Single Event Ticket Info: 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

SAINT JOHN, N.B: Single event tickets for the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships go on sale this Thursday, October 18 at 10:00 a.m. (AT). The event 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.

Single event ticket prices for the senior events are priced $25-$65. Novice and junior as well as senior practice tickets are $10 per day. All tickets are subject to applicable taxes and venue and Ticketmaster surcharges.

Tickets can be purchased online at harbourstation.ca, by phone at 1-800-267-2800 or in person at the Harbour Station box office.

Fans not seated in the Super Fan Section but wishing to purchase the Super Fan Bag can buy the bag for an additional $60 each, plus applicable taxes and surcharges. This offer is available until November 5, 2018.

EVENT INFO
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.

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.

Five Canadian Skaters headed to U.S. for 2018 Skate America

OTTAWA, ON: Team Canada will be competing at the first event in the 2018 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series in Everett, Washington, U.S., from October 19-21.

In the men’s field, Nam Nguyen and Kevin Reynolds will be representing Canada. Nguyen will be looking for another medal after opening the season with a first place finish at the 2018 U.S. Classic International.

Reynolds will be looking to improve after finishing eighth at the ISU Autumn Classic International, which took place earlier this season in Oakville, Ont.

In the women’s field, Alaine Chartrand will be the lone Canadian female skater for Canada. Earlier this season, she placed eighth at the ISU Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany.

In the pairs, Evelyn Walsh and Trennt Michaud will be competing for Canada. This will be their first ISU Grand Prix event and they are coming off a seventh place finish at the ISU Nebelhorn Trophy.

Canadian Entries at 2018 Skate America

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Nam Nguyen 20 Ajax, Ont. Richmond Hill Training Center Robert Burk
Men Kevin Reynolds 28 Vancouver, B.C. Champs International Skating Center Joanne McLeod
Ladies Alaine Chartrand 22 Prescott, Ont. YRSA Winter Club Tracey Wainman, Gregor Filipowski
Pairs Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud 17/22 London, Ont. / Trenton, Ont. London Competitive Skating Club / Trenton FSC Alisson Purkiss

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will be Canada’s team leader at the event. Patty Klein of Montreal, Que. will be the lone Canadian official attending the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

Canada wins two bronze medals at ISU Junior Grand Prix

YEREVAN, Armenia – Canadians won two bronze medals on Saturday at the seventh stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

In men’s competition, Iliya Kovler of Richmond Hill, Ont., hung on to third place despite the fifth best free skate on Saturday with a personal best international score of 201.20 points. Adam Siao Him Fa of France took the gold at 205.83 and Yuma Kagiyama of Japan was second at 202.02.

‘’I felt like my free program was a big improvement on what I did in Richmond (at the fourth Grand Prix stop) ,’’ said Kovler, 15, second after the short program. ‘’I was able to learn a lot and gave it my all. I reached my goal here to do two clean skates and get improvements on my components.’’

Thirteen-year-old Alec Guinzbourg of Kingston, Ont., in his junior Grand Prix debut, was 11th out of 21 entries.

In ice dancing, there was no change in the top-three with Arina Ushakova and Maxim Nekrasov of Russia first at 172.81, Masia Kazakova and Georgy Riviya of Georgia second at 164.65 and Ellie Fisher and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette of Montreal third at 152.46. The Canadians were fifth at last week’s stop in Slovenia.

‘’It was definitely difficult to do two competitions back-to-back,’’ said Malette-Paquette. ‘’But at the same time it was good preparation keeping the high intensity in training throughout the week.’’

The couple was also feeling sore after a collision before Friday’s short dance in the warm-up.

‘’We had to fight for this one,’’ said Malette-Paquette.

Emmy Bronsard and Aissa Bouaraguia of Montreal made an impressive jump from ninth to sixth overall with the sixth best free dance at 138.73.

This was the last junior event before the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final set for December 6-9 in Vancouver.

