(October 12, 2006)

The seven Canadian skaters competing at the 2006 Merano Cup, which took place in Merano, Italy, Oct. 6-8, offered impressive performances at this international development event with five skaters finishing on the podium.

Representing Canada in the senior men’s event, Ken Rose, a 20-year-old from Newmarket, Ont., dominated his event and won the gold medal. He was 20 points ahead of silver medallist Paolo Bacchini from Italy. This was Rose’s first international assignment as a senior competitor.

In the senior ladies event, Erin Scherrer, 18, of Waterloo, Ont., finished seventh in Merano. She captured the gold medal earlier this year at the 2006 Triglav Trophy competition.

Sixteen-year-old Sébastien Wolfe of Montreal, Que., and Ronald Lam, 15, of Coquitlam, B.C., captured the silver and bronze medals respectively in a very tight junior men’s event where only 2.55 points separated third place from first place.

The bronze medal in the junior ladies event went to Vanessa Juteau, 16, of Laval, Que., at her first international assignment this year. Joining Juteau in the junior ladies event was 14-year-old Megan Ure of Edmonton, Alb., who finished seventh.

Canada captured another gold medal at the 2006 Merano Cup with the astounding performance of 13-year-old Andrei Rogozine of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the novice men event. Rogozine finished 15 points ahead of second-place Italian skater Saverio Giacomelli.

Shirra Kenworthy, of Delta, B.C., was the Canadian official at the event. Bev Viger, of Abbotsford, B.C., was the team manager.