VANCOUVER – Ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, pairs Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, Gabrielle Daleman and Patrick Chan are the leaders after Friday’s short programs at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

The event also serves as a qualification event for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games.

World champions Virtue and Moir once again brought the house down with their rock flavored rhumba number to build a solid first place lead with 85.12 points. Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are second at 78.37 and Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver are an unexpected third at 70.97.

‘’We had to fight for it,’’ said Virtue, from London, Ont. ‘’The elements didn’t come easily. It’s a testament to our training that we were able to maintain our composure and execute as well as we did.’’

Moir, from Ilderton, Ont., says their familiarity with one another kicked in.

‘’I felt the same as Tessa,’’ he said. ‘’What kept us together were our cues and being so connected. You want those gritty performances going into an Olympic Games.’’

Gilles and Poirier wanted to produce a cleaner skate than in their last outing at Skate America in November.

‘’We just wanted to come out this time and just enjoy performing it,’’ said Poirier. ‘’That’s what is really going to make this program work.’’

Medal favorites Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., are fourth at 70.31, Poje made a major error when he stumbled executing a twizzle.

‘’It was kind of deflating,’’ said Poje. ‘’But we are going to treat it as a learning experience and as a jumping off point to come out really strong in the free dance.’’

In women’s competition, Daleman produced a sterling short program which earned her an instant standing ovation for 77.88 points. Defending champion Kaetlyn Osmond of Marystown, N.L., fell on her opening combo and follows at 71.41.

Osmond and Daleman were silver and bronze medallist at the world championships last season and are way ahead of the rest of the field.

Daleman showed no signs she was suffering from pneumonia. She skated with amazing speed going into her opening combo and was perfect on her triple Lutz and double Axel.

‘’If I can do this feeling this crappy, then I can do anything,’’ said Daleman, who turns 20 on Saturday. ‘’I’m just so happy. I couldn’t have asked for a better short program and I’m really excited.’’

Osmond fell on her opening triple toe to botch the combo. However she did her triple Lutz in combination with a double toe.

‘’I’m not overly pleased with it,’’ said Osmond. ‘’I haven’t messed up my toe in the last couple of years so that was frustrating. I was happy I was able to comeback from the fall and focus for the rest of the program.’’

Sarah Tamura of Burnaby, B.C., is currently third at 54.34 but less than three points separates 10th from third.

In pairs, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford built an impressive lead in their flawless short program totalling 81.78. Julianne Séguin of Longueuil, Que., and Charlie Bilodeau of Trois-Pistoles, Que., are second at 68.51 just ahead of Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., at 68.28.

‘’Overall it was a heartfelt performance,’’ said Duhamel. ‘’We couldn’t have asked for a better emotional interpretation and it was the best we’ve done it this year especially with the stress involved.’’

Séguin fell on the side-by-side jump but that didn’t deter either skater.

‘’This was the first time this year where we were really enjoying the program,’’ said Bilodeau. ‘’In the past competitions we had some problems with the energy so the changes we made for here really worked out.’’

Moore-Towers and Marinaro were also pleased.

‘’We knew this competition would go down to the long program,’’ said Moore-Towers. ‘’We were able to stay in our moment.’’
In men’s competition, Patrick Chan, vying for a record 10th national title, overcame a fall on the quad to stand first with 90.98 points. Kevin Reynolds of Coquitlam, B.C., follows at 86.20 and Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., is third at 85.65.

‘’The quad didn’t have as much height and lightness,’’ said Chan, a three-time world champion. “It was a bit of a shock but I got up and recovered nicely. There were nerves but that’s when I can look back on my experience.’’
Reynolds opened with a triple-triple combo and landed a toe quad later in the program as well.

‘’The program was a huge improvement for me and I was really happy with the scores,’’ said Reynolds. ‘’I worked very hard to improve my skating skills and getting those levels. To see that in the marks today I was very pleased.’’

Messing also opened with a triple-triple rather than the planned quad-triple combo.

‘’The skate was great,’’ said Messing. ‘’I wish I had all the technical but I was able to fight through the program and put up as many points as I could. After the mistake, I just wanted to perform for the crowd and give it everything I got.’’

On Thursday night, Olivia Gran of Kelowna, B.C. won the gold medal in junior women’s competition. Sarah-Maude Blanchard of Sherbrooke, Que., took silver just a little over a point behind the winner and Victoria Bocknek of Richmond Hill, Ont., was third.

‘’I had a good morning practice and I was really pumped for the free skate,’’ said Gran. ‘’I wanted to carry that into the program today. It was great to have my family here to watch me compete.’’

Competition ends Saturday with the free skates.

Photo Credit: Greg Kolz/Skate Canada

SAINT JOHN, N.B: Skate Canada announced today that the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships will be held in Saint John, New Brunswick, from January 13-20, 2019, at Harbour Station. The championships will feature approximately 250 of the nation’s best skaters in the men, women, pairs, and ice dance disciplines, competing in three levels: senior, junior, and novice.

“Skate Canada is excited to host the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in Saint John for the first time. This event is the highlight of the national skating calendar and we are thrilled to be able showcase Canada’s top figure skating talent at Harbour Station,” Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “We are looking forward to working with our partners in Saint John to put on a fantastic event and bring the joy of skating to the community.”

“I am thrilled Saint John will host the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championship next January. I look forward along with our Common Council and our residents to welcoming 500+ coaches, athletes and officials from across the country,” says Don Darling, Mayor of the City of Saint John. “Saint John is becoming a City of choice for hosting major sporting event because of our hospitality, expertise, infrastructure and sport fans.”

This will be Saint John’s first time hosting this event. The city has previously hosted Skate Canada International three times (2013, 1999 and 1995). They also hosted the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships® in December of 1997.

“Quispamsis is delighted to be part of the 2019 Canadian Tire Skate Canada Nationals,” said Quispamsis Mayor Gary Clark. “The qplex will be an ideal practice facility for this event.”

The pre-eminent all-Canadian competition will see athletes will vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2019 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and 2019 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

Join our exclusive mailing list to receive event and ticket information for the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

VANCOUVER, BC: The nation’s best figure skaters are headed to Vancouver, B.C., for the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The week-long championships held at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre from January 8-14, 2018 will feature approximately 250 skaters in the men, women, pairs, and ice dance disciplines, competing in three levels: senior, junior, and novice. The 2018 event will serve as a qualification event for the team that will compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea. Skate Canada is proud to be sending the biggest figure skating team in the world to the Games in February.

“The Canadian Tire National Skating Championships is the pinnacle event on the Canadian skating calendar and this year at our 104^th anniversary of the championships it will prove to be a momentous edition as our senior skaters look to qualify for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games,” said Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “We hope that all Canadians from coast to coast to coast feel the moment created by moving performances and are inspired to embrace the joy of skating.”

The pre-eminent all-Canadian competition will begin with the novice ice dance on Monday, January 8 and the senior events will begin on Friday, January 12. Athletes will vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games, 2018 ISU World Figure Skating Championships, 2018 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, and 2018 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships.

The senior events will be the highlight of the week as Canada’s top skaters look to solidify their place in the history books. Patrick Chan will vie for his 10th Canadian title; if achieved, he will hold the all-time record. He is currently tied with Montgomery Wilson with nine titles each. Two-time World Pair Champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford will look to capture their seventh consecutive Canadian title. They hold the record for senior Canadian pair titles. In women’s, world silver medallist Kaetlyn Osmond will defend her 2017 Canadian crown in search of her fourth title. She will be chased by world bronze medalist Gabrielle Daleman. Three-time Ice Dance World Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir look to capture their eighth national title.

TSN, CTV and RDS will host live primetime coverage of the event, starting on Friday, January 12, 2018. Brian Williams once again hosts CTV and TSN’s coverage of the championships, bringing his extensive experience covering the Olympic Winter Games and Canadian and World Figure Skating Championships. Williams is joined by Rod Black, the voice of figure skating in Canada, in the broadcast booth alongside analyst Tracy Wilson, a seven-time Canadian ice dance champion and reporter Sara Orlesky will take fans rinkside and backstage. For a complete broadcast schedule, please click here.

The junior and novice categories earlier in the week will showcase emerging talent as they look to make their mark on the national stage. All novice and junior competition, and select senior events, will be live streamed on the Skate Canada Dailymotion page. For full entries and the event start orders please click here.

The morning of Sunday, January 14, 2018 the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Skate Canada will name the 17 athletes selected to represent Team Canada in figure skating at the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in PyeongChang, South Korea.

Off the ice, ten-time Canadian Ice Dance Champion and three-time Olympian Shae-Lynn Bourne will return to the event but this time as the Athlete Ambassador. During the week of the championships, Bourne will handle speaking engagements, media interviews, make appearances on behalf of the competing athletes, and of course, make time for her fans.

Skating fans on Sunday, January 14 will witness history as Sarah Kawahara and Ron Vincent officially enter the Skate Canada Hall of Fame. Kawahara, known for her innovative and artistic choreographic touch, enters in the professional category. Vincent, who spent a lifetime making a tremendous impact in figure skating as an athlete, performer, coach, administrator and artistic director, enters in the builder category. The ceremonies will take place in conjunction with the Gala.

Single event ticket prices for the senior short programs are priced $30-$65. Prices for the senior free programs and gala are priced from $40-$75. Novice and junior tickets are $20 per day. All tickets are subject to applicable venue and Ticketmaster surcharges. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.ca and by phone at 1-855-985-5000.

This will be Vancouver’s sixth time hosting the national championships. Most recently they hosted the event a decade ago in 2008. They also hosted in 1997, 1973, 1968 and 1951. The city has also hosted several international figure skating events: the 2009 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, 2001 & 1960 ISU World Figure Skating Championships and the 1978 Skate Canada International.

Media who have not already applied for accreditation are asked to contact Emma Bowie, Communications Manager. She will be the onsite media contact at the event and can be reached at 613-914-2607 or at [email protected].

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