Full results: ISU JGP Armenian Cup 2018

Larkyn Austman and Gabrielle Daleman withdraw from Skate Canada International

OTTAWA, ON: Canadian figure skaters Larkyn Austman, 20,  Coquitlam, B.C., and Gabrielle Daleman, 20, Newmarket, Ont., have both withdrawn for the 2018 Skate Canada International. The event is scheduled to take place in Laval, Que., from October 25-28, 2018 at Place Bell.

Austman has withdrawn due to injury. She is still recovering from a left foot sprain that she sustained in September. Austman was a member of the 2018 Olympic team and won the bronze medal at the 2018 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Zdenek Pazdirek and Liz Putnam in Coquitlam, B.C.

Daleman has taken a break from training to focus on her mental health. Daleman was a member of the gold medal team at the 2018 Olympics and is the reigning Canadian champion. She trains in Toronto, Ont., with coaches Lee Barkell and Brian Orser.

Véronik Mallet, 24, Sept-Îles, Quebec and Alicia Pineault, 19, Varennes, Que., have been added to the Canadian team roster in Laval.

TICKETS
Single session tickets begin at $40.50 (including applicable taxes and surcharges) and prices range by session. Tickets for the Thursday practices are only $16 (including taxes and surcharges).

Tickets can be purchased online at placebell.ca, by phone at 1-855-634-4472 or in person at the Place Bell Box Office.

EVENT INFO
Skate Canada International is the second competition in the annual ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The other events take place in the United States (Skate America), Finland (Grand Prix of Helsinki), Japan (NHK Trophy), Russia (Rostelecom Cup) and France (Internationaux de France).

Each skater/team can be assigned a maximum of two events. Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their events. The top six from each discipline (men, women, pair and ice dance) qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final to be held in Vancouver, B.C., from December 6-9, 2018.

Canadians in medal position at ISU Junior Grand Prix

YEREVAN, Armenia – Iliya Kovler of Richmond Hill, Ont., and the ice dance team of Ellie Fisher and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette of Montreal are in medal positions heading into their free skates at the seventh stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

In men’s competition, Ivan Shmuratko of Ukraine is first after the short program with 72.08 points. Kovler, 15, follows at 71.38 and Adam Siao Him Fa of France is third at 70.50. KOvler as seventh last month at the fourth stop in Richmond, B.C.

Thirteen-year-old Alec Guinzbourg of Kingston, Ont., in his junior Grand Prix debut, stands ninth out of 21 entries.

In ice dancing, Arina Ushakova and Maxim Nekrasov of Russia are first after the short dance with 69.18. Masia Kazakova and Georgy Riviya of Georgia are second at 65.42 and Fisher and Malette-Paquette are third at 60.34. The Canadians were fifth last week in Slovenia.

Emmy Bronsard and Aissa Bouaraguia of Montreal are ninth.

The men’s free skate and the free dance are on Saturday.

Full results

Junior Skaters headed to Armenia for final stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix

OTTAWA, ON: Canada’s junior skaters will be competing at the final ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) of the season this week in Yerevan, Armenia from October 10-13. This event will mark the final grand prix of the season before ISU Junior Grand Prix Final in December.

In the men’s field, Alexei Guinzbourg and Iliya Kovler will be representing Canada. Guinzbourg will be making his JPG debut after finishing second in the novice men at the Egna Spring Trophy in April.

Kovler is looking to build off his seventh place finish at the JGP Canada which took place in Richmond, B.C., in September.

In the ice dance, Ellie Fisher and Simon-Pierre Malette will compete at their second JGP in a row, after finishing fifth in Slovenia last week.

Also in the ice dance, Emmy Bronsard and Aissa Bouaraguia are coming off a fourth place finish at the ISU JGP Czech Skate 2018 in Ostrava and are looking for a medal finish.

Canadian Entries at JGP #7- Yerevan, Armenia

Discipline Name Age Hometown Club Coach
Men Alexei Guinzbourg 13 Kingston, Ont. Quinte FSC Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev
Men Iliya Kovler 15 Richmond Hill, Ont. Richmond Hill Training Centre Andrei Berezintsev, Inga Zusev
Ice Dance Ellie Fisher / Simon-Pierre Malette Paquette 17/20 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA Loraine / CPA Loraine Marie-Frane Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Pascal Denis
Ice Dance Emmy Bronsard / Aissa Bouaraguia 14/17 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA Gadbois / CPA Gadbois Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Pascal Denis

Andre Bourgeois, Next Gen Director and Holly Henderson of Lethbridge, Alta. will be the Canadian team leaders at the event. Doctor Ghislaine Robert of Montreal, Que. and physiotherapist Agnes Makowski of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Beth Crane of Burnaby, B.C., and Nicole Leblanc-Richard of Dieppe, N.B., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

Joannie Rochette to act as Athlete Ambassador for Skate Canada International

MONTREAL, QC: Skate Canada is pleased to announce that six-time Canadian champion and 2010 Olympic Winter Games bronze medallist Joannie Rochette, 32, Île Dupas, Quebec, will serve as the official Athlete Ambassador during 2018 Skate Canada International. The event will take place in Laval, Que., from October 25-28, 2018 at Place Bell.

“I am extremely excited to be named Athlete Ambassador for Skate Canada International,” says Rochette. “Although I have moved on to a new chapter in my life, I hold cherished memories of my figure skating career and am honoured to represent Skate Canada, and all athletes participating at this prestigious event.”

Rochette competed at Skate Canada International six times during her career, medalling at five of those appearances and winning gold three times (2006, 2008, 2009).  In her role as Athlete Ambassador, Rochette will handle speaking engagements and media interviews, conduct appearances on behalf of the competing athletes and, of course, interact with fans throughout the week.

“We are thrilled to have Joannie involved with Skate Canada International. She knows exactly the pressures that the athletes will face during the competition and will be able to convey those experiences to media and fans over the course of the week,” said Debra Armstrong, Chief Executive Officer, Skate Canada. “Joannie is a powerful role model for all Canadians through her skating and her courage during the 2010 Olympic Games, and now as a medical student. We are excited to have Joannie back at the rink in Laval.”

Rochette represented CPA Berthierville during her career and won the first of her six consecutive Canadian titles in 2005, and successfully defended her national crown every year through 2010. In February of 2010, she captured the hearts of Canada, and the world, with emotional performances in the short and free programs on her way to a bronze medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Rochette competed in seven world championships, winning silver at the 2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles.

Rochette was named the 2010 Female Athlete of the Year by the Canadian Press, and in 2017 Skate Canada announced she would be inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame. She is currently attending medical school at McGill University.

TICKETS

Single session tickets begin at $40.50 (including applicable taxes and surcharges) and prices range by session. Tickets for the Thursday practices are only $16 (including taxes and surcharges).

Tickets can be purchased online at placebell.ca, by phone at 1-855-634-4472 or in person at the Place Bell Box Office.

EVENT INFO

Skate Canada International is the second competition in the annual ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series. The other events take place in the United States (Skate America), Finland, Japan (NHK Trophy), Russia (Rostelecom Cup) and France (Internationaux de France).

Each skater/team can be assigned a maximum of two events. Skaters are awarded points based on their placements at their events. The top six from each discipline (men, women, pair and ice dance) qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final to be held in Vancouver, B.C., from December 6-9, 2018.

Soucisse and Firus edged off podium in ice dancing at Finlandia Trophy

ESPOO, Finland – Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver missed a berth on the podium by three points on Sunday to conclude the Finlandia Trophy figure skating competition.

Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia won the gold with 200.78 points. Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz of Spain were second at 180.07 and Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac of France were third at 175.46.

Soucisse and Firus, were third after the short dance and delivered the fifth best free dance to drop a notch and finished at 172.27.

‘’Overall it was a step in the right direction,’’ said Firus. ‘’We upped our technical especially in the short. There were a couple of mistakes in the free but the performance level was still high.’’

In women’s competition, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva of Russia won the gold with Elizabet Tursynbaeva of Kazakhstan second and Viveca Lindfors of Finland third.
Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., in her first international event since 2016, climbed from seventh to sixth with the fifth best free skate.

‘’It feels good to get back into international competition,’’ said Mallet, who has been battling a painful foot injury since October 2016. ‘’I felt good about both programs, I was confident and that really helped.’’

Canada ends the competition with one silver medal earned on Saturday by Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., in pairs.

Full results:CS Finlandia Trophy Espoo 2018

Fisher and Malette-Paquette crack top-five at ISU Junior Grand Prix

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Ellie Fisher and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette of Montreal placed fifth in ice dancing on Saturday to conclude the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Avonley Nguyen and Vadym Kolesnik of the U.S. took the gold at 165.63 ahead of two Russian couples. Sofia Shevchenko and Igor Eremenko were second at 161.67 and Polina Ivanenko and Daniil Karpov were third at 151.69.

Fisher and Malette-Paquette remained fifth at 141.60 and Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., were seventh at 131.41.

In women’s competition, Anastasia Tarakanova led Russia to a 1-2 finish. Aurora Cotop of Thornhill, Ont., was 11th.

“I feel like I still have a lot to improve but it was good to put out there all the things I’ve been working on this early in the season,” said Cotop about her season debut. “The last few weeks I feel things have really started to click and I’m excited about the rest of the season.”

Full results: ISU JGP Ljubljana Cup 2018

Moore-Towers and Marinaro win free, take silver at Finlandia Open

ESPOO, Finland – Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., won Saturday’s free skate to earn the silver medal in pairs at the Filandia Open figure skating competition.

Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Russia won the gold with 198.98 points. The Canadians, third after Friday’s short, followed closely at 193.93 and Aleksandra Boikova and Dmitrii Kozlovskii of Russia were third at 188.54.

“We felt good about our competition but we had mistakes in both programs,” said Moore-Towers. “Our goal was to was have an improvement from the Autumn Classic International (at which they also placed second two weeks ago in Oakville) and we definitely did that. We’ll follow the same path to be ready for Skate Canada International (October 26-28 in Laval, Que).”

In men’s competition, Nicolas Nadeau of Blainville, Que., was less than four points from the podium finishing fourth with 227.76. Mikhail Kolyada of Russia was the winner with 250.58, Junhwan Cha of South Korea second at 239.19 and Morisi Kvitelashvili of Georgia third at 231.19.

“I only have one quad in the long so I need to execute it better,” said Nadeau. “Also a big mistake on my triple Axel which is my best jump which was disappointing after landing the first one in the long and also in the short.”

In the short dance, Carolane Soucisse of Chateauguay, Que., and Shane Firus of North Vancouver stand third with 70.79, less than two points out of second spot.

On Friday, Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., was seventh after the women’s short.

Competition ends Sunday with the free dance and women’s free skate.

Full results Filandia Open: CS Finlandia Trophy Espoo 2018

So close to podium for Conrad Orzel at ISU Junior Grand Prix

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia – Conrad Orzel of Woodbridge, Ont., came within 0.01 points of reaching the podium on Friday in a fourth place finish in men’s competition at the sixth stop on the ISU Junior Grand Prix figure skating circuit.

Petr Gumennik of Russia won the gold medal with 219.25 points. Tomoki Hiwatashi of the U.S. was second at 215.16 and Koshiro Shimada of Japan was third at 212.95. Orzel, fifth after Thursday’s short program, followed at 212.94 with the fourth best free skate.

Both Orzel’s overall score and free skate score were personal international bests. He was fourth at his other Junior Grand Prix assignment in Austria last month. In his free skate to music from Romeo and Juliet, he landed the quad Salchow and quad toe as well as two triple Axels including one in combination.

In ice dancing after the short dance, Ellie Fisher and Simon-Pierre Malette-Paquette of Montreal are fifth less than three points out of third place. Alicia Fabbri of Terrebonne, Que., and Paul Ayer of Brossard, Que., are sixth less than seven points off a podium position.

In the women’s short program, Aurora Cotop of Thornhill, Ont., placed 11th.

Competition ends Saturday with the free dance and women’s free skate.

Full results ISU Junior Grand Prix: http://www.isuresults.com/results/season1819/jgpslo2018/

Canadians in medal hunt in Finland

ESPOO, Finland – Action got underway Friday at the Finlandia Open in Espoo, Finland.

After the short programs, Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., are third in pairs; Nicolas Nadeau of Blainville, Que., is fourth in men’s competition and Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., is seventh after the women’s short.

Full results Filandia Open: CS Finlandia Trophy Espoo 2018

Twelve Canadian Skaters head to Europe for two international competitions

Ottawa, ON: Team Canada will be competing at two skating events this week in Europe. The senior skaters will be competing at the Finlandia Trophy, in Espoo, Finland from October 4-7. The junior skaters will be competing in the sixth ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from October 3-6.

Finlandia Trophy

This year marks the 23rd edition of the Finlandia Trophy, it is also one of the competitions on the International Skating Union’s (ISU) Challenger Series.

In the men’s field, Nicolas Nadeau, the 2016 world junior silver medalist and the 2015 Canadian National Junior Champion will compete at this event for the first time.

Véronik Mallet will be making her Finlandia debut in the ladies’ field after taking two years off to recover from injuries. Her last competitive event was the 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, were she finished fourth.

In the pair discipline, Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro will be the only pair team representing Canada at this competition. They are coming off of a second place finish at the 2018 Autumn Classic International that took place at the end September in Oakville, Ont.

Carolane Soucisse and Shane Firus are the lone ice dancers competing for Canada. They competed earlier this year at the 2018 Autumn Classic, winning the bronze medal.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2018 FINLANDIA TROPHY

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Nicolas Nadeau 20 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand Yvan Desjardins
Women Véronik Mallet 24 Sept-Iles, Que. CPA Sept-Iles Annie Barabe
Pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 26/26 St. Catharines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. St. Catharines SC / Point Edward SC Inc. Bruno Marcotte, Richard Guathier, Sylvie Fullum
Ice Dance Carolane Soucisse / Shane Firus 23/24 Châteauguay, Que. / North Vancouver, B.C. SC Repentigny / SC Repentigny Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon

Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director, will Canada’s team leader at the event. Physiotherapist Pat Stanziano, of Oakville, Ont. will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Karen Howard of Regina, Sask. and Andre-Marc Allain of Ottawa, Ont. will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org.

JGP Ljubjana

In the men’s competition, Conrad Orzel will be looking to reach the podium after finishing fourth at the JGP Austria earlier this season.

Aurora Cotop will be competing at her first junior grand prix of the season in Slovenia. Last season she placed seventh and ninth at her two junior grand prix events.

Among the two pairs heading to Europe are Alicia Fabbri and Paul Ayer, they finished fourth at JGP Bratislava earlier this season.

Ellie Fisher and Simon-Pierre Malette Paquette are coming off of a fourth place finish at the 2018 Canadian championships and the event in Ljubjana will be their first international event of the season.

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2018 ISU JGP #6 – LJUBJANA, SLOVENIA

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Conrad Orzel 18 Woodbridge, Ont. Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club Lee Barkell
Women Aurora Cotop 16 Thornhill, Ont. Thornhill FSC Ravi Walia
Ice Dance Alicia Fabbri / Paul Ayer 15/20 Terrebonne, Que. / Brossard, Que. CPA Terrebonne / Calalta Calgary Julien Lalonde
Ice Dance Ellie Fisher / Simon-Pierre Malette Paquette 17/20 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. CPA Loraine / CPA Loraine Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon, Romain Haguenauer, Pascal Denis

Bev Viger of Abbotsford, BC. and Ilan Yampolsky of Ottawa, Ont., will be Team Canada’s team leaders at the event. Physiotherapist Karen Seymour, of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite. Andrew Bosco, of Thorold, Ont., and Ron Conacher, of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian officials at the event.

For more information, please visit www.isu.org. All events on the ISU Junior Grand Prix circuit will be livestreamed on the ISU Junior Grand Prix YouTube channel.