Eighteen skaters headed to 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships

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OTTAWA, ON:  Team Canada will be sending 18 skaters to the 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships  in Anaheim, California, USA from February 7-10. The championships will welcome the best skaters from the Americas, Asia, Australia and Africa.

Canada will have three skaters in each discipline: men, women, pair and ice dance, for a total of 12 entries and 18 athletes.

Canadian champion, Nam Nguyen, 20, Ajax, Ont., will represent Canada in the men’s category. Nguyen won his second Canadian title in January and is coached by Robert Burk. He trains at the Richmond Hill Training Centre.

Keegan Messing, 27, Sherwood Park, Alta./ Brantford, Ont., will also compete in the men’s discipline for Canada. He picked up the bronze medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Figure Skating Championships in January. He is coached by Ralph Burghart and trains in Anchorage, AK.

The third entry in men’s is Nicolas Nadeau, 21, Boisbriand, Que. He finished 6th at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in January. He is coached by Yvan Desjardins and trains out of Rosemere, Que.

Alaine Chartrand, 22, Prescott, Ont., will be representing Canada in the women’s discipline. She took home the gold medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships in January. She is coached by Tracey Wainman and Grzegorz Filipowski and trains in Richmond Hill, Ont.

Véronik Mallet, 24, Sept-Iles, Que., will be the second entry in the woman’s discipline for Canada. Mallet finished third at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. She is coached by Annie Barabé and trains in Varennes, Que.

Larkyn Austman, 21, Coquitlam, BC., will be the final entry in the women’s category for Canada. She finished fourth at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. Austman is coached by Zdenek Pazdirek and Liz Putnam and trains in Coquitlam, B.C.

Canadian Champions Kirsten Moore-Towers, 26, St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro, 27, Sarnia, Ont., will lead the pair teams representing Canada. They are coached by Bruno Marcotte, Richard Gauthier and Sylvie Fullum and they train in Saint Leonard, Que.

Evelyn Walsh, 17, London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud, 22, Trenton, Ont., will be the second pair team representing Canada. They won the silver medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Allison Purkiss and train in Brantford, Ont.

Camille Ruest, 25, Rimouski, Que., and Drew Wolfe, 23, Calgary, Alta., will be the third pair heading to Anaheim. The pair finished third at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Richard Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte and train in Saint Leonard, Que.

In ice dance Canadian champions Kaitlyn Weaver, 29, Toronto, Ont., and Andrew Poje, 31, Waterloo, Ont., will be one of three teams to represent Canada. They are coached by Nikolai Morozov, Igor Shpilband and Pasquale Camerlengo. They train out of Hackensack, New Jersey and Novi, Michigan.

Piper Gilles, 27, Toronto, Ont., and Paul Poirier, 27, Unionville, Ont., will be the second ice dance entry for Canada. The team secured the silver medal at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. They are coached by Carol Lane, Juris Razgulajevs and Jon Lane and train out of Scarborough, Ont.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry, 26, Montreal, Que., and Nikolaj Sorensen, 29, Montreal, Que., will be the third team representing Canada. They finished third at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The two are coached by Marie-France Dubreuil, Patrice Lauzon and Romain Haguenauer. They train out of Montreal, Que.

Bev Viger of Abbortsford, B.C., and Carolyn Allwright of Waterloo, Ont., will be the team leaders at the event. Debra Armstrong, Skate Canada Chief Executive Officer, and Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada High Performance Director will also be traveling with the team. Dr. Cole Beavis of Saskatoon, Sask., and Siobhan Karam of Toronto, Ont., will be the Canadian medical staff onsite.

Leanna Caron, of Timmins, Ont., Lynne Dey of Edmonton, Alta., Pam Chislett of Grand Prairie, Alta., and Susan Blatz of Burlington, Ont. will be the Canadian officials at the event.

Emma Lindblad, Skate Canada Communications Coordinator, will be the media attaché at the event. She can be reached onsite at [email protected] or 819-743-2056.

