Thirteen Canadian Skaters Headed to the ISU Grand Prix Final in Barcelona

OTTAWA, ON: After an outstanding summer and fall season by athletes on the international circuit, Skate Canada will send three entries, for a total of six skaters, to compete against the top figure skaters in the world. They all qualified for the ISU Senior Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in in Barcelona, Spain from December 11-14, 2014.

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 Meagan Duhamel, 28, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 29, Balmertown, Ont., in the pair category. Canada will have two entries in ice dance: Kaitlyn Weaver, 25, Waterloo, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 27, Waterloo, Ont., and Piper Gilles, 22, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 22, Unionville, Ont.

Earlier this season Canada qualified four entries, for a total of seven skaters, for the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final, also taking place in Barcelona, Spain from December 11-14, 2014. Similar to the senior qualification, juniors are assigned two events on the seven-event series. Only the top six in each category advance to the Final.

In junior, Canada will be represented by Roman Sadovsky, 15, Vaughan, Ont., in men’s, Julianne Séguin, 17, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 21, Trois-Pistoles, Que., in pair. There are also two junior entries in ice dance, Mackenzie Bent, 17, Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen, 20, Oshawa, Ont., and Madeline Edwards, 18, Port Moody, B.C., and ZhaoKai Pang, 19, Burnaby, B.C.

Olympic silver medallists (team) and two-time world bronze medallists Meagan Duhamel, 28, Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford, 29, Balmertown, Ont., will be Canada’s pair entry. They won gold at both of their grand prix assignments this season, Skate Canada International and NHK Trophy. The representatives of Walden FSC and CPA Saint-Léonard placed fifth at the Final last season; this will be their fourth trip to the Final. They are coached by Richard Gauthier, Bruno Marcotte and Sylvie Fullum at CPA Saint-Léonard.

World silver medallists Kaitlyn Weaver, 25, Waterloo, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 27, Waterloo, Ont., lead the Canadian entries in ice dance. Weaver and Poje won gold at both Skate Canada International and NHK Trophy to secure their ticket to Barcelona. This will be their fourth trip to the Final, having placed fifth in 2013. Representing Sault FSC and Kitchener-Waterloo SC, the seven-time Canadian medallists are coached by Pasquale Camerlengo and Angelika Krylova in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

Piper Gilles, 22, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 22, Unionville, Ont., will make their first Grand Prix Final appearance as a team in Barcelona also in ice dance. They captured silver medals at both their grand prix assignments, Skate Canada International and Trophée Eric Bompard.   Representing the Scarboro FSC they are coached by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs, Jon Lane and Roy Bradshaw at Ice Dance Elite in Scarborough, Ont.

ISU Junior Grand Prix Final
Roman Sadovsky, 15, Vaughan, Ont., kicked off his season with a gold medal win in Ostrava, Czech Republic, the third stop on the junior circuit. Sadovsky would go on to place fourth in Dresden, Germany, the sixth stop on the circuit. He is coached by Tracey Wainman and Gregor Filipowski at the YSRA Winter Club.

In pair Julianne Séguin, 17, Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau, 21, Trois-Pistoles, Que., captured gold at both of their assignments (Ostrava and Dresden) and go into the Final as the top ranked pair team. Representing CPA Longueuil and CPA Chambly they are coached by Josée Picard and Marc-André Craig.

Ice dancers Mackenzie Bent, 17, Uxbridge, Ont., and Garrett MacKeen, 20, Oshawa, Ont., will enter the Final as the second ranked ice dance team. Bent and MacKeen won gold at stop number three in Ostrava, Czech Republic and silver at event number five in Tallinn, Estonia. They train at Scarboro Ice Dance Elite with coaches Juris Razgulajevs and Carol Lane.

Madeline Edwards, 18, Port Moody, B.C., and ZhaoKai Pang, 19, Burnaby, B.C., are the second entry in ice dance for Canada. Their season began at the first ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Courchevel, France with a silver medal performance. Edwards and Pang would go on to improve on that result, winning gold in Aichi, Japan the fourth stop on the circuit.  The representatives of Burnaby FSC are coached by Megan Wing and Aaron Lowe at the Champs International Skating Centre.

Skate Canada Communications Director, Barb MacDonald, will be the media contact at the event. To arrange onsite interviews please contact her by email at [email protected].

Skate Canada High Performance Director, Mike Slipchuk, will be the Canadian team leader at the event, along with Marie Bowness, of Bedford, N.S. Dr. Bob Brock of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Susan Heffernan of Roberts Creek, B.C., and Leslie Keen of Vancouver, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Skate Canada President, Leanna Caron, and Chief Executive Officer, Dan Thompson, will also travel to the event to represent Skate Canada.

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

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2014 ISU SENIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Pairs Meagan Duhamel / Eric Radford 28/29 Lively, Ont. / Balmertown, Ont. Walden FSC / CPA Saint-Léonard Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 25/27 Waterloo, Ont. – Houston, TX / Waterloo, Ont. Sault FSC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Pasquale Camerlengo / Angelika Krylova
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 22/22 Toronto, Ont. – Colorado Springs, CO, U.S.A. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT THE 2014 ISU JUNIOR GRAND PRIX FINAL

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Mens Roman Sadovsky 15 Vaughan, Ont. YRSA Winter Club Tracey Wainman / Gregor Filipowski
Pairs Julianne Séguin / Charlie Bilodeau 17/21 Longueuil, Que. / Trois-Pistoles, Que. CPA Longueuil / CPA De Drummondville Inc. Josée Picard / Patrice Archetto
Ice Dance Mackenzie Bent / Garrett MacKeen 17/20 Uxbridge, Ont. / Oshawa, Ont. Uxbridge SC / Bowmanville FSC Juris Razgulajevs / Carol Lane
Ice Dance Madeline Edwards /  Zhao Kai Pang 18/19 Port Moody, BC / Burnaby, BC Inlet SC / Inlet SC Megan Wing / Aaron Lowe
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