Canadian skaters in Slovakia to kick off 2018-2019 ISU Junior Grand Prix season

OTTAWA, ON: Skate Canada will have seven entries, for a total of 11 skaters, competing at the first stop on the 2018-2019 ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Bratislava, Slovakia. Canada will have two entries per discipline in men, pairs and ice dance, and one entry in ladies at the competition which takes place from August 22-25, 2018.

Stephen Gogolev, 13, Toronto, Ont., is one of two Canadian entries in the men’s discipline. Gogolev placed 10^th in senior at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. This will be his first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. He is coached by Brian Orser and Lee Barkell in Toronto, Ont.

Canadian novice silver medallist Aleksa Rakic, 13, Burnaby, B.C., will also represent Canada in the men’s category and will also be competing at his first ISU Junior Grand Prix event. He is coached by Joanne McLeod in Burnaby, B.C.

Alison Schumacher, 15, Tecumseh, Ont., will be the only Canadian representative in the women’s category. Last season on the ISU Junior Grand Prix she placed eighth in Latvia and ninth in Italy. Schumacher also placed fifth in junior at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Lee Barkell in Toronto, Ont.

Canadian junior silver medallists Patricia Andrew, 13, London, Ont., and Paxton Fletcher, 19, Rodney, Ont., are the first of two Canadian pairs entries at the event. This will be their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Andrew and Fletcher are coached by Alison Purkiss in Brantford, Ont.

Canadian novice champions Brooke McIntosh, 13, Toronto, Ont., and Brandon Toste, 15, Mississauga, Ont., will also represent Canada in pairs at their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. They are coached by Andrew Evans in Toronto, Ont.

Canadian novice champions Nadiia Bashynska, 14, Markham, Ont., and Peter Beaumont, 17, Unionville, Ont., are one of two Canadian ice dance teams at the event. This will be their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment. Bashynska and Beaumont are coached by Carol Lane, Jon Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Marc-André Servant in Scarborough, Ont.

Alicia Fabbri, 15, Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer, 20, Brossard, Que., will also represent Canada in ice dance at the event. This will be their first ISU Junior Grand Prix assignment since teaming up in the offseason. They are coached by Julien Lalonde in St. Hubert, Que.

André Bourgeois, Skate Canada NextGen Director, and Nathalie Martin of Montreal, Que., will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Dr. Lee Schofield of Toronto, Ont., and physiotherapist Mireille Landry of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian team medical staff on site. Susan Blatz of Burlington, Ont., and Jérôme Poulin of Montreal, Que., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For results and full entries please visit www.isu.org. All events on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit will be live streamed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT ISU JGP #1 – BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA