grand Prix medal together when they took home bronze at Skate Canada International in October.

FUN FACT: Michael is often told he looks like Craig Buntin; Kirsten can recite the alphabet – in sign language.

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VANESSA GRENIER / MAXIME DESCHAMPS

Keep an eye on the 2014 Canadian junior pair champions: they train alongside reigning world pair champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford in suburban Montreal, under the watchful eye of coaches Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte. A team on the rise, Grenier and Deschamps were seventh at 2015 Skate Canada International and followed that up with an 8th place showing at the Cup of China.

FUN FACT: Maxime was featured in a commercial for a drugstore, performing a triple jump. Vanessa won a contest and made three montage videos to demonstrate an athlete’s lifestyle.

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Grenier, Deschamps take pairs title, Daleman wins handily at Skate Canada Challenge

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EDMONTON – Vanessa Grenier of Johnville, Que., and Maxime Deschamps of Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.,  are the senior pairs champion at the 2016 Skate Canada Challenge being held through to Sunday at the the Terwillegar Community Recreation Centre.

Grenier and Deschamps earned a season-high 162.10 points for their short and long programs. Brittany Jones and Joshua Reagan of Toronto were second at 148.70 and Shalena Rau of Waterloo, Ont., and Sebastian Arcieri Montreal were third at 140.12.

“We improved our score and everything was much better,” said Deschamps, who competed at two ISU Grand Prix’s this fall. “We want to keep improving for nationals.”

Grenier says preparation will be key to success at the national championships next month.

“We have to keep being solid in training,” she said. “We have to keep working on improving our lifts and spirals so we don’t lose those little points that can often wind up costing us.”

Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont.,  took the senior women’s title convincingly with 193.62 points. Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., was second at 152.40 and Larkyn Austman of Coquitlam, B.C., third at 148.76.

‘’I was very pleased with how it went,’’ said Daleman, a 2014 Olympian. ‘’I came here especially to get another long program under my belt and I know what I need to work on towards nationals.’’

In junior competition, winners so far are Amanda Tobin of Burlington, Ont., in women’s singles and Hope McLean of Newbury, Ont.,  and Trennt Michaud of Strathroy, Ont., in pairs.

“I feel I competed really well and brought a lot of confidence in my two programs,” said Tobin. “I need to bring more consistency in my free program for the nationals so I can produce a clean skate more often and also land my triple-triple combination which I have been working really hard on in training.”

McLean and Michaud performed a new short program.

‘’The short program wasn’t our best but it just gave us more motivation for the free skate,’’ said Michaud. ‘’We want to keep pushing the envelope and build our speed.’’

Winners in novice competition so far are, Katrina Lopez and Kurtis Schreiber of Calgary in pairs and Olivia Gran Kelowna, B.C., in women’s singles.

Pre-novice winners so far are Vasilisa Matantseva of Burnaby, B.C.,  in women’s singles and Keara Harney of Candiac, Que.,  and Zachary Freedman of Kingston, Ont., in pairs.

Competition continues through to Sunday. This is the sole qualifying event for novice, junior, and senior skaters to earn entries to the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships taking place in Halifax, N.S., from January 18-24, 2016.

Full results: 2016 Skate Canada Challenge