For more information, please visit isu.org

CANADIAN ENTRIES AT 2019 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

DISCIPLINE NAME AGE HOMETOWN CLUB COACH
Men Keegan Messing 27 Sherwood Park, Alta. / Brantford, Ont. Sherwood Park FSC Ralph Burghart
Men Nam Nguyen 20 Ajax, Ont. Richmond Hill Training Centre Robert Burk
Men Nicolas Nadeau 21 Boisbriand, Que. CPA Boisbriand Yvan Desjardins
Women Alaine Chartrand 22 Prescott, Ont. York Region Skating Academy Tracey Wainman / Grzegorz Filipowski
Women Véronik Mallet 24 Sept-Îles, Que. CPA Sept-Îles Annie Barabé
Women Larkyn Austman 21 Coquitlam, B.C. Coquitlam Skating Club Zdenek Pazdirek / Liz Putnam
Pair Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro 26/27 St. Catherines, Ont. / Sarnia, Ont. St. Catharines SC / Point Edward SC  Bruno Marcotte / Richard Gauthier / Sylvie Fullum
Pair Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud 17/22 London, Ont. / Trenton, Ont. London SC / Trenton SC Alison Purkiss
Pair Camille Ruest / Drew Wolfe 25/23 Rimouski, Que. / Calgary, Alta. CPA Rimouski / Glencoe Club Calgary Richard Gauthier / Bruno Marcotte
Ice Dance Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje 29/31 Toronto, Ont. / Waterloo, Ont. Granite SC / Kitchener-Waterloo SC Nikolai Morozov / Igor Shpilband / Pasquale Camerlengo
Ice Dance Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier 27/27 Toronto, Ont. / Unionville, Ont. Scarboro FSC / Scarboro FSC Carol Lane / Juris Razgulajevs / Jon Lane
Ice Dance Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sorensen 26/29 Montreal, Que. / Montreal, Que. Rodovre SC / Rodovre SC Marie-France Dubreuil / Patrice Lauzon / Romain Haguenauer

Two Canadian Synchronized Skating teams head to 2019 French Cup

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OTTAWA, ON: Canada will be sending two synchronized skating teams to the 25th annual 2019 French Cup in Rouen, France from February 1-3. This event is an ISU (International Skating Union) sanctioned synchronized skating event and will see teams competing in three categories novice, junior and senior.

Les Suprêmes Seniors, of Saint Leonard, Que., will be the senior team representing Canada. Last weekend they placed fourth at the Leon Lurje Trophy. The team is coached by Marilyn Langlois, Pascal Denis and Amelie Brochu.

Gold Ice, of the Brampton-Chingacousy skating club, will be the junior team representing Canada in France. The team finished third at 2018 Skate Canada Synchronized Skating Championships and they are coached by Jessica Brown, Ashley Greenhalgh and Andrea Nesbitt.

Mary Ellen McDonald, Skate Canada Senior Director, Operations, Carmen Perron of Trois-Rivières, Que., Verjai Gagnon of Brampton, Ont., and Kim Nadeau of Brampton, Ont., will be the team leaders at the event. Andrew Bosco of Thorold, Ont., will be the Canadian official at the event.

For more information, please visit isu.org.

Canada’s les Suprêmes slip to fourth at Leon Lurje Trophy

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GOTHENBURG, Sweden – Les Suprêmes from St-Léonard, Que., finished fourth on Sunday at the Leon Lurje Trophy synchronized skating competition.

Paradise from Russia won the gold medal with 234.35 points, the Helsinki Rockettes from Finland were second at 225.13, Haydenettes from the U.S. fourth at 213.81 and les Suprêmes followed at 209.90.

The Canadians were third after Saturday’s short program.

Skating for les Suprêmes were Jessica Allaire, Rebecca Allaire, Karianne Bégin, Julia Bernardo, Laurie Désilets. Olivia Di Giandomenico, Molly Katherine Farber, Lisanne Foley, Laurie Raphaelle Gauthier, Peter Gerome, Giulia Hart-Lewis, Sora Hatano, Grace Carol LeTouzel, Dana Malowany, Agathe Sigrid Merlier, Andréanne Paradis, Martha Maria Pietrasik, Alessia Malissa Pollletta, Florene Poulin and Édouard Tremblay.

In junior competition, Sunrise from Russia won the gold, Fintastic from Finland was second and Starlights from the U.S. were third.

Les Suprêmes Juniors were sixth out of 15 entries.

The skaters for les Suprêmes were Amelia Asparian, Solène Aymard, Émilie Beaucage, Julia Caponi, Lynnson Ceneston, Loriana Cocca, Alice Cormier, Jade Deschênes, Thea Julia Dimbu, Natasha Gligorijevic, Victoria Gligorijevic, Charlotte Grutter, Alessia Hart-Lewis, Frédérique Hébert-Mondragon, Joséphine Kawa, Astrid Kumpulainen, Morgane Launay-Boireau, Olivia Ronca, Lauren Santori and Anne-Laurence Trudeau.

