Canadian juniors headed to Italy for final stop of 2017 ISU Junior Grand Prix

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will send four entries, for a total of six skaters to Neumarkt (Egna), Italy, for the final event of the 2017 ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit. Canada will send one entry per discipline in men and ladies, and two entries in ice dance to the competition taking place from October 11-14, 2017.

Eric Liu, 16, Edmonton, Alta., will represent Canada in the men’s category. Liu started this season by winning the gold medal in the junior men’s category at the 2017 Autumn Classic International. He is coached by Ravi Walia in Edmonton, Alta.

Canadian junior bronze medallist Alison Schumacher, 14, Toronto, Ont., is the sole Canadian entry in ladies. Earlier this season in her first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment, she placed ninth in Latvia. Schumacher is coached by Lee Barkell in Toronto, Ont.

Alicia Fabbri, 14, Terrebonne, Que., and Claudio Pietrantonio, 20, Laval, Que., are one of two Canadian entries in ice dance. The duo placed fifth at their first ISU Junior Grand Prix of the season, in Latvia. Fabbri and Pietrantonio are coached by Julien Lalonde, Mylène Girard and Lynn McKay and train in St. Hubert, Que.

Ellie Fisher, 16, Lower Coverdale, N.B., and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette, 19, Laval, Que., will be the second Canadian ice dance entry at the event. They placed fifth at their first international assignment earlier this season, the ISU Junior Grand Prix in Croatia. Fisher and Malette-Paquette are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon in Montreal, Que.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, and Nathalie Martin of Montreal, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Siobhan Karam of Ottawa, Ont. will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., and Laura Carr of Kelowna, B.C., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

The ISU will be live streaming the competition via the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel. For results, full entries and more information please visit www.isu.org.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #7 – EGNA/NEUMARKT, ITALY