Canadian figure skaters ready for national spotlight at 2015 Canada Winter Games

PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. –  Promising figure skaters from all across Canada are set to step into the spotlight at the 2015 Canada Winter Games in picturesque Prince George, B.C.

Figure skating helps kick off Week 2 of the Canada Winter Games schedule, with competition getting underway on Monday, February 23 at the Kin I Arena. Skaters will vie for medals in  pre-novice, novice and Special Olympic events.

Visitors to http://sportscanada.tv/canadagames will get a rinkside seat with a live webcast of the entire competition. Don’t forget to join the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #CGFigureSkating.

Several 2015 Canadian medallists are slated to compete in Prince George, including reigning Canadian novice women’s champion Rachel Pettitt (B.C.), novice ice dance champions Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha (Quebec) and novice pair silver medallists Olivia Boys-Eddy and Mackenzie Boys-Eddy (Ontario). Gabriel Farand (Quebec) and Conrad Orzel (Ontario), who won novice men’s silver and bronze, respectively, at the Canadian Tire National Skating Championships last month, will once again go head-to-head at these Games.

All four reigning national pre-novice champions will compete at the Canada Winter Games: Ontario’s Stephen Gogolev (pre-novice men), Quebec’s Sarah Maude Blanchard (pre-novice ladies), Hannah Dawson and Daniel Villeneuve of Ontario (pre-novice pair) and Arianne Bonneau and Oliver Zhang of Quebec (pre-novice ice dance).

Canada Winter Games figure skating competitor list

The legendary Toller Cranston, who passed away last month, won gold at the inaugural Canada Winter Games in 1967. Other notable Skate Canada alumni include two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser (1975 CWG) and former Canadian champions Emmanuel Sandhu (1995 CWG) and Michael Slipchuk (1983 CWG).

Follow all the action from the Canada Winter Games by visiting Skate Canada’s Canada Winter Games page, which includes start orders and results. Results will also be available on the official site of the Canada Winter Games.

The 2015 Canada Winter Games will be staged February 13 – March 1, 2015 as Prince George and Northern British Columbia play host to 2,400 athletes, 1,000 coaches and officials, up to 4,500 volunteers, hundreds of media and thousands of visitors.