Full results: http://www.skatesweden.wehost.se/18-19/Synchro/LeonLurje/html/index.htm

Canada’s Les Suprêmes third after short program at Leon Lurje Trophy

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GOTHENBURG, Sweden – Les Suprêmes from St-Léonard, Que., are in third place after Saturday’s short program at the Leon Lurje Trophy synchronized skating competition.

Paradise from Russia stands first at 88.22, the Helsinki Rockettes from Finland are second at 82.67 and Les Suprêmes are third at 78.50. There are nine entries.

Skating for Les Suprêmes are Jessica Allaire, Rebecca Allaire, Karianne Bégin, Julia Bernardo, Laurie Désilets. Olivia Di Giandomenico, Molly Katherine Farber, Lisanne Foley, Laurie Raphaelle Gauthier, Peter Gerome, Giulia Hart-Lewis, Sora Hatano, Grace Carol LeTouzel, Dana Malowany, Agathe Sigrid Merlier, Andréanne Paradis, Martha Maria Pietrasik, Alessia Malissa Pollletta, Florene Poulin and Édouard Tremblay.

In junior competition, Sunrise from Russia is first after the short program at 78.45, Fintastic from Finland is second at 76.45 and Musketeers, also from Finland third at 71.92.

Les Supremes Juniors are sixth out of 15 entries at 65.94.

The skaters for les Supremes are Amelia Asparian, Solène Aymard, Émilie Beaucage, Julia Caponi, Lynnson Ceneston, Loriana Cocca, Alice Cormier, Jade Deschênes, Thea Julia Dimbu, Natasha Gligorijevic, Victoria Gligorijevic, Charlotte Grutter, Alessia Hart-Lewis, Frédérique Hébert-Mondragon, Joséphine Kawa, Astrid Kumpulainen, Morgane Launay-Boireau, Olivia Ronca, Lauren Santori and Anne-Laurence Trudeau.

Competition ends Sunday with the free skates.

Full results: http://www.skatesweden.wehost.se/18-19/Synchro/LeonLurje/html/index.htm

Two Canadian Synchronized Skating teams headed to 2019 Leon Lurje Trophy

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OTTAWA, ON: Two Canadian synchronized skating teams are headed to the 2019 Leon Lurje Trophy in Gothenburg, Sweden from January 25-27. The event is an annual ISU (International Skating Union) sanctioned synchronized skating competition and Canada will be represented by Les Suprêmes senior and junior.

Les Suprêmes senior, from CPA Saint-Leonard, Que., will be the senior team representing Canada. The team finished fifth at the 2018 ISU World Synchronized Skating Championships last season. They are coached by Marilyn Langlois, Pascal Denis and Amelie Brochu.

Les Suprêmes junior, from CPA Saint-Leonard, Que., will be the junior team representing Canada. They are the reigning 2018 Canadian junior champions.. They are coached by Marilyn Langlois, Pascal Denis, Cathy Dalton, Amelie Brochu, Kassandra Patenaude.

Carmen Perron will be the team leader for Les Suprêmes senior and Josie Di Ioia of Saint Leonard, Que., will be the team leader for Les Suprêmes junior. Marion Dyke of Mississauga, Ont.. will be the Canadian official at the event.

For results and full entries, please visit isu.org

Skate Canada names teams for 2019 ISU Championships

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SAINT JOHN, NB: After completion of the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships, Skate Canada has named the teams for the three upcoming ISU Championships. The week-long championships were held in Saint John, N.B., at the Harbour Station from January 14-20, 2019.

2019 ISU WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
SAITAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 18-24, 2019
MEN
Nam Nguyen
Keegan Messing		 WOMEN
Alaine Chartrand
TBD*
TBD*
PAIR
Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro
Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud		 ICE DANCE
Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje
Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier
Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sørensen
*To be determined after the 2019 ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships
2019 ISU FOUR CONTINENTS FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
ANAHEIM, CA, USA – FEBRUARY 4-10, 2019
MEN
Nam Nguyen
Keegan Messing
Nicolas Nadeau		 WOMEN
Alaine Chartrand
Véronik Mallet
Larkyn Austman
PAIR
Kirsten Moore-Towers / Michael Marinaro
Evelyn Walsh / Trennt Michaud
Camille Ruest / Andrew Wolfe		 ICE DANCE
Kaitlyn Weaver / Andrew Poje
Piper Gilles / Paul Poirier
Laurence Fournier Beaudry / Nikolaj Sørensen
2019 ISU JUNIOR WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
ZAGREB, CROATIA – MARCH 4-10, 2019
MEN
Stephen Gogolev
Joseph Phan		 WOMEN
Alison Schumacher
PAIR
Brooke McIntosh / Brandon Toste
Gabrielle Levesque / Pier-Alexandre Hudon		 ICE DANCE
Marjorie Lajoie / Zachary Lagha
Alicia Fabbri / Paul Ayer

Nam’s back, Chartrand soars, Weaver/Poje prevail, Moore-Towers/Marinaro untouchable at 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

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SAINT JOHN, N.B.– Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., broke the Canadian ice dance record and Alaine Chartrand made a comeback for the ages for the women’s gold to highlight Saturday’s action at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Not to be outdone, Nam Nguyen of Toronto returned to the top in the men’s event while Kirsten Moore-Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., dominated in pairs.

In ice dancing, Weaver and Poje won the gold medal with 213.78 points and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto were second at 212.31. Both scores were over the previous Canadian record of 209.82 set by Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir at last year’s nationals.

The top-two couples not only wowed the crowd with excellence but moved them with emotional routines.

“It’s a different kind of year for us,” said Poje. “We want to do what pleases us and show what we’ve learned throughout our entire career with all the ups and downs.”

It was a third career national crown for Weaver and Poje, world championship bronze medallists last year. They also won in 2015 and 2016.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal were third at 198.41.

Chartrand soared from fifth place to win the women’s gold. She opened with a triple-triple combo and never looked back en route to a total score of 185.91 points. Aurora Cotop of Thornhill, Ont., was also on the comeback train jumping from sixth to second with 169.35. Véronik Mallet of Sept-Iles, Que., was third at 168.53.

Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., and Larkyn Austman of Vancouver, 1-2 after the short, had rough free skates. Austman was fourth and Daleman, the defending champ, fifth.

It was a second career national crown for Chartrand and first since 2016. Her free skate on Saturday was 16 points better than her closest pursuer.

“Today was the redemption I was looking for,” said Chartrand. “It felt really special. I was working through being methodical and not looking too far ahead. It worked well  for me. Once I was done all the jumps I could really let it go and hear the crowd roar as I came around the end.”

In the men’s event, Nguyen landed his seven jumps which included two quad Salchows to open his free skate for 258.01 points. Stephan Gogolev of Toronto, looking to become the youngest Canadian men’s champion ever at 14, followed at 253.56. Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., was third at 247.44.

“I was so nervous,” said Nguyen, whose previous national title was in 2015 at age 16. “My first thought before the first quad was don’t have any regrets. That helped me push through. The take off was shaky, I didn’t know where I was in the air.”

“I just thought: ‘Please help me.”

There was no surprise in pairs as Moore-Towers and Marinaro placed first with 202.75. Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., followed at 189.87 and Camille Ruest of Rimouski Que., and Drew Wolfe of Calgary were third at 166.84.

“It was a little bit harder out there than we anticipated,” said Marinaro. “We laboured from the starting pose to the ending pose. Evelyn and Trennt laid it down before us and put some pressure on us.”

Full results: 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

Canada’s Nova shines gold at ISU Mozart Cup

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SALZBERG, Austria – Nova from Brossard, Que., didn’t win the short program or the free program but took first spot overall to win the gold medal at the Mozart Cup synchronized skating competition.

Nova ranked third in the short program and second in the free but its overall score of 215.86 was tops. Marigold Ice Unity from Finland won the free skate to climb from fourth to second with 215.04. Crystal Ice from Russia was third at 213.50. Team Unique from Finland dropped from first to fourth. There were 14 entries.

“We knew we had great potential to do some high level skating,” said Nova team member Laurence Darveau. “We really wanted to make sure we were in the game and do two performances that show our skills.”

Other skaters on Nova were: Dominic Barthe, Sarah Bousquet-Saint-Laurent, Maya Cardillo, Josyane Cholette, Laura Derome, Véronica Dowse, Gabrielle Gauthier-Roy, Audrey Hébert, Maude Héon-Grandchamp, Valérie Magnan Lévesque, Audrey Martel, Élizabeth Morin, Alycia O’Leary, Gabrielle Paul, Simon Proulx-Sénécal Tessa Sarret and Émillie Villeneuve.

In junior competition, Canada’s two entries placed fourth and fifth.

Crystal Ice Junior from Russia was first with 194.46 points, Skyliners Junior from the U.S. were second at 181.41 and Team Mystique from Finland followed at 170.62.

Nexxice Junior from Burlington, Ont., produced the third best free program but remained fourth at 162.01. Nova Junior was fifth at 142.40. There were 13 entries.

The skaters for Nexxice Junior were Christina Sze Wai Au, Ashley Sophie Bona, Savana Bosco, Avery Nasha Clark, Abbey Elaine Ana Glumpak, Lauren Elizabeth Hatfield, Amanda Talia Kauffman, Vasiliki Victoria Kiriakou, Natalie Leung, Nellie Charlotte Meijer, Victoria, Maria Morgado, Mya Isabelle Napier, Madeleine Margaret North, Desiree Melissa Perry, Lauren Samantha Pollack, Meghan Marguerite Tiplady, Sophia Tong, Emily Kristine Van Berkel and Milja Amilda Wilamo.

“We weren’t at our best in the short program,” said Van Berkel. “We definitely redeemed ourselves in the free and did a really good program. It was a really good learning experience to show that anything can happen on the ice.”

The skaters for Nova Junior were Chloé Au, Meghane Beaudry, Janie Bréard, Sophie Caron, Justine Fournier, Alexia Gaudet, Éloise Goupil, Evelynn Janacek, Marie-Noelle Jean, Noémie Julien, Marie-Noelle Lemay, Mélody Nadeau, Élise Potvin, Élodie Roy, Lili-Anne Tellier, Naomi Tessier and Noémie Tremblay.

“Our skates were really great and we are proud of ourselves,” said Julien. “It was our first international competition so we just came here to do our best and skate clean.”

Full results: 2019 Mozart Cup

Stephen Gogolev grabs spotlight at 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

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SAINT JOHN, N.B. – Fourteen-year-old Stephen Gogolev of Toronto is in first place after the men’s short program at the at the 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.

Gogolev landed a quad Salchow-triple toe combo to open his routine and added a triple Lutz and triple Axel in his skate to the song Run Boy Run. He earned 88.77 points to put himself ahead of Olympian Keegan Messing of Sherwood Park, Alta., in second at 87.18 while Nam Nguyen of Toronto, the 2015 champion, is third at 85.73.

This past fall, Gogolev won two of his international junior events including the Junior Grand Prix Final in December in Vancouver. He turned 14 on December 22.

“I feel more confident and comfortable this year,” said Gogolev, 10th in his nationals senior level debut last winter. “Last year was the first time I was in front of a really big crowd so I got that experience.”

The other three short programs were also on Friday.

Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje of Waterloo, Ont., hold a slight lead after the rhythm dance. The world championship bronze medallists competed for the first time in four months and tabulated 85.19 points.

Not to be outdone, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier of Toronto are a close second at 83.08 and Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sorensen of Montreal are third at 79.41.

Weaver and Poje were busy this past fall on the 28-stop cross country Thank You Canada Tour for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir.

“This week we’re here just to show ourselves, we’re having fun showing off, if you will,” Weaver said. “We’ve worked so hard, we have so much experience in front of audiences, and we’ve done our homework with the technical rules and now we get to let it loose with no worries.”

“This is a great start for us.”

In women’s competition, defending champion Gabrielle Daleman of Newmarket, Ont., leads after the short program with 70.18 points. Larkyn Austman of Vancouver follows at 64.53 and Véronik Maillet of Sept-Iles, Que., is third at 60.55.

This was a return to competition for Daleman, who delivered a clean skate to a selection from Bizet’s Carmen. She had announced publicly that she would miss the first half of the season to focus on her mental health.

Meanwhile Austman, who withdrew from two competitions this past fall due to injury, landed a double Axel en route to a clean skate as well.

“That was really amazing, I’m not super well known for doing great short programs,” said Austman, a 2018 Olympian. “This season has been a change for dialing in my technical content. It’s working and I’m excited about it.”

In pairs, Kirsten Moore-Moore Towers of St. Catharines, Ont., and Michael Marinaro of Sarnia, Ont., are first after the short program with 71.47. Evelyn Walsh of London, Ont., and Trennt Michaud of Trenton, Ont., follow at 65.20 and Camille Ruest of Rimouski Que., and Drew Wolfe of Calgary are third at 62.46.

Despite the clean program, the first place team was hoping for a more polished skate.

“Our goal here was to focus on the small points and unfortunately we did not do that,” said Marinaro. “So that was a little bit of a disappointment. We cannot be leaving those marks on the table in the future.”

All four free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

Dawson wins women’s junior title in comeback style at 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

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SAINT JOHN, N.B. – Hannah Dawson of Ottawa improved from 15th place last year to top spot on Thursday in junior women’s competition at the 2019 Canadian Tire Nationals Skating Championships being held this week at Harbour Station.

Dawson was standing third after the short progam, but produced a powerful free skate to take the title with 140.92 points. Madeline Schizas of Oakville, Ont., also made a nice comeback climbing from sixth to second with 134.59. In third was Reagan Scott of Lancaster, Ont., at 134.46.

“It’s so unreal,” said Dawson. “I’ve had a lot of rough skates and reflecting back those really helped me become mentally strong. You can’t take things for granted. You still have to go out and attack. You can’t let one mistake affect you. You rally have to bring it back.”

In junior men, Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., placed first with 199.10. Beres Clements of Richmond, B.C., surged from fourth for the silver at 191.02 and Corey Circelli of Toronto, the leader after the short, was third at 181.98.

In junior pairs, Chloe Chouinard of Frankford, Ont., and Mathieu Ostiguy of St-Angele-de-Monnoir, Que., fifth last year, took the gold with 142.03. Brooke McIntosh and Brandon Toste of Toronto followed at 137.91 and Gabrielle Levesque of Bridgewater, N.S. and Pier-Alexandre Hudon of St.-Roch-des-Aulnaies, Que., were third at 135.67.

“We said we were going to have fun with that program and took one element at a time,” said Chouinard. “We had a blast. This is like a dream.”

In novice pairs, Quebec teams were 1-2 with Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier of Rosemere first, Jamie Fournier and Gabriel Farand of Brossard second while Mackenzie Ripley and Owen Brawley of Kitchener, Ont., third.

“It’s good to see all the hard work pay off at the final competition of the year,” said Ethier. “This is our first year together and we really wanted to go out there and enjoy the moment.”

The senior competition gets underway Friday with the four short programs. The free skates are on Saturday.

Full results: 2019 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

Athlete Spotlight: Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier

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Piper Gilles

Q: What is the best advice that you were given?
Piper: Don’t change the person

Q: Who is your biggest motivation?
Piper: My Mom

Q: Who is your celebrity crush?
Piper: Chris Hemsworth

Q: What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Piper: People who leave the tooth paste cap off

Q: What fictional character would you like to meet in real life?
Piper: Regina George

Paul Poirier

Q: What’s your go to song to get pumped up for training or a competition?
Paul: I don’t have a special pump-up song, but for our first two seasons I would send a link to the “Blitzkrieg Bop” to Piper before every competition.

Q: What is your favourite place in the world and why?
Paul: Libraries!

Q: What’s your favourite emoji?
Paul: 🤡

Q: What is your biggest pet peeve?
Paul: When people expect everything to be done for them by others.

Q: What song would be the theme song for your life?
Paul: You Learn, by Alanis Morissette. Also the Annie’s Edges music that I’ve done stroking too way too many times.

Mississauga to host 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships

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MISSISSAUGA, ON: Skate Canada is pleased to announce that Mississauga, ON, will host the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships. The event will take place at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre from January 13-19, 2020. The event will feature approximately 250 of the best Canadian figure  skaters in the men, women, pairs and ice dance disciplines, competing in three levels: senior, junior, and novice.

“We are ecstatic to be heading back to the Paramount Fine Foods Centre, a familiar place for Skate Canada events,” said Debra Armstrong, CEO, Skate Canada. “The Canadian Tire National Skating Championships always welcome Canada’s best figure skaters and we are excited to showcase the nation’s top talent in Mississauga. We are enthusiastic about working with our partners in Mississauga and putting on an excellent event.”

“Mississauga is excited to once again be hosting Skate Canada’s 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships,” said Mayor Bonnie Crombie. “As Canada’s sixth largest city, we pride ourselves on our reputation as a welcoming city that is home to world-class, accessible sporting facilities such as the Paramount Fine Foods Centre. These top-notch facilities give us the ability to host national and international competitions and make us a destination for sport tourism. We look forward to welcoming Canada’s top skaters, their coaches, families and fans to our great City.”

The pre-eminent all-Canadian competition will see athletes vie for spots on the Skate Canada National Team and the Canadian teams that will compete at the 2020 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, the 2020 ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships and the 2020 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

This will be Mississauga’s second time hosting the championships after previously hosting the event in 2013. The city has also previously hosted Skate Canada International on four occasions (2000, 2003, 2011, 2016).

Join our exclusive mailing list to receive event and ticket information for the 2020 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships.